We all begin to feel emotions at a very young age. The spectrum of emotions we experience throughout the course of a day might shift significantly as adults trying to make our way through the rapidly changing environment of modern living.
We frequently take for granted our capacity to experience emotion and react to it. We may even find it difficult to distinguish between positive and negative emotions.
We hardly ever take time to pause and pay attention to our feelings. We do not think about the effects holding onto positive and negative emotions has on our long-term health or how it affects our mental and physical states.
This article delves deeply into emotions, particularly positive and negative, exploring their causes, consequences, and potential applications for improving our wellness.
Table of Contents
What are Positive and Negative Emotions?
It’s critical to understand the difference between an emotion and a feeling. Although there are connections between the two, there is a broader distinction than you might think. We were astonished by it when we started our investigation.
Emotions
Emotions are thought to be “lower level” reactions. They manifest initially in the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, among other subcortical regions of the brain.
These regions are in charge of generating biochemical processes that directly affect your physical state.
Our DNA contains codes for emotions, which are believed to have evolved to help humans quickly react to various environmental challenges, similar to our “fight or flight” reaction.
Emotional memories are frequently more robust and more straightforward to recall. It is because of the amygdala’s function in releasing neurotransmitters that are crucial for memory.
Researchers find it simpler to quantify emotions objectively using physical signs like blood flow, heart rate, brain activity, facial expressions, and body language because emotions have a deeper physical foundation than sentiments.
Feelings
Emotions are viewed as coming before feelings, which frequently represent our responses to the various emotions we encounter.
Whereas emotions can be more universally experienced by all people, feelings are more subjective and are impacted by our individual experiences and how we interpret the world around us.
The next stage in how we react to our emotions as an individual is called feeling, which takes place in the neocortical regions of the brain. Feelings can’t be quantified the way emotions can since they are so arbitrary.
Now you know the main difference between emotions and feelings, let’s get to know how positive and negative emotions impact our lives, and what strategies we may apply to make our life better with the help of these positive and negative emotions. But first, let’s distinguish between positive and negative emotions.
Positive & Negative Emotions: Steps to Handle Negativity
We all experience emotions, which are vital aspects of our existence.
Positive feelings do exist. Consider feelings like pleasure, happiness, intrigue, enthusiasm, gratitude, love, and satisfaction. These pleasant feelings are happy.
Negative emotions, such as melancholy, rage, loneliness, envy, self-criticism, fear, or rejection, can occasionally be challenging and even painful.
This is particularly true when we experience a negative feeling excessively, forcefully, or for an extended period of time.
But it’s impossible to prevent having negative feelings. Everyone occasionally experiences them. Although they could be challenging, we can learn to manage them.
The Effect of Negative People and Negative Vibes on Your Emotions
Negative people and negative vibes do have an impact on your emotional well-being. Negative vibes meaning in Urdu is ‘منفی تاثر’ which shows the pessimistic impact of someone’s personality.
Yes, we’ve all come across that coworker who behaves like Negative Nancy or that friend that reminds us so much of Eeyore (famous cartoon character from Winnie the Pooh.
Although you are aware that these people are unpleasant to be around, you may not be aware of the highly detrimental effects they can have on your success and well-being.
Simply said, unless you take the necessary precautions, negative people can have an impact on your life, regardless of how positive you are as a person.
The results are likewise severe. Research has shown that even a small amount of negative brain activity can lead to a weakened immune system, making you more prone to illness and even lead to a heart attack or a stroke.
In today’s fast-paced world, it is crucial to take care of your mental health on your own, and learn ways to manage your emotional stability.
7 Ways to Make Your Life Better With the Help of Negative Emotions
As positive psychology has gained more insight into our negative emotions, it’s also been able to provide us with multiple strategies for balancing these emotions within our day to day lives.
We at Healthwire have compiled some of the best ways to overcome your negative emotions:
1. TEARS OF HOPE
Sims (2017) explored ways to proactively process and acknowledge negative emotions and came up with the acronym TEARS of HOPE to help coach and guide individuals. Here’s what it stands for:
T: Teaching and Learning
The goal of this procedure is to help you understand the lessons your body is trying to impart through the expression of negative emotions. It involves increasing your understanding of how you personally react to emotional conditions, deciphering the messages your body is sending you, and accepting the fact that those signals have meaning.
E: Expressing and Enabling
We tend to express our negative emotions more often. They are powerful motivators. You are prompted to investigate this with interest and openness by the express and enable parts of the acronym.
It’s about allowing your instincts to flourish without animosity and developing your acceptance of them.
A: Acknowledging and Befriending
This is a natural continuation of express and enable. It involves getting to know yourself and your unique human qualities. To move your realm of negative emotions into a region of acceptance, concentrate on growing your acceptance through positive affirmations.
R: Re-evaluating and Reframing
You can start concentrating on changing the way you frame the circumstance and how you respond once you’ve started to realize that this is a normal aspect of who you are.
You don’t have to act in harmful ways to you and those around you just because a negative emotion has developed.
Tolerating negative emotions doesn’t mean condoning or accepting bad behavior; rather, it means raising awareness of oneself and others in order to elicit constructive responses.
S: Social Support
Being aware of how universally all people experience negative emotions may be a great source of empathy and compassion for those around us.
Seeing someone in the throes of fury and understanding that they are simply responding to a perceived threat can truly inspire us to approach them with compassion rather than our own wrath. It’s because our emotional processing differs from that of others.
H: Hedonic Well being and Joy
This is the process of combining positive and negative emotions.
Negative memories are easier for us to recall than happy ones, therefore grouping them with positive ones can help us avoid falling into the rumination trap. In doing so, we can concentrate more of our efforts on remembering the positive emotions.
O: Attend and Observe
Spend some time observing your responses without ignoring, suppressing, or exaggerating them. Use mindfulness to focus on your thoughts, body, and the effects that a certain emotion is having on you. Observe their responses without passing judgment.
P: Modifications to Physiology and Behavior
Observe your physiological reactions in the same way that you would your emotional and mental ones. Bring your attention to your breathing and pulse rate and notice any physiological changes that a negative feeling may have brought about. Observe these changes once more without passing judgment.
E: Eudaimonia
You might not be familiar with this word, but it’s one that you should learn. The Greek word eudaimonia basically means to be in a happy mood.
It indicates that you have discovered a prosperous, joyful, and healthy state of being and that you have mastered behaviors that contribute to your general well-being. It implies that you actively pursue a sense of authenticity in all you do.
2. Envision Your “Best Possible Self”
A straightforward visualization approach could be helpful if you feel like your negative emotions are controlling you, that you’re not expressing them in healthy ways, or that you’re becoming mired in ruminative activities.
Focus on what you would like the behavior to be rather than just the unpleasant emotion or what you’re doing incorrectly.
What does the best version of you in that situation look like? What would they do? What would they say? How may they feel? After that, what would they do? AThis can be done as a journal exercise or as a thinking exercise.
It can be quite beneficial to practise this once a week to improve your mood and your approach to the situation when it arises again. Learn more about ways to manifest good health.
3. Practice Gratitude
It has been demonstrated that cultivating thankfulness has amazing benefits for both givers and recipients. It’s worth taking the effort to incorporate the practice into your weekly routine because these benefits have a lasting influence on how we feel and perceive situations.
Letting someone know you appreciate them or something they have done, whether for a minor or major event, in person, over the phone, in a letter, or a simple text message may dramatically change how you view and react to negative feelings.
4. Explore Mindfulness Techniques
Mindfulness may be able to help you reframe your feelings if you find that you have a short temper and that anger is your go-to negative emotion (or if you discover that you’re constantly on the anger emotion spectrum and frequently experience aggravation).
Follow the steps of TEARS of HOPE and take some time to contemplate any potential causes of your behavior. You can productively do this by using mindfulness to help you find right frame of mind.
5. Learn How to Respond Vs. React
Do you understand the distinction between your response and reaction?
When we are feeling bad, we frequently feel compelled to act right away. When we’re upset, we could yell or strike out. When we are depressed, we could isolate ourselves and reject those around us.
Though most of the time we don’t, sometimes we must act on these desires.
By examining your unpleasant feelings, you can begin to understand how you react and begin to switch to positive ways of responding, which may ultimately lead you to the realization that no reaction is necessary.
6. Know When to Take a Break
Know when to give yourself a day off. Your body is trying to tell you something is wrong if you are continually dealing with bad emotions and finding it difficult to control them.
Spend the day readjusting. Make your day full of enjoyable activities by engaging in the activities you know would energize and uplift you.
This kind of break can assist you in realigning your thinking, providing you with some space to refocus on the potential causes of your unpleasant feelings and help you develop some effective coping mechanisms.
7. Change What You Can
You may start addressing the issue after you have a better understanding of your emotions and what is triggering them. You might experience unpleasant feelings less frequently if you reduce or eliminate some of your stress triggers.
You might achieve this in a variety of ways, such as:
- Reducing work stress, frequently by assigning tasks, setting boundaries, and getting help
- Learning aggressive communication techniques to handle relationship conflicts
- Changing negative thought patterns with the cognitive restructuring technique
Not all stressors are changeable or eradicable. It’s crucial to avoid dwelling on the things you can’t alter and concentrate on what you can.
Read more about ways to manage burnout.
A Last Word!!
The lesson that we at Healthwire want you to learn from this article is the compassion for your complete ability to experience emotions as a human being. Positive and negative emotions play a crucial role in our existence. Be receptive to them, welcome their presence in your life, and develop proactive strategies for incorporating them.
You’ll discover fresh, authentic, and uplifting approaches to dealing with these feelings if you keep in mind to respond rather than react.
Please feel free to leave your ideas and experiences addressing negative emotions in the comments below.
