Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?

 Embracing negative emotions improves your mental and emotional well-being, and not the opposite. But why is that?

Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?
Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?

At other times, we may be apprehensive of an imminent job interview and attribute our discomfort to lack of confidence. We might react with anger towards our partner and end up regretting this impatience later on. We know that emotions influence our kind of health, yet modern researches demonstrate the possible stronger effect on us by judging and responding to these feelings.

How do you accept negative emotions?

In a recent study, for instance, researchers noted that people who are prone to consider the negative emotions of sadness fear and anger as unacceptable or wrong have more symptoms indicating anxiety depression. They also have a lower life satisfaction than those who view their negative emotions either positively or neutrally.

Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?
Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?

These results contribute to the accumulating body of evidence that accepting undesirable emotions as an intrinsic and salubrious aspect of life produces more prominent benefits than trying not to feel those feelings.

Iris Mauss, a social psychologist working on emotions at the University of California-Berkeley and a coauthor of this study says that we apparently hold an underlying belief which is -”Emotions are bad per se because they could do harm to us.”She further makes it clear that “it may not always be so”.

Critiquing your feelings can also cause anti-productive results. But why?

Emily Willroth, a psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis who was involved with the recent study, points out that whenever we accept our negative emotions as unacceptable negativizes what is already happening and makes all of us worse off This method can intensify negative feelings and extend the duration of their influence. These feelings do not disappear after a second, as she says they can last with her for an hour.

Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why? Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?

how to deal with negative emotions

Refusal or suppression of the emotions may also lead to a reverse result. In a clinical study, people were forced to place one hand in very cold water and either accept the pain that ensued or try to block it. Individuals who attempted to deny their feeling reported higher pain levels and could not withstand the cold as long individuals that accepted his/her feelings Other researches associated emotional suppression with higher rates of mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety.

How does acceptance affect mental health?

Amanda Shallcross, a physical therapist at the Cleveland Clinic looking into emotion regulation says, “What you resist persists.” Since suppressing your feelings escape consequences for mental and bodily health in the long run.

Research has also found that the tendency to habitually evaluate their emotions negatively results in feeling more intense distress when presented with difficult situations. Participants were also asked in a 2018 study by Dr. Mauss et al., whether they often accepted their feelings, or judged them negatively. After this, sub The persons who usually denied negative emotions reported feeling more negativity during the speech. In a subsequent study, individuals who were not comfortable in their feelings often said worse mental state and manifested more symptoms of depression and anxiety after six months interval.

Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why? Does accepting negative emotions boosts mental and emotional well-being. And why?

How can you manage your balance and feelings?

To begin with, it is important to understand that dealing with uncomfortable emotions a part of human life. Dr. Willroth says, “There are no bad or inadequate emotions.” He further mentions that such negative feelings can come useful on several occasions: anxiety could be a signal for potential danger; anger may induce self-defense and sadness is triggered when others’ help is needed.

When you have these unwanted feelings, don’t really like them but rather surround yourself with neutrality. The recent study showed that the neutral handling of human emotions led to successful results in terms of mental health stats, which is very similar with a positive approach.Dr. Shallcross suggests approaching these feelings with curiosity, considering your body and experience as a laboratory for exploration: “What can I gain from this?”

It is also beneficial to remember that these feelings will not persist forever. Dr. Willroth notes, The feeling really is simply temporary; if we let it fade away than within a matter of moments or minutes how could the feelings disappear?

why negative emotions are important

Experience and time can make it easier to accept emotions. Emotional security tends to improve as we age, and Dr. Shallcross's research suggests that this may be partly because people become better at accepting their emotions as they get older.

It's important to distinguish between accepting emotions and accepting the situations that evoke these emotions. Brett Ford, a psychologist at the University of Toronto researching how people deal with their emotions, explains that accepting emotions doesn't mean being content with bad situations. He suggests that emotional acceptance can facilitate actual change; if we don't waste our time and energy criticizing our feelings, we can use these resources to improve our lives and make positive changes in the world.
Comments



Font Size
+
16
-
lines height
+
2
-