subject: How to Handle Negative Emotions Positively [print this page] How to Handle Negative Emotions Positively
Negative feelings really aren't negative at all when you handle them in a positive way!The challenge many people face when it comes to unhappy emotions is not wanting to feel them at all, like they are the worst thing ever.Maybe you believe negative feelings are bad, or you can't bear to feel them, or that you are weak, or not a good person if you experience them.Perhaps you think you are a cry baby, or not a man, or you should be beyond these feelings, or you might even hate yourself for feeling a certain way.None of those are the truth, although you might think they are and therefore you don't want to face them as if they are somehow monstrous.Many people want a quick fix to get rid of them, or push them aside, or sweep them under the carpet, or pretend they don't exist at all. Doing this isn't seeing or being with them in a positive way; it's avoiding them like they are the plague, which they are not.Negative emotions are far from being the enemy or ogre, but maybe you are being that towards them. Are you? How are you handling these unwanted and unloved feelings? Are you discarding them like they are trash, or covering them up like a foul smell?It almost makes you sorry for these emotions when you look at them like they are an outcast.Wouldn't you rather know how to handle them in a positive way than pretend they don't exist or will never surface?In my experience making believe they aren't there doesn't make them disappear, and quick fixes are only a temporary solution since life is filled with unexpected situations that bring forth these unwelcoming feelings.You can handle negative emotions in a positive way if you know how, and you won't want to be beating yourself up anymore for experiencing them.If you were a child and thought something was hiding under your bed, or in your closet, or in the basement, or behind the door or shower curtain, you or your parents might turn the light on and take a look to reassure you that it's okay.You are going to turn the light on, so to speak, on these misunderstood feelings.You can start right now by reminding yourself that they aren't bad or awful; they are the opposite feelings to the ones you do like.Negative emotions bring your attention to something to shine the light on so you don't have to remain stuck in fear and darkness.You can become empowered by, or powerless to your emotions and it's up to you what you do with them.Choose to see them as ways you can improve your life. They are like messengers, not monsters.Take some time to hear them out; perhaps they have something for you that you just aren't willing to hear or see. Take a closer look.Ask yourself how you can move through this or if there is anything you need to know.Often unpleasant feelings are really wake up calls and if we were listening each day to our inner voices, instead of our outer ones, a lot of them wouldn't seem so dreadful or even be experienced at all.Moods are not really the problem, but the way you see and handle them could be.You can continue to avoid them, hate them, push them down or out, but that doesn't mean they aren't there and won't surface at another time.It's really up to you whether you greet them or try to beat them, but remember, they are innocent until believed otherwise.Sowill you handle negative emotions in a positive way, or no way at all?You can use these methods to help you in exploring what insights are in all your emotions.
