If you want to learn about different types of negative emotions and ways to control negative emotions, the article below is for you. It’s important to note that no emotion, including negative emotions, is inherently bad. It’s completely normal to feel these emotions in certain contexts or situations. These emotions only become problematic when they are persistent and can be a sign of a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety.
Table of Contents
Types of negative emotions
There are a number of different emotions that are commonly identified as negative emotions . Although such feelings are often normal reactions to certain experiences or events, they often tend to cause distress and discomfort. Specific negative emotions such as:
- Angry;
- Anxiety or fear ;
- Listless;
- Contempt, hate or disgust;
- Jealous;
- Insecurity;
- Regret or guilt;
- Sadness or loneliness;
- Humiliation.
Causes of negative emotions
Negative emotions can have many different causes, often as a result of unpleasant experiences or events.
Negative emotions can also arise from:
- Conflict in relationships: Problems arising from interpersonal relationships are a common cause of negative emotions. Such challenges may arise in relationships with friends, family, colleagues, lovers or partners;
- Unmet needs: When your needs (physical, emotional, social, psychological or spiritual) are not fully met, receiving and experiencing negative emotions is normal thing.
- Poor coping skills: Everyday stress can lead to various unpleasant feelings if you don’t have the coping skills to manage it. Poor coping skills often make problems worse or create new problems for an already problematic situation.
Mistakes when dealing with negative emotions
Sadly, people often turn to unhelpful or even destructive ways to deal with negative emotions. While these may provide temporary relief, in the long term they often make the problem worse.
- Ignoring emotions: This is definitely not the best way to solve problems. Basically, ignoring negative emotions doesn’t make them go away. Instead, these emotions will be expressed in a different way and you will have to continue to endure them for a long time afterward.
- Ruminating on negative emotions: Dwelling on anger, sadness , and other unpleasant feelings amplifies negative emotions and has health consequences. It is necessary to listen to your own negative emotions and find the right way to let them go.
- Avoidance: When experiencing an event that causes pain and sadness, such as a breakup, people will try to avoid it so they don’t have to experience those unpleasant emotions again, such as drinking. light. Dealing with negative emotions by avoiding them will only make them worse in the long run.
- Destruction and recklessness: Negative emotions, when accumulated over the long term, will cause physical and mental health problems. This means that you will be able to relieve your emotions through negative behaviors such as destroying things or self-harming ( cutting your hands , etc.).
How to control negative emotions
Luckily, there are more effective ways to relieve and control negative emotions. The following ways can help you cope while improving your ability to control negative emotions and help you take better care of your mental health .
Accept negative emotions
Learning to accept negative emotions is also an effective way to overcome them. Acceptance means admitting that we are feeling angry, sad, scared, frustrated instead of trying to avoid or suppress them. Accepting your feelings means you acknowledge they exist, but you recognize that these feelings are temporary and cannot harm you.
Understand emotions
The way you think about an event or a problem also plays a huge role in understanding your emotions. How you explain what happened can change how you experience the event and whether or not it causes stress. Look at the source of your feelings and identify the situations that create stress and negative emotions in your life.
Change your perspective
Not every source of stress can be changed or eliminated. It’s important to avoid ruminating about what you cannot change and focus on what is within your control. Minimizing or eliminating some stressors can make you feel less negative emotions such as:
- Reduce work stress by delegating tasks, building boundaries, and seeking support;
- Learn to practice assertive communication to manage conflict in relationships;
- Change negative thinking patterns through a process called cognitive restructuring.
Search for a way out
A few changes in your life can reduce negative emotions, but they won’t completely eliminate stressors. At this point, you will need to find healthy outlets to deal with these emotions.
- Regular exercise can be uplifting and an outlet for negative emotions;
- Stress reduction meditation can help you find inner space so you are not overwhelmed by negative emotions;
- Finding opportunities to have fun and laugh more in life helps change perspective and reduce stress.
Always remember that each person’s needs and abilities are different, no two people are the same. It’s important to try different methods to find the one that works for your situation. Then you will feel less overwhelmed when faced with negative emotions.
In general, negative emotions can be short-term reactions to life events or stem from other underlying problems. Even if you tend to have a positive outlook, negative emotions will still occur. Knowing how to manage negative emotions can help you feel better now and in the future.
