“The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.” - Dalai Lama
Anxiety, comparison, self-doubt, hatred, helplessness, and emptiness, are some of the negative emotions that eat you from inside, unconsciously. When you are happy, you know the next thing would be a celebration but when it comes to negative feelings, the sad thing is that most of us don’t even know, what to do next?
You must have had days when you didn’t like anything. You wanted to go somewhere far to escape reality thinking it would bring you peace but bad emotions don’t leave you for real. Each morning you wake up, you feel like going back to sleep, days feel tiring, you feel heavy and all you want to do is run away from all this. Everything that happens in your life, you blame yourself for it. And in no time, you are covered with the layers of destructive thoughts.
Well, one positive thing about negative emotions is that they are a part of you & you have got the power to silence them, whenever you want. The best way to calm a silenced thunderstorm is by giving it your undivided attention. This article will help you understand your anxious thoughts a little better so that you can deal with them effectively.
Types of Negative Emotions
Any emotion that makes you feel empty inside is a negative emotion. In the era of social media, it’s a normal thing to compare your life with someone else, but when the process of comparing yourself with others becomes a routine, it’s a red sign there!
Without even knowing what someone’s real-life looks like, we inculcate the feeling of
comparison,
hatred,
self-pity,
frustration,
depression,
anger,
guilt,
anxiety,
self-doubt
and encircle ourselves in the undesirable journey of feeling miserable.
The reality is, everybody’s life sucks. Some know about to deal with what life throws at them and some don’t! When you recognize what is eating you from within, you win the half battle there. Recognizing negative emotions is surely a battle partially won!
Causes of Negative Emotions
When they say, “you are what you think”. They aren’t wrong. Our thoughts are the main contributor to our life decisions. Your I can or I can’t solely depend on how you think. Here we will talk about what are the habits that cause negative emotions.
1. Comparing yourself to others
Have you ever found yourself wishing to have the same lifestyle, partner, parents, or friend circle by looking at someone else on social media? Have you wished to have their life as yours? I am certain, you must have (at least once). We all do that at some point in our lives. Comparison is the main cause of negative emotions. It’s like the roots of a tree where various branches grow when we keep watering the roots.
2. Being ungrateful
Comparison leads to the habit of being ungrateful. We may have everything (which someone else might be wishing for) but still, we choose to cry over what we don't have.
3. Indulging in negative self-talk
As I said, we are what we think. If we keep reminding ourselves of what we are not good at, why we suck, or how many times we failed, we would never be able to look at our capabilities.
4. Being surrounded by negative people
Your company matters, matters a lot. If you wish to grow in life, you should be surrounded by like-minded people. When you choose to be with pessimistic people, you only get to focus on negativity in life.
5. Procrastination
Most of the negative emotions foster because of our incapability of achieving something. Procrastination doesn't only make us fail at completing certain tasks but also develop a feeling of guilt & self-doubt.
How to deal with negative emotions (in a healthy way)?
It’s okay to not feel good all the time. We are humans - a living pillar of emotions (which changes from time to time). Some days we feel enthusiastic and other days, we don’t and that my friend is completely okay.
The best way to deal with negative emotions is by acknowledging them. You should know what triggered you? Why did you start feeling this way? What can I do to fix this? How can I feel happy again? Do I deserve to feel this way? And If I don’t, why am I punishing myself?
Remember, you can only deal with negative emotions when you know their root cause. And the most effective way to reach its starting point is by asking a lot of questions and answering all of them honestly & positively.
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