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How to Prevent Negative Emotions from Taking Over: Steps for Managing and Understanding Your Feelings

Any number of experiences can lead to negative emotions, but some common underlying causes include anxiety, anger, annoyance, frustration, sadness, and despair.


Emotions serve us as a source of information. Negative emotions can help us recognize harmful situations. However, unchecked negative emotions can also be harmful. For example, if anger turns into violence.


Some steps you can take to prevent a negative emotion from taking over include identifying how you feel, acknowledging your feelings, and accepting the situation, causing you distress.


a man suffering from negative emotions as he places hands on face

Coping Strategies For Negative Emotions


When you feel stuck in a negative state, try the following strategies to help you break through.


  • Avoid reliving a situation over and over in your head—this tends to distort the truth.


  • Accept that bad feelings are sometimes unavoidable.

a puzzle is an activity to take part in when suffering from negative emotions

  • Take part in activities you enjoy.


  • Do something physical. Physical activity releases feel-good chemicals that can help give you a boost.


  • Learn from your negative emotions by taking note of events that trigger certain emotions and how they make you feel.


  • Forgive and forget. Forgiveness is something we give ourselves. Holding on to negative emotions only harms us, not those who have caused our negative feelings.


Practice Gratitude


Being grateful and expressing gratitude have been shown to significantly impact our mood and perception of events.


Read more about how gratitude changes your brain at https://www.mindful.org/what-the-brain-reveals-about-gratitude/


Attempt to spend a few minutes each day focusing on what makes you feel grateful. Even in our lowest points, there is something or someone to be grateful for!

a woman practicing gratitude during a time of negative emotions

Go a step further by expressing your appreciation for others regularly. This simple act will provide long-lasting positive effects.


Deep Breathing


Deep breathing, aka belly breathing, can trigger a relation response that slows the heart and reduces stress.


Watch this TEDx Talk and learn how to turn negative emotions into positive convictions: https://youtu.be/3WfZJlxHHGc



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