21/04/2019
* NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND COPING STRATEGIES *
We all experience emotions from an early age. As adults attempting to navigate the often chaotic world of modern life, the range of emotions we experience in a day can change dramatically.
Our ability to feel and respond to our emotions is often taken for granted. We rarely stop to think and pay close attention to what we’re feeling. We do not consider the impact it has on our mental and physiological states, or the long-term implications holding onto emotions has, that might be harmful to us.
In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into emotions – specifically negative emotions – what causes them, the effects of them, and how we can use them to create a greater sense of well-being.
* What are Negative Emotions?
It’s important to distinguish between what an emotion is and what a feeling is. While the two are interconnected, there’s a bigger difference than you may realize. It’s definitely something that surprised me when I began with my research.
Emotions –
Emotions are coded into our DNA and are thought to have developed as a way to help us respond quickly to different environmental threats, much like our ‘fight or flight’ response. The amygdala has also been shown to plrole in the release of neurotransmitters that are essential for memory, which is why emotional memories are often stronger and easier to recall.Emotions have a stronger physical grounding than feelings meaning researchers find them easier to measure objectively through physical cues such as blood flow, heart rate, brain activity, facial expressions, and body language. Eckman (1999) identified six initial basic emotions:
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Happiness
Sadness
Surprise
He later expanded on this to include a further eleven basic emotions:
Amusement
Contempt
Contentment
Embarrassment
Excitement
Guilt
Pride
Relief
Satisfaction
Sensory Pleasure
Shame
Feelings – Emotions are seen as preceding feelings, which tend to be our reactions to the different emotions we experience. Where emotions can have a more generalized experience across all humans, feelings are more subjective and are influenced by our personal experiences and interpretations of our world based on those experiences.Feelings occur in the neocortical regions of the brain and are the next step in how we respond to our emotions as an individual. Because they are so subjective, they can’t be measured the way emotions can.
While we can use the label negative, with what we know about emotions, it’s important to acknowledge that all emotions are completely normal to experience. They are a part of our ingrained DNA. What is more important, is understanding when and why negative emotions might arise, and developing positive behaviors to address them.
*Negative emotions are
-Anger
- Annoyance
-Fear
-Anxiety
-Sadness
-Guilt
-Apathy
-Despair
* What Causes Negative Emotions and Why Do We Have Them?
Once you start exploring negative emotions a little bit more, you can really start to see what might cause or trigger them, and why we have them in the first place.
In terms of causes, it could be a number of things for example:
-Anxiety felt around attending an interview for a new job
-Anger at being caught up in traffic
-Sadness at experiencing a break-up
-Annoyance that a colleague hasn’t done the work for a big project
-Despair at not being able to stick to a new workout regime
Emotions are a source of information that help you understand what is going on around you. Negative emotions, in particular, can help you recognize threats and feel prepared to positively handle potential dangers ,Many different experiences in our lives will incite different emotional reactions, to differing degrees of intensity. As a human being, you will experience a full range of emotions throughout your lifetime in response to rapidly changing situations.
*6 Tips to Manage, Process and Embrace Negative Emotions
Sims (2017) explored ways to proactively process and acknowledge negative emotions and came up with the acronym TEARS of HOPE to help coach and guide individuals. Here’s what it stands for:
T = Teach and Learn
This is the process of listening to what your body is trying to teach you through the presentation of negative emotions, and learn what they mean. It’s building your own personal knowledge of the way you respond to emotional states, interpreting the signals your body is sending you, and acknowledging that they serve a purpose.
E = Express and enable
Negative emotions encourage us to express them. They are very actionable emotions. The express and enable part of the acronym encourages you to explore this with openness and curiosity. It’s about increasing your acceptance of your natural instincts and enabling them to be present without resentment.
A= Accept and befriend
This follows on nicely from express and enable. It’s about befriending yourself and the way you are as a human. Focus on increasing your acceptance with positive affirmations to bring your sphere of negative emotions into a space of acceptance.
R = Re-appraise and re-frame
Once you’ve begun to accept that this is a natural part of who you are, you can begin to focus on reframing the situation and how you react. Just because a negative emotion has arisen, doesn’t mean you have to react in ways that are detrimental to you and those around you.
Accepting negative emotions isn’t about accepting or excusing poor behaviors, it’s about creating awareness for the self and others to create positive reactions.
S = Social support
Knowing that negative emotions are present in all of us, and in pretty much the same way, can be a fantastic source of compassion and empathy to those around us. It’s how we process our emotions that differ, so seeing someone in the throws of anger, knowing that they are just handling a perceived threat can really encourage us to approach them with compassion, rather than anger ourselves.
H = Hedonic well-being and happiness
This is the process of grouping positive experiences with negative. Because we more readily recall negative experiences, it can be useful for us to group them with positive experiences so we don’t fall into a ruminating trap. This way, we can focus more of our energy on recalling the positive experiences.
O = Observe and attend
Take the time to really observe your reactions without ignoring them, repressing them, or over exaggerating them. Use mindfulness to bring your focus to your mind and body and what a particular emotion is creating within you. Attend to these reactions without judgment.
P = Physiology and behavioral changes
Just as you observe your emotional and mental responses, observe your physiological reactions too. Bring your focus to your breath, your heart rate and sense out the changes in your physiology that a negative emotion may have caused. Again, attend to these changes without judgment.
E = Eudaimonia
This might not be a word you are familiar with, but it’s well worth adding to your vocabulary. Eudaimonia is a Greek word which basically refers to having a good spirit. It means you have found a state of being that is happy, healthy and prosperous, and you have learned to engage in actions that result in your overall well-being. It means you’re actively striving towards a sense of authenticity in all you do.
I’ve gone through the research available and also collated the below tips to help you manage, process and embrace negative emotions in ways that will help you to understand and find value in them:
