{"id":96818,"date":"2023-03-31T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T08:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=96818"},"modified":"2023-04-07T14:49:10","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T18:49:10","slug":"how-to-process-negative-emotions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-process-negative-emotions\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Process Negative Emotions and Let Them Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the best way to deal with negative emotions<\/a>? Why is it not a good idea to suppress or distract yourself from negative emotions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all succumb to negative emotions from time to time, but avoiding them isn’t the most optimal way to deal with them. According to Lissa Rankin, the author of Mind Over Medicine<\/em>, allowing ourselves to feel negative emotions in their full magnitude can help us process them faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips on how to process negative emotions and let them go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Normalize Negative Emotions <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you believe you shouldn\u2019t experience negative emotions at all<\/em>, when these emotions inevitably occur, you\u2019ll worry about your worries, which will cause you to spiral into chronic stress<\/a>. In her book Mind Over Medicine<\/em>, Lissa Rankin explains how to process negative emotions in a healthy way. Rankin says because we\u2019re not in total control of our thoughts and feelings<\/a>, we should embrace sadness, anger, and fear.<\/strong> Acknowledging these negative emotions help us process them more effectively and allow them to pass. To embrace your negative emotions in a healthy manner, appreciate the purpose they serve you. For example, fear helps you survive by making you apprehensive and alert around danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note:  In When the Body Says No<\/em><\/a>, Gabor Mat\u00e9 explains that it\u2019s also important not to practice \u201ctoxic positivity\u201d<\/a>\u2014where you focus so much on positive thinking that you repress your negative feelings. By forcing insincere positive feelings, you\u2019ll mask the negative feelings that you need to pay attention to in order to heal. This is often caused by our attempts to avoid the pain our negative emotions cause us or our desire to please other peoples\u2019 expectations of us. Instead, accepting your negative emotions and paying attention<\/a> to what they\u2019re telling you can help you discover their root cause, which will ultimately help you correct your lifestyle and live healthier.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s healthy to acknowledge and embrace negative emotions<\/a>, which are temporary, negative beliefs are more insidious<\/strong> because they induce chronic threat responses.<\/strong> To change a negative or self-limiting belief<\/a>, Rankin says to argue against it by asking yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n