Title: How Negative Emotions Affect Us and How to Embrace Them
Headings: How Negative Emotions Affect Us
How Negative Emotions Affect Us
Managing Negative Emotions
Get Advice From the The Verywell Mind Podcast
Negative Emotions vs. Positive Emotions
How Do Negative Emotions Affect Us?
Negative Emotions Can Cause Stress
They Also Provide Information
Even Positive Emotions Have Downsides
Strategies for Managing Negative Emotions
Tears
Hope
Additional Strategies
Best Possible Self Exercise
Gratitude Letter or Visit
Taking a Mental Health Day

Content: Anger and anxiety show that something needs to change and that perhaps our well-being has been threatened. Fear is an appeal to increase your level of safety. Frustration or resentment motivates us to change something in a relationship. Basically, negative emotions are there to alert us that something needs to change and to motivate us to make that change. Even Positive Emotions Have Downsides
Positive psychologists also argue that while there are many benefits to positive emotional states like hope, joy, and gratitude, there are also negative effects that can come from them. Optimism, for example, has been linked to many beneficial outcomes for health and happiness as well as personal success. 4 ﻿﻿﻿﻿
Unchecked optimism, however, can lead to unrealistic expectations and even dangerous risks that can lead to loss and all of the negative feelings that can come with it. More uncomfortable emotional states like anxiety, however, can lead to motivation to make changes that can create more success and avoid danger. Negative emotions are designed to keep us safe and to motivate us to improve our lives, just as positive emotions are. Strategies for Managing Negative Emotions
The field of positive psychology is experiencing a "second wave" of research that is focused not only on what makes us happy, resilient, and able to thrive but also on the dark side of happiness.