yes yes this is walking up the emotional scale - first acknowledging the emotion exists then accepting it and finding your path of least resistance to the next level up imho thats where the trip ups happen because the next step is inherently subjective to the individual there is no right way   for example say youre in anxiety andor despair you absolutely should acknowledge these emotions and doing so is a mindful act and if youve practiced this its more likely youll catch it early on and be able to pivot your thoughts to a more balanced perspective   but if youve spent a lot of time feeling anxious and despairing trying to go from there to say contentedness - or even calm - is just too far of a leap energetically its more natural to let your next emotion rise up rather than forcing one and the next one up is anger which most people have a problem with allowing in themselves if the anger happens and you then condemn yourself for feeling anger you just loop back down to anxietydespair and the cycle repeats indefinitely until you break it   so how do you break it sometimes youve just got too much momentum going on to do anything other than find something else to focus on this is where exercise can help or sleeping occupational therapy or anything that totally takes your attention for a little while  once you let the bad feelings be forgotten for a bit the next time you feel them notice them again notice what it feels like to notice then see if you cant work yourself up into anger or frustration like   these thoughts are so stupid theyre stealing my joy and i am letting them how dare they i am so frustrated ive spent so much time on these thoughts im never gonna get away from them no fuck that i decide now that i am what else could i be thinking about i could think about something that i enjoy that makes me feel good i deserve to feel good i deserve to pet my cat or draw or play a game or walk outside or eat something i love there is nothing more valuable to me than feeling good there is nothing wrong with feeling good just for the hell of it fuck it im gonna do something fun  and there youve talked yourself up into getting mad then frustrated hopeless then the first tinge of hopefulness is felt it doesnt even need to go that far - anger can feel like relief when you move to it from despair so hang out there for a little bit punch something smash some cardboard boxes get in touch with your anger and it will lead you upwards into hope and contentedness and joy   the only work is to let yourself feel whatever it is and deeply lovingly the rest is quite literally not your job effort is resistance mindful awareness is allowance and the universe is infinite unconditional allowance - so allow anything  align with the power of the whole universe it will not lead you astray - it cannot for it is law  your natural state is that of wellbeing your natural state is that of vibrant health and abundant prosperity your natural state is that of joy negative emotions feel so bad because they defy the natural order of the universe a bad feeling is no different from graded bumps on the side of the road an indicator that this isnt where youre meant to be  i apologize for rambling - this is near  dear to my heart i speak only from my own experience and this is the process i use on a daily basis law of attraction and abraham hicks have been massive inspiration for me i hope anyone reading this knows you are so so endlessly loved and worthy and right and whole the basis of life is freedom the objective of life is joy the result of life is growth love  light to you all dear souls