The Positives of Negative Emotions (And How to Embrace Them)

Negative emotions like anger, fear, and sadness are part and parcel of the human experience. They’re infamous for causing stress hence we tend to avoid them like the plague.

However, research shows that embracing these emotions is vital to our well-being. Because life is complex and we’re bound to face hardships. The key is in embracing all our emotional experiences. So ultimately, we can adapt them towards personal improvement.

Why We Need Our Negative Emotions

Emotions are complex reactions to our thoughts and environment. They involve many biological and physiological processes within our bodies. That makes negative emotions completely natural. Most of the time, they’re even necessary.

1) They act as signals

Negative emotions exist to keep us safe and responsive to our experiences. The human race would long be extinct without them. They’re there to alert us of the dissonance between our systems and our surroundings so that we can take action. For instance:

• Fear signals that we need to move to a place of greater safety
• Jealousy signals an unhealthy comparison of ourselves with others
• Resentment indicates crossed boundaries or unspoken conflicts

2) They increase our effectiveness

Evolutionary psychologists Paul Andrews and J. Anderson Thomson assert that negative emotions have persisted for eons of evolution because they provide socio-cognitive benefits (1).

According to their influential article in the Journal of Psychological Review, we need moderate amounts of sadness and fear to assess social situations realistically. These emotions are also necessary for enhancing focus and spotting mistakes - all of which lead to success (2).

3) They create meaningful experiences

Evidence demonstrates that pain is often part of the most meaningful experiences in life (3).

Students in a 2018 Western Illinois University study reported that the tribulations associated with their education and relationships gave them tremendous meaning (4). Learning how to embrace these emotions provided them with the lessons needed to progress further in life.

4) They cultivate resilience

Exposure to negative emotions is essential for building the mental tools needed to cope with a crisis.

For example, “stress inoculation training” involves exposing people to triggering stimuli while guiding them to cope with their anger, fear, and anxiety. Research has shown that these methods are effective in cultivating emotional resilience (5).

💡Fun Fact: Research has clarified that our emotions are not directly responsible for health disorders and illnesses. Rather, it is the prolonged repression of emotions that manifests into diseases (6). On the flip side, the healthy expression of emotion has amazing benefits for physical and mental health.

How To Embrace Negative Emotions to Your Advantage

Amongst an array of uncomfortable emotions, we guess that you’re feeling worried about the future and feeling regretful about missed opportunities. And hey, they’re totally normal and valid.

Luckily, you can use these feelings to your advantage. To live more fully and be our most authentic selves, we to first face our pain, and not suppress it. Here’s how:

1) Welcome them

Allowing negative emotions to roam in may be a strange experience for most people. I mean, who wants to let anxiety, fear, and sadness through the door?

Know that emotions are fleeting by their very nature, so treat them as temporary guests. When we let in whatever arrives, allow it the space to simply be, and observe them non-judgmentally. They’ll usually roam freely and eventually leave.

2) Name them

Once you’ve mindfully observed and accepted the emotions that arise, give them a name.Labeling our distressing emotions is a way to validate our inner experience (7). It also has the added advantage of dialing down the intensity of those emotions. If you’re struggling to put your feelings into words, use the Wheel of Emotions provided below!