How to Deal With Negative Emotions and Stress

September 2, 2019

Dr. Srikanth Reddy

#Best Psychologist and De-Addiction Specialist in Indore

This is a general problem for many people: just how are we supposed to deal with negative emotions that keep coming up when we’re stressed or hurt? Should we stuff our anger and frustration away and pretend it doesn’t exist, so we can minimize the fallout from these emotions? Or should we risk making things worse by saying or doing the wrong thing? As it turns out, “stuffing emotions” is definitely not the healthiest option and there are easy techniques that anyone can use.

If you’ve wondered what to do with these feelings, however, you are not alone in struggling with negative emotions. Many people have the same question about stress and coping. When they feel overcome with negative emotions like hurt, frustration or anger, they know they shouldn’t pretend they feel nothing, but they also don’t want to dwell on negative feelings and ruminate. But while most of us have heard that these are not healthy strategies for stress relief, what other options are there?

Understand Your Emotions

Look within and try to pinpoint the situations that are creating the stress and negative emotions in your life.

Negative emotions can come from a triggering event: an overwhelming workload, for example.
Negative emotions are also the result of our thoughts surrounding an event; the way we interpret what occur can alter how we experience the event and whether or not it causes stress.

Change What You Can

Take what you’ve learned from my first recommendation and put it into practice. Cut down on your stress triggers and you’ll find yourself feeling negative emotions less frequently.

This could include:

Cutting down on job stress.
Learning the practices of assertive communication (so you don’t feel trampled by people).
Changing negative thought patterns through a procedure known as cognitive restructuring.

Find an Outlet

Making changes in your life can cut down on negative emotions, but it won’t eliminate your stress triggers entirely. As you make changes in your life to bring about less frustration, you will also require finding healthful outlets for dealing with these emotions.

Regular exercise can give an emotional lift as well as an outlet for negative emotions.
Meditation can help you find some inner “space” to work with, so your emotions don’t feel so overwhelming.
Finding opportunities for having fun and getting more laughter in your life can also change your perspective and relieve stress.