How To Deal With Negative Emotions (5 Strategies)

If you’re reading this article, chances are you’re going through a tough time and need some advice on how to deal with negative emotions.

Perhaps you’ve been trying your best to feel good, but the sadness and negativity you feel infect your every thought.

I understand.

Often, I find myself craving my teen years, when my carefree attitude in life was also intertwined with happiness and excitement.

Sure, there were some bad days, but I mostly felt happy. I’d sing in the mornings and have a blast during the day.

My life was great.

And then I hit adulthood and felt bombarded with “life problems.”

Negative emotions were so toxic that I couldn’t wait to be over them. And yet, I found myself developing some kind of acceptance that feeling negative and hopeless is part of daily life.

Most people around me are in a similar situation, and that makes me think that it’s normal to live like this.

But it’s not.

It’s not normal to live with negative emotions all the time.

In life, I think the only form of balance we should be striving for is one between positive and negative emotions.

And if you are able to experience more positive than negative, congratulations; you’re living better than a lot of other people.

I want to feel that way. And I want to share that with you as well.

For the most part, I’ve managed to pull myself out of this situation. But it’s a battle that must always be fought.

So for today’s article, I want to focus on how to deal with negative emotions in the best possible way.

5 Ways To Deal With Bad Emotions

1. Feel It Through To The End

Acceptance of how you feel is really the first step towards managing negative feelings.

What often happens is that we try to run away from how we feel by indulging in things we normally would when we’re happy.

And by doing that, we expect to feel good. But when we don’t, that’s when we start to spiral out of control and start to lose trust in ourselves.

Make it a priority to be aware of how you really feel.

Address the emotion, look at it from a third-eye perspective, and ask yourself why you feel this way.

Really explore your feelings, own them, and then give yourself the room and space to feel bad.

Do it with the intention of healing.

If today is filled with negative emotions, that’s okay. I’ll try to start over tomorrow and give myself another chance to feel positive.

That’s my approach now, ever since I spoke to a friend who swears by this. And trust me, she’s one of the happiest and most positive people I know.

Keep doing that each and every time you go through a bout of negativity.

We suffer more from running away from pain than we do from facing it head-on.

Our brains are wired for fight or flight. Two options exist. And yet, we rely only on one. Flight. Sometimes, you have to opt to fight by standing your ground and feeling the emotions to heal them.

2. Focus Your Mind On Exercise

I don’t know if this is considered a cheat or a hack, but when I find negative emotions too overwhelming, I work out hard.

By doing this, I start to feel good.

On one end of the stick, we have endorphins that are released during and after exercise.

Those feel-good hormones help a ton.

But I also find relief and some happiness in being able to choose a form of pain that I have total control over.

It’s not easy because my mind will bombard me with every reason not to exercise.

And yet, by working out, I tend to work through negative emotions.

Negative emotions tend to make you feel stuck, right? Well, exercise is movement. Not just physical, though. It’s a reminder that life and time are always in a state of movement.

So are we really going to stay stuck at this moment with negative emotions? Unlikely. Improbably.

3. Detach Actions From Feelings

Ever notice how, when you’re feeling negative emotions, your day is dictated by them?

Mine were terrible.

I struggled to get work done and stick to my routine when negative emotions took over my heart and mind.

And yet, there is immense importance in ruling your actions during times of uncertainty, anxiety, anger, and fear.

You see, despite people claiming that we should try to control our feelings, we ought to be controlling our actions despite our feelings.

I’ve come to understand how instrumental self-control is to success and overall life fulfillment.

The next time you find yourself feeling negative emotions and that voice in your mind is telling you to give up, do the opposite.

By controlling your actions, you are rewiring your brain to accept emotions as supplementary in nature with regard to the choices and actions you make.

When you can command this level of control over yourself, then feelings will not rule you.

4. Remind Yourself That This Pain Is Temporary

It’s crazy how easy it is for us to feel like bad times are going to last forever, despite the many times we overcame them and found happiness again.

Allow negative emotions and thoughts to fester, and you will inevitably reach that point of feeling like this is how you will feel all the time.

At that moment, you have to remind yourself of the many times you thought that and it never turned out to be true.

That’s why I encourage people to start journaling.

Ever since I took up journaling as a daily habit, I have been able to look back and detail exactly when I was able to go from sad to happy.

Trust me when I tell you that this is an empowering habit to form.

With that being said, whenever you find yourself feeling too negative, remind yourself that good times always come around.

5. Deal With The Cause Of Your Negative Emotion

At some point, after you’ve exhausted every means available to feel better, you need to look at what caused your negative emotions.

I like to separate it into chronic and acute emotional pain.

Acute emotional pain is not unhealthy, to an extent.

It can often be attributed to an event that has occurred in your life. By dealing with the situation or choosing to move past it, the negative emotions you feel will pass with it. And you grow stronger as a person.

Chronic emotional pain is far more dangerous.

This can come in the form of depression, anxiety, heartbreak, and so on and so forth.

These types of negative emotions can fester and stick around if you don’t deal with the cause.

I strongly recommend you treat the cause as soon as possible. Here’s a more detailed look at how you can stop hating yourself.

Even if that means seeking out professional help, do it.

When you finally take control of your life by taking an active step toward overcoming the reason for your long-term negative emotions, doors start to open and you begin to evolve.

It may not be a quick fix, but the road is leading towards happiness and positivity.

Remind yourself that you are strong, even if your perception is that you aren’t.

Final Thoughts

Despite how much we want to experience the best parts of life without the bad, they exist in synchrony.

One of the reasons you want to get over feeling negative is because you know how good it feels to be happy.

Allow that to help you during this tough time.

Feeling negative right now is the first step towards feeling positive and happy again.

At the end of suffering are bliss and peace. I think you would really like what I have to say about starting over in life again.

That’s what working hard has taught me. Exercise is a good example of what that feels like.

But it applies to life as a whole.

You may be suffering now, but if you work through it, great times and great feelings await you.

By trying to learn how to deal with negative emotions, I can guarantee you that many other valuable life lessons will follow.

So hang in there.

Good times are coming!

If you need coaching or require some advice on a relationship or dating emergency, you can visit my services page and get in contact. I offer email coaching and emergency email advice within 24 hours of receipt.