In our popular culture, a life filled with positivity seen through rose-colored glasses seems to be the ideal standard. I argue that by not acknowledging the negative emotions of being human, we are actually doing harm to our mental and physical health. It is proven that those who resist exploring their negative emotions increase their risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and many other chronic illnesses. Only by facing our feelings of injustice and expressing them in a healthy way can we truly let go of the toxicity and heal our minds and bodies.
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Today I explain how ignoring your negative emotions could be suppressing your digestive and reproductive systems, ways that smothering your negative emotions could be impacting your hormone levels and fight or flight response, and how to listen to what your negative emotions are trying to tell you in order to reconnect to your nervous system, plus much more.
Instead of pretending your negative emotions don’t exist, try taking the good feelings with the bad to find true self-acceptance. Listen to your emotions and allow yourself to really feel how you react to these emotions to understand what your emotions are moving you to do.
Do you feel the part that negative thoughts and feelings are playing on your health? Share with us in the comments below.
In This Episode
- Acknowledging that the negative emotions you experience are there for a reason
- Refined strategies to accept and cope with your negative thoughts and feelings
- The importance of bracing all of the emotions in the human experience
- Understanding the different physiological symptoms of sadness
- Why you should start facing your negative emotions to decrease your risk of death
Quotes
“Research shows that allowing ourselves to accept and experience emotions like anger and sadness is imperative to our mental and physical health.” (2:34)
“Real life can get messy, right? And the negative emotions that we experience are just as vital as the positive ones in helping us understand the natural cycles of life.” (5:59)
“When we don’t accept, evaluate, and express our emotions, however bad they may seem, these emotions can lead to stress and anxiety that eventually becomes a chronic illness.” (10:06)
“Instead of pretending that they don’t exist, let this be a reminder to allow yourself to embrace the negative emotions that we all feel from time to time.” (16:30)
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