You know we all have those days, right? We sometimes eat more than we should or stay up way too late. We mess up, break promises, and sometimes don’t live up to our own expectations. Sound familiar? And it’s no secret that these slip-ups can bring on a whole bunch of negative feelings: guilt, shame, even anger. Now the trick is, how can we handle these feelings without letting them ruin our day?
Let’s first talk about three ways you might be trying to handle these emotions right now, and then we’ll dive into a very helpful technique you should really consider using all the time.
Have you ever tried to just avoid these emotions? Maybe bury them deep down or explain them away, or even turn to things like alcohol or drugs to make them stop? But here’s the catch: every time you avoid something because of negative feelings, you’re actually giving those feelings control. So what should you do instead? Give yourself a little space to understand and deal with what’s really causing these feelings.
Another way you might be dealing with these emotions is by pretending they’re not there. You might tell yourself you never felt that way in the first place. But the more you deny a feeling, the more it grows, until it’s too big to ignore. So what’s the solution? Acknowledge the emotion. Accept it for what it is and let it naturally fade away.
Sometimes, the negative emotion is so strong it starts to define you. You might even start to take pride in it, saying things like, “I’m just an angry person,” or thinking you have it worse than anyone else. But now, you’ve become the emotion. What can you do? Let it out. Journal about it, talk to a friend and do whatever you need to let the emotion pass. And, why not start focusing on positive emotions? Let them come in and replace the negative ones.
Now here’s the ultimate technique: learning.
Realising that your emotions are there to teach you something about yourself can be a game-changer. Negative emotions aren’t just there to make you feel bad; they can help you grow and change in really positive ways. Like when you feel angry about something unjust, and use that anger to make a positive change in the world.
As one of the UK’s foremost hypnotherapists with over 30 years of experience in helping reduce the toxic impact negative emotions can have on your physical and mental wellbeing, please get in touch with me at Anthony Wilson Hypnotherapy Colchester Essex.