Life is a long roller coaster ride of emotions. Sometimes you feel sad, sometimes you feel happy, sometimes you feel excited, and sometimes you feel gloomy. Having a wide range of emotions is part of being human, some of these emotions are positive and some are negative. Whether it is love, happiness, excitement, or fulfillment, positive emotions make us feel good. However, negative emotions like sadness, anger, envy, anxiety, and disappointment can be mentally draining and challenging to deal with.

In order to be emotionally fit, we must learn to cope with negative emotions effectively. Here are ten ways to do that:

1) Don’t suppress negative emotions

Often, we tend to deal with negative emotions by suppressing them. But it is a short-term escape not a long-term remedy, as it hampers your physical and psychological well being, over time. So, reflecting on your negative emotions, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, is the key to understanding the root causes and addressing the feelings positively.

2) Identify what emotion you are actually feeling

Dealing with negative emotions starts with identifying them. Often people confuse one feeling for another. Is it anger, frustration, irritation, contempt, envy or something else? It is necessary to understand why you feel the way you do. While experiencing a negative emotion, take a step back, acknowledge that there is a negative emotion, and then ask yourself – What emotion am I feeling right now?

3) Recognize your triggers

Understanding where a negative emotion is coming from is as important as understanding what emotion you are feeling. Everyone has different triggers that lead to negative emotions. Identifying your triggers can help you anticipate and manage negative emotions way before they start affecting your mental health. Triggers can come in many forms – it could be a stressful situation, a person, an object, a topic, a place, or a particular day. For example, it is natural to feel grief, even after years of losing a loved one, if you come across an object that belonged to them when cleaning the house.

4) Mindfulness

Mindfulness comes from a sense of self-awareness, which can be attained by being in the present and aware of your thoughts or feelings. It’s a powerful tool for managing negative emotions. It helps to recognize when you’re experiencing negative emotions and allows you to process them without any judgment or feeling overwhelmed.

5) Engage in a physical activity

Whether it’s going for a long walk, jog, yoga, playing an outdoor game, or hitting the gym, indulging in physical activity is an effective way to manage negative emotions. The release of dopamine and serotonin from physical activity helps boost your mood and release pent-up tension.

6) Indulge in self-care

Self-care is an effective way to deal with negative emotions and improve your mental health. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by negative emotions, giving your mind the care it deserves can help you feel better. Self-care can be as simple as taking a warm bath, sleeping mindfully, reading a book, painting, listening to music, or spending time with your friends or family. Today, there are so many mental health and emotional fitness apps that offer different types of self-care tools, such as journaling, meditation, mood tracking, breath work, games, and more.

With Mind Alcove, you have access to self-care tools, such as journaling, mood tracking, an inclusive, anonymous community, as well as valuable statistics about your progress.

7) Talk to someone when it gets overwhelming

No matter how self-sufficient and strong you are when it comes to dealing with your emotions, sometimes it can still get overwhelming and you may feel the need to talk to someone. Talking to someone you trust can help you express yourself without any filters and manage negative emotions. That trustworthy person who gives you a safe, secure, non-judgemental space could be anyone – friend, family member, partner, or your colleague.

8) Practice gratitude

Practising gratitude revolves around celebrating the little things in life and being grateful for them. It is a beautiful way to thank the universe for this gift of life that keeps on giving. It naturally makes us focus on the positives during any interaction or situation and helps us deal with negative emotions right at their onset. When you focus on what you are grateful for, it begins to shift your mindset and make you feel more positive.

Explore gratitude journaling with Mind Alcove to start writing about things in your life that you are grateful for.

9) Stay positive with daily affirmations

Daily affirmations can replace negative emotions with positive ones. They are a perfect way to stay focused, motivated, and positive. So whenever you experience a negative emotion, overturn it with a positive affirmation by saying it to yourself at least five times (experts recommend twenty one times) and see how it changes the way you feel.

At Mind Alcove, you can practise a variety of daily affirmations, for well-being, relationships, professional growth, and happiness.

10) Seek professional help when you struggle

There is no shame in seeking help. If you are struggling to manage negative emotions even after trying most or all of the above, it is time for you to seek professional help. A mental health coach or therapist can help you identify the root cause, your triggers, and further develop healthy coping mechanisms by offering consistent support and guidance tailored for you.

There is no way you can avoid or suppress a negative emotion for a long time as it is likely to impact your overall well-being. When you go through an overwhelming emotion, try any of the ways mentioned above to deal with it the healthy way.
Remember, feeling negative emotions is part of being human. So, don’t ever let it hold you back.

A Note For You: Mind Alcove is your daily, go-to, safe space where you can journal your thoughts and feelings, track your mood, and your progress, and also be part of a caring, inclusive and anonymous community.

Indulging in self-care every day is essential for your emotional fitness. Download Mind Alcove app and give your mind the care it deserves.