What we think and feel influences our health. The emotions we experience freely and express without attachment or judgment don’t cause problems.
The issue is with the emotions and thoughts we repress. These are usually negative and fearful ones.
They can affect our mental energy and body negatively and increase the risk of health issues.
Managing Negative Emotions Is a Pivotal Life Skill
Negative behaviors and emotions of helplessness and hopelessness may result in chronic stress. This will distort the hormonal balance and reduce the brain chemicals we need to stay happy.
This will also affect the immune system negatively. Moreover, chronic stress has also been linked with a lower lifespan.
Hostility or repressed anger in several health problems like hypertension, heart disease, infection, and digestive problems.
Why Are Positive Emotions so Important for Our Health & Well-Being?
According to Barbara Fredrickson, a scientist, positive emotions help us widen our perspective of the world and inspire wonder, options, and creativity.
Moreover, by practicing positive emotions, we create a long-lasting emotional strength and we flourish, according to Fredrickson.
She has spent years researching and publishing both the emotional and physical advantages of positivity. Some of them are quicker recovery from heart stress, improved sleep, reduced colds, and a bigger sense of happiness.
Positive attitudes like gratitude, love, awe, playfulness, serenity, connection to others, and interest directly influence our health and well-being and we can learn to develop them through practice.
How to Overcome the Negativity Bias?
As we’re wired as humans to defend ourselves from loss and threats in life, we often prioritize the bad over the good.
Although this is a beneficial survival mechanism for those in a dangerous environment, the truth is that for most humans today, this issue is counter-productive.
We tend to spend a lot of time ruminating on the minor frustrations we experience and forget about the good things like awe, wonder, and gratitude in our lives.
The Role of Forgiveness & Gratitude in Getting Rid of Negativity Bias
Forgiveness means fully accepting that something negative happened and understanding the negative emotions concerning this event.
According to research, by learning how to forgive, we boost our physical, mental, and emotional health.
This is something that can be learned. It was shown by the Stanford Forgiveness Project. During it, 260 adults learned how to forgive in a period of six weeks.
The results showed that 70 percent of the participants had reduced emotions of hurt, 13 percent had a reduction in anger, and 27 percent had lower physical aches like pain, dizziness, and gastrointestinal discomfort.
Gratitude helps us focus on the good parts of life. It has an amazing effect on our emotional well-being.
In fact, in one study, the participants who counted their blessings were also happier, worked out more, had fewer physical issues, and slept much better than the other group. Joy and gratitude are linked. But, it’s not the joy that makes us grateful, it’s the gratitude that causes joy.
Emotional resilience can be built through positive emotions. They help our body heal from negativity. By cultivating positive emotions, we can become stronger with time and be resilient in stressful situations and crises.
People who build this resilience tend to be able to go through tougher feelings like loss, frustration, sorrow, pain, and grief easier, without falling apart.
These people don’t deny the pain, but rather keep up a sense of positivity which guides them towards healing and overcoming the negativity.
Some people are also capable of showing hope and optimism in times of struggle, knowing that their hardships will help them grow and expand their look on life.
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