Dealing with depression and negative emotions

Dealing with depression can be made easier if we understand and accept the negative emotions that inevitably arise. In some ways, the condition of depression is the constant presence of a difficult emotion. So much so, that in severe depression, an emotion starts to affect all aspects of living. Therefore, if we can learn to deal with difficult emotions, depression could be prevented or successfully navigated.

Emotions might be viewed as mental phenomena that also influence the body. Essentially, the mechanistic origins of feelings are not known. That they affect us deeply is obviously beyond doubt. With awareness comes knowledge of limitation. Perhaps, this knowing of our limitedness is the origin of difficult emotions. In dealing with depression and negative emotions, we ought to remember that painful things can happen.

One freeing perspective to adopt is to see that without negative emotions, we would not grasp the value or meaning of enabling or uplifting feelings. Positive emotions acquire and possess value because of the presence of their difficult counterparts. Think about it. If we were to be happy all the time, would there actually be any happiness? Without sorrow, we would not know what joy felt like. Even though they are hard to bear, negative emotions have meaning.

Perhaps, in navigating depression and difficulty, we should shift focus from how we are feeling to what we can do to keep heading in our chosen direction. A reasonably simple way to do this is just to acknowledge that feelings are not all that we can be aware of. We can be aware of qualities too. Qualities like kindness and compassion. We can choose to be kind despite our pain. When we do that, we are reminded that others suffer too. Seeing this clearly lessens the intensity of negative emotions, and we can once again prepare to head where we want to go.

If you want to learn how you can consult us online for more insights, please click here.