Day 17 Overcoming Negative Emotions

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19 Apr 2021

#mindfulness #negativeemotions #breathinginbreathingout

-Taken from 30 Days of Mindfulness email subscription

Turning up the heat

We all feel negative emotions from time to time - it’s a natural part of life and a part of everybody's human experience.

Negative emotions can sometimes be beneficial, informing us that something is wrong and we need to take action.

Sometimes these emotions get too much and we don’t know how to deal with them. This usually spills out into massive rages, stress that takes us to the breaking point and depressions that make us feel very low.

There a way to alleviate some of this.

It’s a quick technique you can use whenever you notice yourself experiencing these negative emotions like anger, anxiety and depression.

When you notice the emotion bubbling up inside you, try to stop for a moment. Try to become aware of your breathing and return you to the present moment, what’s happening here and now.

Now imagine that you have a dial that changes the intensity of the emotion. It’s currently dialled at about 4, and the values range from 1 to 10.

It might be tempting to try and turn the dial down to take the pain away. But you are going to do the opposite because the way to overcome the emotion is to go through it, not push it away.

Imagine yourself turning up the dial to 7 and really feel the emotion as it gets even more intense. Try to stay conscious of your breathing as you really feel the emotion fully.

Once you feel ok at this level, take a few deep breaths to calm yourself.

The next step is to imagine turning the dial all the way past 10 and up to 11. It’s now off the charts! Try to hang on in there and really feel the negative emotion fully.

It may hurt for a moment but shortly afterwards the emotion will start to fade away, leaving you feeling lighter and calmer.

This is one way to overcome negative emotions.

To recap:

When you feel a negative emotion, pause for a moment
Imagine a dial that changes the intensity of the emotion from 1 to 10
Turn the dial up to 7 and allow yourself to feel it fully
Turn the dial up to 11, feel it fully and try hang on in there until it fades

Top Tip

The way to overcome negative emotions is to go through them and really feel them fully. Remember, we try to overcome negative emotions rather than suppress it to make it go away.

第16天：克服负面情绪

——摘自《30天正念电邮专栏》

重振心气

自然不过地，我们总会在生活中经历这样那样的负面情绪。有时这些情绪确有益处，因为它们警示我们犯了什么错误，而我们又该些什么来亡羊补牢。但有时这些情绪会过量施压而变得难以招架，这往往会导致暴怒，可能造成将我们推向崩溃边缘的压力，还有让我们心情低落异常的致郁感。

但其实有一种法能将这一切一扫而空。

这招“速效宽心丸”包打一切可能缠上你的负面情绪，包括但不限于愤怒、焦虑与抑郁。

当你感受到负面情绪在内心泛起时，先尝试暂停一下。试着注意你的呼吸并回归当下，回归现时现地所正在发生的一切。

现在，再尝试想象你拥有一个能够调节情绪烈度的表盘——它的指针通常会指向刻度4，而实际波动范围则从1-10不等。

也许把指针一撸到底以荡涤负面情绪是一个很有吸引力的选项，但我还是建议你反其道而行之。原因很简单：克服负面情绪的最好法是击破它、看穿它，而不是抽身远遁、弃之不理。

想象一下：你把情绪表盘的指针向上推到7，感受更为炽烈的情绪。在全心全意感受情绪的同时，试着对自己的呼吸保持清晰留意。

如果到了这一步你仍然感觉不赖，那你就可以深呼吸几下，让自己放松下来了。

下一步是将表盘上调至10甚至11，这时情绪终于爆表了！很棒，现在努力保持这种爆表状态以充分感受这种负面情绪。