The Good about Feeling Bad
Anxiety, anger and sadness – these are just among the many undesirable emotions we really hate to experience. And in this world where the pursuit of happiness seems like an unending maze, it is easy to forget that even ‘bad’ feelings are healthy and can actually contribute to our happiness and well-being. And that denying these feelings can leave us feeling emotionally worse in the end.
So how do experiencing negative emotions benefit us?
Negative emotions make us stronger. Like failures and mistakes do. For instance, guilt feelings motivate us to be more socially sensitive and caring towards other people. While feeling guilty is really uncomfortable and emotionally tormenting, it sometimes serves as a venue to show more kindness and compassion to others. In one study, researchers found that adults prone to feeling guilty were less likely to drive intoxicated, steal, use illegal drugs, or assault another person.
It strengthens our performance. Doubt is another unwanted feeling that sometimes discourages us from trying new things and unleashing our true potential. At the same time, it prompts us to take stock of our skills and to work to improve in areas where they might be deficient. Cleveland State University researcher Karl Wheatley found that when teachers experience uncertainty about their performance, these feelings spur collaboration with others, foster personal reflection, motivate personal development, and prepare the person to accept change.
It helps us solve a problem. Experiencing negative emotions can also help us solve complex issues. In hospitals for instance, anxiety fuels doctors to be more careful, quickly discover solutions, and come up with better strategies to save a patient’s life. Even doubt can also help. When we’re in doubt, we let our creative juices flow to come up with a better solution to a problem, thus, increasing the possibility of solving it effectively.
It makes us more creative. Working on a project? Need a perfect plan? Instead of exhausting your brain trying to think of it, take a walk and free your mind. Surprisingly, mindlessness can open the door to the ‘aha’ moment and lead you to a burst of insights. A study by Ghent University found that those who started the day with negative emotions but ended it with positive ones had the greatest creative output – uniformly, the most productive days were those that began with some sort of negativity. This means they channelled their negativity to creativity.
It makes you more productive. In his study review, Wharton professor Adam Grant found that "defensive pessimists" – those who tend to picture what could go wrong in any given situation; perform just as well as "strategic optimists" in a variety of tasks. He notes that what most determines success is achieving the right balance between optimism and pessimism, and choosing preparation strategies that match your thinking styles.
It makes you a better person. Envy can trigger us to feel that we are lacking. But the emotion (in its more benign form) can actually spur us to better ourselves, according to a recent Scientific American article.
It helps us cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness practices can change our relationship with negative emotions, allowing us to experience them without judgement or shame. In meditation, for instance, you can view your thoughts and emotions with a totally unbiased attitude.