Our negative emotions are there to tell us something. Acknowledge them
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here are five main categories of emotions: happy, sad, angry, scared, and confused. We feel our feelings because Hashem created us this way. We’re supposed to have emotions. Of the five categories of emotions, only one is pleasant-feeling — the “happy” category.
The other four groups of feelings are negative emotions; they’re unpleasant to experience and experiencing them may lead us astray cognitively, behaviorally, physically, and spiritually. For example, when we find ourselves immersed in feelings of despair and hopelessness for a significant period of time, we may start to believe that there’s no point in trying anymore (a cognitive distortion). We may withdraw from productive activity or social connection (a behavioral tendency). We may neglect our health in numerous ways (leading to physical decline). We may stop begging Hashem to help us (falling into spiritual numbness). Experiencing long periods of negativity is actually attributed to the yetzer hara.
However, negative emotions aren’t all bad! While a lengthy stint of negativity can be very destructive, a measured amount of the same emotion can actually be highly productive. There’s a reason why Hashem gave us these emotional tendencies in the first place.
Negative emotions are signals. Like a compass, they point us in the right direction, prompting an action tendency designed to move us forward in life.
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