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Too Much Positive Thinking Can Be Counterproductive — Here’s Why You Must Acknowledge Your Negative Emotions

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If you read health and wellness blogs, you might be under the impression that it’s important to think positive all the time.

There’s nothing wrong with being grateful for good things that occur in your life, but there’s also a time and place for acknowledging when things are not so great.

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It’s important to point out when bad things are happening in life.

Let’s delve into some reasons why.

3. Denying Emotions Is Never Good

Author Brené Brown did a podcast about human suffering and mentioned that it’s important to acknowledge negative emotions in an Unlocking Us podcast.

She says,

“The emotions that you are feeling, that we feel, when we deny them, double down.

They burrow. They fester. They metastasize.

Not only do our feelings double down and grow, they invite shame over for the party.”

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2. Acknowledging Negativity Can Help You Become More Empathetic

Everyone struggles. Whether it’s spousal/partner issues, problems at work, or being unable to spend time with loved ones during special occasions, we all have something to grieve.

There’s some solace in knowing that you’re not the only one who has lost a friend, family member, partner, or job.

A lot of people struggle with paying bills or feeding their families. Naming the things that cause you grief can help you and others too.

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1. It’s Never Good to Minimize Your Feelings

Minimizing feelings or circumstances makes it hard to find solutions to your problems. If you’re always happy, what incentive do you have to seek changes?

Hopefully, these tips will help you realize that although positive thinking is helpful, you can and should talk about the things that bother or sadden you.

What has helped you deal with life’s negativity? The comments section is probably a great place to crowd-source the benefits of acknowledging negative events or emotions, or finding practical solutions.