How negative emotions can affect you

One evening Funmi waited for the traffic light to change so that she could cross the road to go home from work. As the light in her direction turned red, she stepped off to cross. Suddenly, Funmi froze as a car shot right past her through the red light and crashed into a car already in the intersection killing one person. Funmi was not hurt. The car that went through the red light was not that close to her, but she felt terrified, weak and very shaky. She was so upset that she started to cry. That evening at home, when Funmi thought about the accident she had seen, she felt nervous and shaky. Although Funmi was not physically hurt, her mind and body were experiencing a strong emotional reaction to a dangerous situation. Emotions rule our daily lives. We make decisions based on whether we are happy, angry, sad, bored, or frustrated. We choose activities and hobbies based on the emotions they incite.

What exactly are these Emotions?
Emotions include experiences such as love, hate, anger, trust, joy, panic, fear, and grief. Emotions are related to, but different from, feelings. Emotions are specific reactions to a particular event that are usually of fairly short duration. For most people feelings and emotions are very much the same. Normally, we would assume they are synonyms; two words with the same meaning. But, even though they are intertwine on each other, emotions and feelings are different things.

Emotions describe physiological states and are generated subconsciously. Usually, they are independent bodily responses to external or internal events. Feelings on the other hand, are subjective experiences of emotions and are driven by conscious thoughts and reflections. This means that we can have emotions without having feelings, however, we simply cannot have feelings without having emotions. Tricky Right?

Though our emotional state are a powerful force and an inescapable part of life, they can have a pretty significant effect on your health especially if they are negative emotions. Anger, frustration, fear, and other “negative emotions” are all part of the human experience and can lead to stress and various stress related issues.

It is interesting to note that certain emotions are known to be associated with pain in certain areas of your body. For example, those suffering from depression will often experience chest pains, even when there is nothing physically wrong with their heart. Extreme grief can also have a devastating impact, and research confirms that in the days following the loss of a loved one, your risk of suffering a heart attack increases by twenty-one (21) times.

Frequent anger is associated with a heightened risk of high blood pressure and heart problems, including heart attack and stroke. Research has also shown that people who get angry easily tend to die sooner than their calmer peers.

So How Do You Nurture Emotional Wellness?
Anger is a normal human emotion and certainly can have its place. It may serve as a warning that something is wrong or alert you to an impending physical or psychological trauma. The key is to channel your anger into a controlled and constructive outward expression. This can actually help release tension and stress.

An example of this would be:
1. Using your anger to fuel an intense exercise session, or to clean house.
2. If you tend to have a short fuse, using energy psychology techniques such as: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can go a long way to do you good. EFT can reprogram your body’s reactions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life, by stimulating different energy meridian points in your body. But this needs to be carried out in the presence of a therapist.
3. Making a point to be more mindful. Focusing on what you are doing and the sensations you are experiencing in the moment can also improve your mental and emotional outlook.
4. Also, make sure you get plenty of restorative sleep, as without it you are far more likely to lose emotional control.

Exercise is yet another foundational strategy for emotional wellness.
Emotional Freedom Techniques and various coaching techniques gives you the power to heal yourself, and take charge of your life, health and destiny. Depression remains one the deadliest silent killers in today’s world including Nigeria, and it springs off from our emotions. So rather than carry your burden alone. Call a Life coach or Therapist today.
For more information, call us on 08077077000 or send an email to info@olcang.com