18 Mar Finding happiness…by overcoming negativity bias
by Joe Wilner from Psych Central
Negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger are natural and adaptive to aid in our survival.
However there are many times when these emotions get the best of us and seem to cause more problems as opposed to enhancing survival.
The key is to distinguish between productive and counterproductive emotions. When we are experiencing overwhelming guilt and shame, or when anger is leading to resentful aggression are times when emotions get the best of us.
Negative emotions can overtake us and really skew our perception of the world. One reason is because of the negativity bias. Negative emotions have a longer shelf life and hold a more enduring impact on mood than do positive emotions. Simply put, bad is stronger than good when it comes to emotions.
Though fortunately, on the same ticket is a concept called positivity offset. Basically, positive emotional appraisal is more common that negative. People tend to rate neutral situations as more positive than negative, and express their daily life to be at least mildly good.
If you tend to have a negative attitude and outlook a good place to start experiencing greater positivity is learning to neutralize negative emotions.
Here are some tips to overcome the negative emotions in your life…
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