Negative Emotion Analysis

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At a convention in Los Angeles I once attended, spiritual speaker Teal Swan said “The reason we suffer from our emotion is not because of the emotion itself, but because of our resistance to that particular emotion”. There is so much truth to that sentiment because according to the Invitation to Psychology textbook, emotions are meant to “bind people together, motivate them to achieve their goals, and help them make decisions and plans” (434); however, to many, emotions are viewed as inconvenient and a form of weakness. Of the seven primary emotions- fear, anger, sadness, joy, surprise, disgust and contempt- the majority appear to have negative connotations. Only joy is truly a positive emotion, and while surprise is typically viewed positively, it too can have negative meaning in some aspects; the remaining five emotions are all labelled negatively. The ratio of negative to positive primary emotions is so lopsided because people tend to remember the bad events in their lives in …show more content…
In high school, I was in a relationship with someone who was constantly negative about both his own life and choices as well as mine. In the beginning, it was easy to overlook his comments constantly blaming others for his own failures in life. However, when his frustration and pessimistic attitude spilled over into my life, I could no longer stay with him. Luckily, I had a huge support system of positive people who were able to keep me content rather than depressed or regretting my choice to end the relationship. This is a part of how many relationships work, romantic or otherwise; one person is able to use his or her negative emotions to trap their partner or friend into staying with them. It is important that people understand their emotions so that they can learn to use them to improve lives, not diminish

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