Embracing Darker Moods Makes You Feel Better

Pressure to feel upbeat can make you feel downbeat, while embracing your darker moods can actually make you feel better in the long run.

Embracing darker moods makes you feel better. Image credit: tasnimnews.com (CC BY 4.0)

"We found that people who habitually accept their negative emotions experience fewer negative emotions, which adds up to better psychological health," said study senior author Iris Mauss, an associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley.

At this point, researchers can only speculate on why accepting your joyless emotions can defuse them, like dark clouds passing swiftly in front of the sun and out of sight.

"Maybe if you have an accepting attitude toward negative emotions, you're not giving them as much attention," Mauss said. "And perhaps, if you're constantly judging your emotions, the negativity can pile up."

The study tested the link between emotional acceptance and psychological health in more than 1,300 adults.

The results suggest that people who commonly resist acknowledging their darkest emotions, or judge them harshly, can end up feeling more psychologically stressed.

By contrast, those who generally allow such bleak feelings as sadness, disappointment and resentment to run their course reported fewer mood disorder symptoms than those who critique them or push them away, even after six months. (Tasnim News Agency)

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