Every emotion that we have serves a purpose. What we call a negative emotion often serves as a deep catalyst for change. Usually the deep hidden reason behind the feeling negative is due to a need for one of the following basic needs to be expressed.
1. A need to love and be loved
2. To understand an be understood
3. To be able to make decisions that allow us to feel like we belong
Often the fear that leads us to believe that we will be denied any of the above basic human emotional needs is what can to depression. Depression is also experienced by individuals who cannot feel that they do not deserve any of the above three human conditions or that they are not allowed to experience it.
Negative emotions are not that negative because they can teach us great lessons about ourselves. They reflect our personal history, our cultural orientations and our limitations as personalities. If any of the three personal needs listed above are unmet it can lead to the inappropriate expression of thoughts and feelings. Over the long term this can result in the kind of deterioration of the psyche, personality and physical body that is characteristic of depression.
Emotions sometimes feel like separate entities that are eating a way at us, sucking our energies and throwing us off balance. Many of us are hypnotized by our negative emotions and even addicted to them. In this case emotions that were initially felt as pleasurable quickly end up as their painful opposite. And when we are in the midst of an emotional situation, we can be blinded by the dynamics of our emotions so that our perceptions and perspectives are no longer clear. Handling your emotions is absolutely crucial to having mental clarity and also avoiding a big case of depression as the result of a traumatic event.
The reason that negative feelings must be dealt with is because emotions are experienced throughout the entire human body. A negative thought or feeling can translate to an emotion that seems to affect everything: our muscles, voices, skins, sweat glands, hart rates and breathing. This is why depressed individuals always feel physically ill as well as sad, vacant or existential. The physical symptoms of depression are very real!
Sometimes the cure for depression is the expression of a so-called negative emotion can be healthy. Emotion that is bottled up for too long can cause sickness. For example it is natural to grieve the loss of a loved one. Refusing to face the grief over a long period of time could result in numbness or a severe case of depression. If you are in such a situation and are not feeling so great it might be time to see a doctor to see if you need temporary medical treatment or counseling to help you get through this difficult time in your life.
