How can positive emotions improve your mental health when managing stress?

Our brain has the amazing natural gift to persuade our feelings. We can either convince ourselves to invite negativity or encourage positivity. You truly have that power by repeatedly reminding yourself what a great day it is and the good work you're doing. When you feed your brain with happy thoughts, happy events will follow. Although outside forces may bring sad events to our world, only you have the power over how you feel and react. Try starting your day on a positive note and no matter what happens throughout your day, find the positive lesson in it and continue to invite brightness into your life. Your brain will react to your direction.

We can initiate positive emotions by making light of minuscule daily issues. Remembering what’s important in life, enjoying time no matter what. Become the optimist and NOT the pessimist. Smiling encourages calm and happiness. Pass it on throughout the day. You will be amazed at the reaction you get from others. Engaging in happiness promotes happiness!

The entire spectrum of emotions, spanning from joy to fear, reflects evolutionary adaptive responses to diverse situations. For instance, fear can mobilize resources to confront threats, while sadness can facilitate acceptance and processing of losses. Even emotions commonly labeled as negative, such as anger or disgust, function to establish boundaries and protect personal interests. Therefore, all emotions are perceived as positive insofar as they contribute to emotional well-being and effective adaptation to life's complexities.

I understand that all emotions are positive, as they have allowed the human being, as defenseless as any other, to maintain our species. Emotions are chemical reactions that our organism produces in response to stimuli. The feeling is the interpretation of this chemical reaction. I make a differentiation within the feelings according to how they interact in our behavior on the basis of vibration and I called them following the ancient Greeks: (a) feelings without vibration. (b) feelings with vibration b1) High-vibrational or soul-like feelings: love, happiness, calm, acceptance, etc. b2) Low-vibrational or non-soul-like feelings: fear, anger, sadness, confusion, melancholy, laziness, etc.

I would change the word ‘positive’ to ‘enabling’ emotions. Emotions are nor positive or negative, they just are. And all of them are there for a reason and need to be heard as valuable information come with them. Having said that, encouraging certain emotions open posibilities for change, creativity, cooperation and wellbeing.

To put it into perspective, long distance runners put our bodies through a lot of stress. It's a known fact (and I attest) that when things get tough, if we don't focus on the positive, the mind spirals down into a hole, where we can only think about what hurts, and how fatigued our muscles are. That's when we give up. It's no different in any other stressful situation.

You approach a stressful situation with a completely different mindset when you have positive emotions than when you let yourself be carried away by frustration, fear, hopelessness, and anger. These latter emotions are poor advisers and undermine you and your results. On the other hand, when you have positive emotions, you operate from a place where you can handle the situation: you have self-confidence, you know your worth, and you dare to think out of the box in a solution-oriented manner. After the stressful situation, you will also find it easier to enter the relaxation phase, and both your body and mind will recover more quickly from the stress.

Positive emotions are not just momentary pleasures. From my perspective, actively cultivating and embracing positive emotions can be a powerful strategy for maintaining well-being in the face of stress. Firstly, they are key to developing resilience, the ability to bounce back from difficulties. They enhance traits such as optimism, confidence, and self-efficacy, empowering you to approach challenging situations with a sense of hope and capability. Secondly, positive emotions can help counterbalance the effects of negative emotions associated with stress, such as fear, frustration, or sadness. By shifting focus to positive aspects and fostering positive feelings, emotional intensity can be lessened, leading to improved mental health.

This article seems to be mixing up positive emotions with positive thoughts. All emotions are valid, and their purpose is to trigger action of some kind (eg anxiety prompts us to avoid danger). So it is misleading to describe emotions as positive or negative. However, cultivating a positive thought process can really help us to deal with difficult situations, develop resilience and increase feelings of happiness and confidence.

Knowing how the body and the mind work together is one of the cornerstones of understanding how positive emotions help with stress. In a practical way when you allow yourself to feel positive emotions (or even better... catch yourself moving towards a negative reaction and changing it IRT to a positive one) you learn the habit of how to stop and ask yourself how you feel at a somatic level and figure out what you are thinking. With practice comes a discipline of curiousity for how your body works for you (as opposed to feeling victimized by pain, panic attacks, etc.). Taking the time to be wondrous about the mind, body spiritual connection is a doorway to finding out much more about how to feed your body with emotions that serve you.

Positive emotions can be selectively boosted through certain breathing practices. Breathing techniques that promote longer exhales cause the vagus nerve to send a signal to your brain. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system and eases the sympathetic nervous system. Wim Hof method, which involves a combination of meditation, breathing exercises, and exposure to cold creates positive emotion. Studies show daily practice increases positive emotions this over time, contributing to a significant reduction in stress. This can be helpful in anxiety and depression.

To truly cultivate our positive emotions into longer lasting moments we really have to look at how we define all of our emotions. All emotions are a pathway to peace, each one is a signpost to sanity; every emotion serves a purpose that empowers our ability to “choose joy” even in times of sorrow, to “choose bravery” even in our times of fear. When we only define certain emotions as worthwhile or appropriate we mistakenly deny ourselves our full experience with life. When we only like or only allow ourselves to feel a limited set of emotions we define as pleasant we close ourselves off from genuinely living. The recognition that there is still freedom to choose how we feel within the moments of life that feel overwhelming is a superpower.

Fostering positive emotions doesn't involve disregarding or overlooking life's negative aspects; instead, it revolves around striking a balance with the positive. To enhance your positive emotions, consider engaging in practices like savouring, expressing gratitude, and kindness, fostering optimism, and embracing humour. Savouring entails actively noticing and valuing the positive moments in your life, either by extending them in your memory or by sharing them with others.

We tend to think our feelings. Thoughts are, in effect, heavy, so our feelings intensify & are prevented from flowing. For me, positive emotion is when we allow ourselves to feel what we’re feeling. Negative emotion is when we judge our experience as wrong & repress the feeling until it becomes unpleasant or painful. The more we learn to allow what we’re feeling the more pleasant & free flowing it will feel. The easiest way I find to begin to allow is to notice where I’m feeling the emotion in my body. It gets me out of my head & into the body so the emotion can flow & release more smoothly & easily. Pay attention & be curious. What is the physical sensation of emotion like? Is there a focal point or edges to the sensation? Explore!

Effective emotional management entails an ongoing commitment to self-knowledge and personal development. This process not only allows us to cultivate positive emotions but also contributes to the enhancement of our emotional intelligence. By developing a greater awareness and understanding of our emotions, we empower ourselves to build healthier relationships, make more balanced decisions, and ultimately live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

When we are in soul-like feelings, we are in a full life. If we cannot live our life from these feelings, we must at least live from indifference, so that our survival behaviours are not activated.

Having positive emotions ensures that your life is smoother and more pleasant. It strengthens your health, makes you feel good about yourself, and boosts your self-confidence. You also become more creative, find it easier to think out the box, you are more resilient and got the courage to live your life the way you want.

Imbalances in emotional, mental, and physical health often originate from dysfunctional thought patterns, limiting beliefs, and inadequate processing of information. By addressing these aspects, a significant transformation in how an individual perceives and responds to their environment can be achieved. Promoting emotional health, therefore, entails a holistic approach that addresses the quality and nature of the concepts shaping the emotional experience. This process includes identifying and reevaluating harmful thought patterns and promoting authenticity and self-reflection.

The more you feel the frequency you want to live in, the more your attract the same into your life. You want be loved? Feel love. You want to be in harmony. Feel the inner peace. You want to be appreciated? Feel your own appreciation. Everything is already there, you only have to discover it so positive emotions are the key to the life you want to create. 🗝️

It's important that we develop a firm foundation of self love. Once that is in place, we can look to exchange any remnants of a scarcity mindset to one of abundance. Having gratitude and appreciation for all of the beauty in your life attracts more of it toward you. Where attention goes, energy flows. So by focusing on the abundance in your life, you'll receive more abundance. By seeing the beauty in a situation versus the negative, you'll have greater appreciation for the beauty. You'll then see beauty all around you. The lack becomes difficult to see. The more you practice this, the stronger your self esteem is, the lower your anxiety is and you begin to see endless possibilities as your dreams unfold.

To maintain positive emotions, you need to make it a priority like anything else. Exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness techniques are great activities to do. Laughing is a great way to release feel-good hormones and positive brain chemistry. Just the simple act of touch seems boost oxytocin release. Giving someone a hug leads to higher levels of this hormone and a greater sense of well-being.

1. Positive Affirmations I had one of my clients laugh at me when I mentioned the positive affirmation exercise during the session. Don't underestimate the power of affirmations. You become what you manifest. 2. Humour and Laughter Laughing triggers the release of endorphins, that help in reducing stress in your mind and body. So, laugh out loud. Don't worry if the world calls you crazy :)

In order to maintain positive emotions it is necessary to pay attention to daily routines and habits. Recently I went through some big life changes. I realized that I am more resilient than I expected. There is no doubt that this is in part to my focus on: - eating healthy - exercising regularly - cold exposure - heat exposure - quality sleep - morning sunlight This list is not exhaustive, but when you provide your body what it needs it can not only be resilient to stress but can keep you feeling positive. When dopamine, serotonin, etc. are flowing as needed it's hard to not be in a great mood.

Humans live in constant interaction with the environment and with other living beings. Maintaining our soul-like feelings entails a full awareness of our mental logic. If you want to have a fulfilling life you must take responsibility for your unconscious behaviours and continuously reposition yourself. It is a personal and, at first, laborious work. But after a training of about 3 months you get to see the greatness of living, not surviving.

The conscientious implementation of this approach demands sustained effort and discipline. Regular self-monitoring becomes imperative to identify emerging patterns of thought promptly. This involves establishing a systematic framework for introspection, enabling individuals to proactively recognize and analyze cognitive habits. Furthermore, the meticulous observation of the mental focus requires the establishment of a cognitive audit mechanism. This involves scrutinizing the sources of attention to ensure their alignment with the overarching objective of fostering positive emotional states.

We can reframe our thoughts to develop a more positive mindset. For example, if you catch yourself dwelling on the worst possible outcome, try asking instead, what’s the best thing that could happen?

DEFUSING PERFECTIONISM - a friend called me in panic overwhelmed with a financial task: Her mind was frozen, vision blurry, chest tight, difficulty breathing, disorganized with not knowing where begin or proceed, feeling that she had to do it perfectly. We Both recognized this trauma response. She tuned into the feeling as a 3yo trying to take care of an inept mother. I made suggestions: a deep breathing exercise to calm her nerves, short breaks walking outside, doing little bits at a time. When I said an affirmation she had immediate emotional relief “I'm doing the best I can. If I make a mistake it's OK. I’M OK” She was grateful bouncing back with optimism, and confidence in her ability to complete the task. All in a 10-minute phone call.