A Healthy Dose of Negativity
The Psychological Health Benefits of Accepting Negative Emotions and Thoughts
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
One of my goals for 2020 is to complain less, which was tested while getting my haircut on Thursday. My barber, Tony “like the one and only," who is also from California, wanted to gab about the last two months of gray in Seattle. I was like yeah! It blows, but then I remembered this habit thing and quickly added but it could be worse. Tony kept complaining. After leaving, I wondered if venting helps strangers bond based on the theory of shared suckiness (my label). Can complaining actually be constructive because it helps us accept our situation? *
Today’s research analyzed 3 studies on acceptance, aka your ability to embrace your emotions and thoughts without judging them. They found three gems:
- Acceptance predicted psychological health, including well-being, life satisfaction, and depressive and anxiety symptoms
- Acceptance predicted lower negative emotional responses to stress
- Acceptance predicted psychological health six months later
It’s important to understand the things in life that bother you. How do you do that, you ask? You express the things that suck in a productive manner. For example, you acknowledge that traffic in Seattle is a disaster and propose biking instead.
TAKEAWAY
Acknowledging and then accepting emotions and thoughts without judgement is good for your mental health. It’s important to vent, but be sure to discuss a solution as well so you can move on. When we talk about stuff that sucks we open the door to feedback, perspective, and maybe even bonding with strangers named Tony.
*Hat tip to Micaela Marini Higgs at the NYT who recently wrote Go Ahead and Complain. It Might Be Good for You.
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