We are all part of the eternal pursuit of happiness. Our happiness dictates the choices we make from the relationships we form, the career path we choose to the lifestyle we lead. But what happens when negative emotions get in the way of our happiness? No matter whether you have external factors such as money worries or stress, or if you are just feeling run down, these negative emotions can prevent you from achieving a sense of wellbeing. If you are finding it difficult to achieve your normal levels of happiness, Best Offers Bingo has conducted a survey of 1000 people asking ‘what is the best way to get rid of negative emotion?’ in order to see how people deal with negativity.

Below is a list of the top ten responses for freeing yourself from negative emotions.    

Exercise

The most popular response for freeing yourself from negative emotion was exercise. The great thing about exercise is that it’s free, you don’t need to join the gym to go for a walk or jog. There are a whole host of benefits that come about for regular exercise, it keeps your body healthy and strong, and it has the power to combat stress, anxiety and depression.  If you participate in moderate-intensity aerobic activities, your body will release natural mood-enhancing chemicals called endorphins. If you want to be healthier and happier, exercise is the best and quickest way to achieve positive and long lasting results.

Cry

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Crying is one of our most natural defenses to negative emotion. As well as flushing chemicals such as adrenocorticotrophic (ACTH) out of our bodies, crying can help us to reduce stress. Crying can have a natural psychological benefit as it helps us to expresses deep negative emotions. Although crying is not the answer to all negative situations or emotions, if you find that you are bottling up frustration or stress, crying can be a cathartic release.

Scream

In the same vein as crying, screaming can act as a natural remedy to negative emotion. Both crying and screaming help us to regress back to our childhood, when tantrums were the only way we could deal with our anger. Although we don’t suggest shouting at others at times of anger or frustration, there are ways to scream and shout in appropriate ways, such as specific shouting yoga classes where you can release your bottled up demons without worrying your neighbors.

Be positive

The outlook you have on live can have a direct impact to the way you feel and perceive the world around you. Being positive isn’t about dismissing the negative things that happen in life, it’s a tool that can help you to approach and overcome situations. Positive thinking can also bring about health benefits such as lowering rates of depression and stress.

Sleep

Sleep is a factor that’s commonly involved when battling negative emotions. Whether you are not sleeping due to stress, or feeling sluggish due to a lack of sleep, sleep has the power to change how you feel both physically and emotionally. When dealing with depression, individuals often have increased sleep. Sleep can rejuvenate the body and mind so make sure that you allow yourself time to sleep in order to stay healthy, happy and alert.

Talk about it

According to the psychologist Freud, talking is a cure. He encouraged his patients to talk in order to get to the route of their issue. They say a problem shared is a problem halved, this is because when you talk to someone else about your problems or feelings you are able to get a new and clear perspective on the situation rather than having to organize it in your mind.

Laugh

As you will have no doubt experienced, laughter is infectious and it makes you feel great. Laughter has the power to relax your mind and body, it can boost you immune system, decrease stress hormones and release endorphins. If you are feeling low or stressed, watch some comedy to help transform your physical and emotional health.

Smile

It may sound simple but the action of smiling can help to dissipate negative emotions. As well as being a nonverbal indicator of happiness, smiling can also lower your heart rate that can help to reduce stress. 

Mediation

Meditation is essentially a method of training your body and mind to combat stress. It takes into consideration your body (relaxation of your muscles and breathing) and your mind (control and understanding of your thought processes). Regular meditation can help you to reduce stress and anxiety by increasing your capacity for relaxation.

Listen to music

Music is a medium that can have a direct impact on your emotional state. From music that you can’t help but dance to on a night out, music that can make you remember the pain of lost love. You can use music’s ability to quickly change your mood in a positive way. Start the day with your favorite song or play soothing sounds when you come home after a hard day at work.

We hope that these examples have given you some inspiration of how you can free yourself from negative emotion in a healthy way in order to achieve happiness.