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In case you haven't noticed, there seems to be a dramatic increase in the number of people who are wrestling with being overwhelmed with feelings of sadness. For many of these people, the cause of their negative emotions is not directly related to a specific incident or situation. Instead, they are suffering from a general sense of unhappiness which is preventing them from being able to function normally in their everyday lives.
Although the vast majority of these individuals are not suffering from a more severe condition known as "clinical depression," the effects of their negative emotions are having a severely negative impact on the quality of their lives.
Nearly all of us have feelings of sadness or unhappiness from time to time. These feelings can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from unmet expectations to hurtful events that happen to us. In other words, none of us are totally immune to feeling sad or unhappy.
There is a problem, however, if the dominant emotions that you experience are ones of sadness, anxiety or depression. These emotions not only affect how we feel about ourselves and our circumstances, they impact the people around us and actually shape and define our situation as much as it describes it.
When you feel sad or unhappy, your brain produces a specific set of chemicals that can eventually harm your system if they continue to exist in excess. These chemicals react with your nervous system causing it to slow down. The physical result is that you often feel overly tired and lethargic when these emotions are dominant.
While many people in today's society are turning to prescription drugs to alleviate the symptoms of sadness or mild depression, there are other alternatives that may be just as effective without the side effects often associated with medications. It is extremely important, however, to consult with your physician before discontinuing any medications if you are already taking them.
All of us want to be happy and to be able to enjoy the things that give our lives meaning and purpose. While it is perfectly normal to occasionally feel sad or mildly depressed, it is not normal to feel this way all of the time or even most of the time.
The problem is that most of us have never learned how to change our negative emotions. We either simply try to cope and label ourselves as a victim of our circumstances or we medicate ourselves in some way using a variety of substances or defense mechanisms to try to escape our emotional pain.
But there are a wide variety of non-chemical solutions for dealing with our negative emotions that are extremely easy and profoundly effective. The key is learning what they are and then actually applying them in our lives. Most people make the mistake of believing that there is nothing they can do or simply feeling too tired or discouraged to make the effort.
The most simple and direct methods to overcome sadness may involve doing something physically that you enjoy and refocusing your attention on the activity instead of thinking about the situation or circumstances that caused you to feel sad. Of course this is only a temporary solution, but it can be extremely helpful to relieve the overwhelming sense of heaviness that most people experience when wrestling with these kinds of negative emotions.
More long term solutions involve being able to gain a different perspective on your circumstances. This may involve talking with others or getting advice or guidance from other people you can trust. It is important to understand that long-term solutions are often a process that can take time. You can be certain, however, that there is a solution and that healing will come once you begin the journey.
Learning how to change your negative emotions can be one of the most important things you can do to improve the quality of your life and your future. When you begin to apply these simple and easy-to-use techniques, you will literally transform every other aspect of your life.
These techniques for transforming your negative feelings involve much more than just "positive thinking." Although your mental attitude is certainly an important factor in the process, the methods used expand to several other areas that impact the totality of your experience.
The bottom line is that these methods work and have been used to help millions of people overcome the negative effects of harmful emotions running rampant in their lives. There is no need to suffer needlessly from the effects of negative emotions. You deserve to be happy and to be able to fully enjoy the blessings that this life has to offer.
Tim Wright, Ph.D.
For more information about overcoming the negative effects of sadness and depression and learning how to be truly happy, visit http://changingyouremotions.com/.
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