Balancing Positive and Negative Emotions

When many people think of the practice of psychology, we think in terms of treatment of some positive and negative condition. From its beginning, psychology has often been more concerned with the darker side of the human psyche. This is, of course, only natural, as it has long strived to treat the conditions of the mind which are the most debilitating. It’s only natural to want to take broken people, and make them whole, or what we consider to be “normal.” Positive psychology focuses on taking the lives of individuals and raising them to greatness by enabling them to nurture the more positive aspects of their lives. Aspects such as happiness, hope, love, self-confidence, compassion, and self-compassion as well.

Don’t mistake positive psychology with positive thinking. The two are very different. Positive psychology is validated by empirical research and replicable science. It does not strive to replace the well-established science of psychology and all the strides it has made over the centuries in treating mental illness, merely to offer another discipline. And positive psychology, unlike positive thinking, recognizes the need for negative thoughts and feelings at appropriate times. It is well-grounded in our reality. Positive psychology was first defined as an official subset of the science of psychology in 1998 by Martin Seligman, although the phrase itself was used as the title of the final chapter in Abraham Maslow’s “Motivation and Personality” in 1954. But, in actuality, the study of the positive aspects of psychology are thousands of years old. In fact, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle referred to the importance of man’s happiness and wellbeing, calling it “eudaimonia.”: In the 1960s and 1970s Seligman made a name for himself in the field of psychology by defining a condition known as “learned helplessness.” He discerned that the more we experience negative feelings, such as depression, the more helpless we tend to feel, and the further we sink. Conversely, of course, this led him to believe that by emphasizing the more positive aspects, the more empowered and psychologically healthy we can become. Positive psychology teaches us to shift our perspective to the more positive elements in life. And a relatively small positive shift in our perspective can lead to a much larger corresponding change in our life.

At this point, you may be forgiven if you believe that positive psychology is all about positive emotions, but this is not the case. Negative emotions are also a necessary part of our psychological makeup, so really, it’s all about the balance. As contradictory as it sounds, negative emotions can have quite a positive effect. Positive psychology strives to tip the balance toward the positive side, not to eliminate the negative aspects. After all, without the negatives, would we even have the positives?

Thankfully it’s relatively easy to tell positive from negative. Positive emotions, of course, make us feel gstreood, negative ones, badly. Love, contentment, happiness, awe, these all make us feel great. Fear, anger, jealousy, and loneliness do not.

Still not clear on why we need to experience negative emotions? Are they a necessary part of your life? The simple answer is yes, they are. The first reason, simply stated, is that they complement the positive ones. They are the lows which make the highs feel all the higher. The second reason we need to experience negative emotions is in evolutionary terms, both regarding species development and also personal development. Fear teaches us to recognize danger, and thereby avoid it. Anger encourages us to take a fighting stance against problems. Disgust teaches us to reject what is unhealthy, such as that smelly tuna fish sandwich in the fridge. Sadness connects us to things and people we have lost. We can be sad about a lost loved one, but it will remind us of the love. On the positive side, anticipation encourages planning for the future, surprise helps us to deal with new situations, and joy helps to remind us of what is important to us. Each type of feeling, whether it’s positive or negative, imparts some benefit. Positive emotions improve our performance levels, allowing us to function without distraction. They trigger reward pathways to the brain, contributing to lower levels of stress hormones and a greater sense of well-being. Positive emotions can also help to broaden our horizons and widen the brain’s focus. But, as counterintuitive as it may seem, negative emotions also come with their own set of advantages. They help us process emotional conflict, perhaps by imparting a sense of urgency. When we receive conflicting signals, they often help us make sense of them. Additionally, they reduce our sense of empathy. This may sound bad, but, in reality, it stops us from becoming over-involved with others and keeps us focused on the task at hand. So, although we may presume that positive emotions are universally good, and negative, universally bad, this is not always the case.

And there are certain overlaps in these emotions, as well. While most of us would consider stress to be a negative emotion, best avoided, some happily positive situations can bring on a great deal of stress. Planning for a wedding or a new baby are hardly stress-free occasions. New job? New home? Holidays with the family? Not exactly stress-free either, but happy nevertheless. And good examples of how a balance of positive and negative is needed for a full and healthy life.

Positive psychology strives to help us to boost our positive emotions and take advantage of the insights they bring us and incorporate the adaptations provided by our negative feelings to cope with them effectively. We learn to temper our positive enthusiasm with the fears expressed by the negative. A good balance means a good life. Martin Seligman described the “good life” as “using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.”

Positive psychology programs strive to complement traditional psychology practice without replacing or ignoring them. Practitioners of positive psychology believe that humans should place emphasis on the future, rather than dwell on possibly psychologically damaging events in the past. The goal of positive psychology programs is to teach acceptance of your past, contentment with the present, and a sense of excitement and optimism about the future. This all sounds wonderful, of course, but such a state may seem more than a bit artificial and certainly unrealistic, without the presence of negative emotions.

We must bear in mind that emotions are not the circumstance or condition itself which affects us, but merely our response to it. Once we have experienced being chased by a lion, for example, the fear that we feel will discourage us from ever putting ourselves into that particular situation again. We tend to learn to avoid embarrassing situations or those which anger us. Our ancestors benefitted from such lessons, as do we today, hopefully in situations devoid of lions. These negative emotions make us eager to avoid such situations in the future, thus adding to our overall sense of well-being and the achievement of the so-called “good life”. Negative feelings are often designed to influence our behavior in the present moment. Disgust warns us not to eat that foul-smelling piece of meat, and fear warns of danger. But positive feelings encourage us in just the opposite direction, meaning they encourage us to seek out positive experiences in the future. Joy encourages us to continue to play, to push limits, to be creative. Love tells us to seek the company of our loved ones and share experiences with them. Pride, which we may feel after a job well done, drives us onward to other achievements. Interest is why we explore, try new things, and expand ourselves and our world. Negative emotions may be life-saving, but their benefits are transitory. They certainly served our evolutionary ancestors well, allowing them to survive and reproduce, but it was positive emotions which encouraged them to strive to succeed and flourish.

Since the field is relatively new, you may have trouble finding an educational institution offering a bachelor’s degree in the subject, although there are a few out there and the number is growing. Most prospective students simply choose to pursue a degree in basic psychology, and continue onto a masters in positive psychology, and then on to a Doctorate. There are also certificates in positive psychology out there. Many occupations can include positive psychology therapy, such as life coach, school counselor, and careers in human resources. Nowadays, positive psychology techniques are being used around the world to help people to achieve a happier, more fulfilling life, although the discipline is more common in the United States and Western Europe. Seligman believed that for far too long psychology had dealt with only one thing, the treatment of mental illness, thus neglecting a large portion of the population who could benefit from some other form of psychological counseling. He urged the field to take up the task of nurturing talent and encouraging, enabling, and establishing a sense of happiness and wellbeing in our daily lives. He postulated that such improvements on a personal level would expand into the community and society at large. A sort of help one man and help the world philosophy.

Our research is motivated by the fact that certain developments in emotion research, including findings related to simultaneous feelings of positive and negative emotions.

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