Growing up with depression issues, I learned early on to ignore the negative emotions because most often those feelings had no bearing in reality. You can get depressed or anxious for no reason; therefore, what’s the point in dwelling?

However…

The problem here is that you end up repressing even those emotions that you should explore, such as the perfectly normal work frustrations (and who doesn’t have those?) and the grouchy moments. You repress the anxiety that makes sense or sadness born out of sad moments. Sometimes you can take these out emotions, think about them—Why am I feeling so gloomy?—and set them aside having pondered the reasons and finding peace. If you just ignore them, they sit there, taunting you. And yes, you might just be depressed because you get depressed, but at least you know there’s nothing you can do, and you can move on.

Action for Happiness suggests:

“Notice what you are feeling today, without any judgement.”

My challenge to you is to explore those emotions—even the dark ones (especially the dark ones)—and then refuse to judge yourself. Sometimes you have bad days, sometimes you’re sad, sometimes something happens to throw your feelings into chaos. Practice getting to know yourself and noticing your emotions first, and then you can deal with them. Be kind to yourself.

Choose Joy.

—A