Studies show that management of negative emotions can have long term health benefits. When anxiety and depressive thoughts are permitted to run freely, there are signs that it can lead to later neurodegenerative results such as dementia. Individuals need to process emotions but do so in a healthy way without over obsessing and allowing anxiety and negative experiences to control their lives. Meditation and EFT are effective ways to help individuals better cope with negative emotion.
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A recent study from Geneva looks closer at how negative emotions can affect the health of the brain as one ages. The article, “Managing Emotions Better Could Prevent Pathological Aging” from Neurosciencenews.com reviewed this study. The study exposed younger and older individuals to negative emotional videos and traced the brain’s reactions to it. The way the brain reacts and the way one allows oneself to be affected long term can play a key role in brain health in later age. The article relates that,
“Older people tend to regulate their emotions better than younger people, and focus more easily on positive details, even during a negative event. But changes in connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala could indicate a deviation from the normal aging phenomenon, accentuated in people who show more anxiety, rumination and negative emotions. The posterior cingulate cortex is one of the regions most affected by dementia, suggesting that the presence of these symptoms could increase the risk of neurodegenerative disease.”
“Managing Emotions Better Could Prevent Pathological Aging”. NeuroScienceNews.com. January 13th, 2023.
To read the entire article about the study, please click here
Commentary
While negative emotion is a reality in life and something that cannot be escaped, one can limit the damage negative emotion incurs upon the brain by better coping skills with anxiety, stress and grief. Cognitive reframing, positivity, and better responses to challenges instead of dwelling upon them are key ways individuals can move forward with negative feelings. Those who instead struggle with processing negative events and dwell upon them without process can overtime allow these emotions to do more harm to their brain. While the full understanding of emotions and their effects on the brain are relatively new, it is still points to the importance of while facing negativity in life to also push towards good mental coping and health strategies.
Meditation and Negative Emotion
Meditation and mindfulness are excellent ways to deal with negative emotions. Meditation has been widely studied for its effects on reducing negative emotions. It has been suggested that meditation can help to foster a more positive emotional state as it is thought to promote a higher degree of self-regulation, allowing individuals to better process and manage emotional responses. Studies have indicated that mindfulness-based interventions, such as meditation, can be effective in ameliorating the symptoms of anxiety and depression. The practice of meditation is widely accepted as an effective strategy for the mitigation of maladaptive affect, such as anxiety and depression. This is often achieved through the cultivation of mindful awareness, which involves focusing one’s attention on the present moment while simultaneously becoming aware of one’s bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings.
EFT and Negative Emotion
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is an empirically validated psychological intervention that seeks to reduce negative emotion by utilizing a combination of exposure and cognitive reframing strategies. By engaging in the technique, individuals are able to process and reconceptualize their emotional experiences through a structured approach that involves repeated tapping on specific body points while simultaneously focusing on the associated thoughts, feelings, or memories. The technique has been demonstrated to be efficacious in decreasing physiological arousal and negative affect associated with psychological distress.
Many negative anxieties or traumas can become trapped within oneself. This negative energy and emotion as pointed out is unhealthy for the brain and body. EFT through cognitive approaches and tapping look to move negative energy from the body and mind. Closely associated with acupuncture, it understands that the body carries energy through various meridians. Through effectively tapping and stimulating those areas, EFT Practitioners look to help individuals process this energy.
In concert with the physical tapping, the individual mentally and verbally identifies the stressor or negative emotion. Furthermore through continuous cycles, the individual soon begins to replace the negative emotion or stressors with positive reframing. This looks to help the mind and body both heal from the negative effects of trauma, stress and anxiety.
Conclusion
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In conclusion, removing negative emotion from our lives can be a difficult task. It takes effort, self-awareness, and practice to achieve. However, the rewards and results of doing so are innumerable and far reaching. We become better leaders, better problem solvers, better communicators and better versions of ourselves when we take away the power of negative emotion and replace it with positive ones. Ultimately, we gain greater control over our lives so that we can more effectively reach our goals and realize our potential.
Tapping with EFT has been proven to be an effective way to reduce negative emotion and improve mental wellbeing. It is a simple, evidence-based technique that can be used by anyone, anytime, and almost anywhere. Additionally, EFT helps people to gain insight into the underlying cause of their distress and develop more healthy coping mechanisms. Therefore, EFT should be considered as a viable option for reducing negative emotions in both clinical and non-clinical settings.
Please also review AIHCP’s Meditation Instructor Program as well as AIHCP’s EFT Practitioner Program. Both programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification. EFT Practitioners in particular can help many individuals dealing with trauma and negative emotion to find ways to heal and move forward. Over time, individuals can be trained to utilize EFT on their own.
Additional Resources
“How Do Thoughts and Emotions Affect Health?”. Karen Lawson. University of Minnesota. Access here
“Neural Circuits: How the brain processes negative emotions”.
“What are Negative Emotions and How to Control Them?”. Eleane Mead. April 18th, 2019. PositivePsychology.com. Access here
“The effect of negative emotional context on neural and behavioural responses to oesophageal stimulation”. Mary Phillips, etc., al. Brain, Volume 126, Issue 3, March 2003, Pages 669–684. Oxford Academic. Access here