Transmuting Negative Emotions as a Path to Personal Peace

by Stephanie Brail

Negative emotions get a really bad rap these days. If we have a normal, every day sad emotion, we're pushed a pill to get rid of it. Or, we're told we must "think positively" or suffer dire consequences. (Some folks literally believe that if you think too much about an anvil falling on your head, an anvil will fall on your head.)

These two approaches - medicating the emotion away or denying the emotion - don't really do much to solve the underlying issue. They just mask and bury it.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where we are not taught proper coping mechanisms to deal effectively with negative emotions. There is no "emotional coping mechanism" class in school. What happens, instead, is that people learn their own dysfunctional ways of handling emotions, often from parents. At worst, some folks turn to drugs, alcohol or food to handle emotions.