The Importance Of Negative Emotions

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For many people, being anything but happy is not a choice; however, being happy all the time could actually do more harm than good. Negative emotions do not exist for no reason. All emotions have a much larger purpose than just the stigma or surface level way people think of them. Experiencing negative emotions has a surplus of benefits due to the fact that sadness and anger spark very useful traits that a person otherwise may not be able to access when happy and carefree. Along with the positive cognitive aspect, constant happiness can completely drain a person’s motivation to grow and change in their daily life, which can be detrimental to their quality of life. Many people may think happiness is the secret to a successful and enjoyable life, but what they do not realize is that negative emotions such as sadness, fear, and anger are just as important to a person's …show more content…

Sadness and fear open up a door to new cognitive thinking that a person may have once not known about. Feeling these emotions allows a person to process information and think on a much more thorough level than a happy, carefree person would. Denier notes that when succumbed with these particular emotions, “you become more analytical, more critical and more innovative” (Begley 456). Although feeling sad or upset may not be ideal, sadness actually allows a person to think on a much deeper level and even sparks creativity. The feeling of fear tells the brain that danger is near and allows the fight or flight reaction to take place, which could save a life. Being extremely happy all the time can result in a person downplaying a very serious, possibly harmful situation. Along with a whole new thinking process, being constantly happy can take away the joy in happiness. If a person is happy all the time and never experiences sadness or

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