Help With Our Emotions

DO NEGATIVE emotions at times seem to take over your life? Do you easily become upset, angry, or frustrated? Do anxieties of life tend to overwhelm you? What will help?

Emotional reactions are part and parcel of human experience. When properly controlled, they add spice to life. The Bible acknowledges, though, that “mere oppression may make a wise one act crazy.” (Ecclesiastes 7:7) In a world where violence and accidents are all too common, who is not affected emotionally by what happens around him? However, the Scriptures also state: “There is nothing better than that . . . man should rejoice in his works.” (Ecclesiastes 3:22) To make life more enjoyable, we therefore need to learn to rejoice by cultivating positive emotions. How can we nurture beneficial emotions and curb harmful ones?

Taking practical measures often alleviates the intensity of our negative emotions. For example, when we feel anxious over matters that we have no control over, is it not better to change our routine or environment rather than occupy our mind with worry? Taking a leisurely walk, listening to soothing music, engaging in vigorous exercise, or doing a kind deed for someone in need may provide some relief and bring us a measure of happiness.​—Acts 20:35.

The best way to dispel negative thoughts, however, is by putting our confidence in the Creator. When negative thinking persists, we need to ‘throw all our anxiety upon God’ by means of prayer. (1 Peter 5:6, 7) The Bible assures us: “Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart . . . Many are the calamities of the righteous one, but out of them all Jehovah delivers him.” (Psalm 34:18, 19) How can we be confident that God can be our “assistance and the Provider of escape”? (Psalm 40:17) We can do so by studying the Bible and reflecting on its vivid examples of God’s personal interest in the well-being of his servants.