Unhealthy Emotion Processing Activity

March 7, 2026 4 Min Read

Unhealthy emotion processing activity

Do you have difficulty overcoming negative emotions? You may be using unhealthy emotional processes. Try this exercise to change your habits.

Emotional activities: unhealthy emotions

*This page may contain affiliate links; This means I earn money by purchasing qualifying products.

You can practice several of them on this page Activities that increase your happiness. But what about the negative emotions you feel? Does increasing happiness simply make negative emotions disappear?

Sometimes, but not always.
Unfortunately, many of us are already programmed to generate negative emotions more easily. In addition to creating new neural pathways that enhance the experience of positive emotions, you will likely also need to work on stopping unhealthy processes that cause negative emotions. This makes our efforts to increase happiness more effective.

Activity: Unhealthy Emotional Processing

In this activity you will learn about the emotional processes that cause negative emotions. For each process, evaluate how often you engage in it. Then try to remember what time you did it. Finally, develop an action plan to stop the process.

If you notice yourself having unhealthy thoughts, you can say a word that reminds you to change the way you think. Or you could do an activity. For example, when I feel emotionally overwhelmed, I run. If I can’t walk, I excuse myself, go to the bathroom and take a few deep breaths.

Everyone is different. So try to think about what might work for you and be willing to try different approaches until you find one that works.

Unhealthy emotional processes:

Rumination. When we ruminate, we are constantly thinking about something worrying. We think about what we could have done differently or how things could have gone better, even if there is no way to cancel and change the event.

A time when I indulged in rumination was: *

What can I do to stop when I find myself ruminating? *

Catastrophic. We speak of a catastrophe when we expect the worst possible outcome for each situation. For example, a child may fail a test and think that he will never do well in school again and that everyone will hate him.

When I was faced with disaster: *

What can I do to stop when I notice I’m descending into disaster? *

[object Object]

Minimization. Minimizing means we downplay our positive qualities, experiences, or strengths. For example, some people may be self-deprecating and say things like, “Everyone is good at math. I’m nothing special.

A time when I was concerned about minimizing was: *

If I notice I’m minimizing, what can I do to stop? *

Oppression. Repression involves not showing or expressing negative emotions. For example, a person may be angry with their boss but try not to show their feelings on their face or with words.

A time when I worried about oppression was: *

If I notice I’m repressing, what can I do to stop? *

Experience avoidance. To avoid this experience, you should try not to feel negative emotions. For example, a person may try to suppress negative emotions or use drugs/alcohol to avoid negative emotions.

Once, when I wanted to avoid this experience: *

If I notice that I am experiencing avoidance, what can I do to stop? *

Think all or nothing. All-or-nothing thinking means that a person views a situation as either completely good or completely bad. For example, a person may fail a test and suddenly think they are completely bad. If he does well on an exam, he can be considered perfectly good.

A time when I engaged in all-or-nothing thinking was: *

If I notice that I’m thinking about everything or nothing, what can I do? *

Derivation. Distraction is when we avoid feeling our emotions by doing something else. Distraction is not always bad, but it is ineffective when we use it to avoid emotions. For example, a wife may be arguing with her husband, but instead of talking to him to understand his feelings, she distracts herself by going shopping. This approach leaves negative emotions unresolved.

One moment I got distracted was: *

What can I do to stop when I feel distracted? *

Note. By submitting your answers, we can better understand people’s emotional processing. If you want to keep your answers, you must do so Save as PDF or print this page. THANK YOU!

What did you say?

Thank you to everyone who submitted their responses to this activity! We can now share what our community is doing to stop negative emotional processes.

Here are some examples of things you can try:

Activities

To read

Exercise

Focus your thoughts on the positive

Write how you feel in a journal

Talk to other people

Try to relax

Try to stay present

Kiss me

Play a video game or watch TV

Take deep breaths

To use Affirmations or mantras

Sign up for more wellness…delivered straight to your inbox.

Important articles:Content Packs:

Unhealthy Emotion Processing Activity