Judging our Feelings
I am always looking for ways to help my clients improve their psychological health and overall well-being. Recently, I came across a fascinating study this month from the Journal of Emotion that sheds light on the importance of emotion judgments in our everyday lives (Willroth, Emily C et al. 2023). Emotion judgments refer to how we think about and react to our emotions. These judgments can have a significant impact on our mental health, and it's crucial for both counselors and clients to understand their role in psychological well-being. The study in question, conducted between 2017 and 2022 with over 1,600 participants, aimed to explore the nature of habitual emotion judgments and their associations with psychological health.
The researchers found four distinct emotion judgments, based on whether the judgment and the emotion being judged are positive or negative. These emotion judgments were found to be moderately stable over time and were related to other emotional concepts and personality traits such as extraversion and neuroticism. This is an important finding because it suggests that our habitual emotion judgments are not just random thoughts, but rather, they form a pattern that is intertwined with our personality and overall emotional functioning.
The second part of the study focused on the implications of these emotion judgments for psychological health. The researchers discovered that people who view their positive emotions positively tend to have better mental health, while those who view their negative emotions negatively have worse mental health. This was true even when the researchers considered other emotional concepts and personality traits, emphasizing the unique importance of emotion judgments in relation to mental health.
As a counselor, this study offers valuable insights into how my clients might be judging their emotions and how these judgments can impact their psychological health. For instance, if a client has a tendency to view their positive emotions in a negative light, this could be a contributing factor to their struggles with depression or anxiety. In such cases, part of the counseling process could involve helping the client reframe their thoughts about their emotions and develop a more balanced and positive outlook.
Additionally, this study highlights the importance of promoting self-awareness and emotional intelligence in our clients. By helping clients become more aware of their emotion judgments, we can support them in making healthier choices when it comes to managing their emotions. This, in turn, can lead to improved psychological health and overall well-being.
This research serves as a reminder of the complex interplay between our emotions, thoughts, and mental health. As counselors, it is our responsibility to help clients navigate this interplay and develop healthier emotion judgments. By doing so, we can contribute to their overall psychological health and well-being.
