20 Unit 1 Your Development and Relationships
Negative Emotions
Negative emotions are often hard to understand and control. If you do not
handle these emotions properly, you may fi nd yourself in a diffi cult situation.
Relationships with other people may be affected. Uncontrolled jealousy
or anger may cause you to lose friends. A well-adjusted person recognizes
negative emotions and works to understand and control them.
Almost everyone becomes angry from time to time. Sometimes when people
lose their tempers, they say things they do not really mean. They may even hurt the
feelings of people they love. They may take their anger out on other people who are
not even involved. Venting negative emotions on just anyone is not appropriate.
Getting feelings out in the open
can be a good way to deal with anger
or frustration. Everyone needs to
express feelings. When feeling angry,
it is important to remain calm. Waiting
awhile before talking with the person
involved is sometimes a good tactic.
You may often realize the issue is not
so important after all. Sometimes you
might fi nd out you were wrong or
decide to forget about it. An apology,
especially for displaying a negative
emotion, might clear the air and make
everyone feel better.
1-12 Best friends understand each other’s moods and can forgive each other.
© Otna Ydur/Shutterstock
Writing Connections
Express Your Feelings
Writing a letter to express your feelings is another
way to deal with anger or confusion. This does not
mean you have to send the letter. You may fi nd tearing
it into pieces will make you feel better. On the other
hand, you may want to save the letters you write when
you are upset or confused. If you reread them at a later
point, you may realize how much you have matured.
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