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Forms of Negativity

Negativity is often expressed in many different forms. The underlying cause of most negative reactions, feelings or habits is usually fear. While it's impossible to do away with negative thoughts or to achieve the complete absence of negativity in your life, it's often helpful to recognize the "costumes" that negativity wears when it appears. Sometimes negativity is a genuine and justified response to pain or emotional stress, while other times it is a self-destructive habit that can dictate your reactions or shape your personality.

  1. Prejudice

    • Negativity often shows up as prejudice. Whether it's racial, sexual or religious in nature, prejudices convey the underlying fear people have of what's different. By nature, a prejudice is negative because it is denial or lack of acceptance of what is. It conveys the sentiment of "no" instead of "yes." People who are prejudiced tend to operate from a viewpoint that they are right and everyone else is wrong. This creates negativity in themselves and in those who they reject or ridicule.

    Lack of Respect for Self or Others

    • A lack of respect for yourself or others is a classic form of negativity. When people have issues with self-esteem or self-worth, they tend to treat themselves poorly and engage in negative behaviors such as self-criticism, isolation or alcohol and drug abuse. This is also an example of not accepting what "is" and saying "no" to who you are. A lack of respect for others also negates the intrinsic value of human life.

    Dwelling on Failures

    • Negativity can also show up when people brood over past failures. Dwelling on mistakes is a form of negativity because it's a rejection of the present moment and the ability to create change in the future. This habit tends to keep people in a negative state of mind because it reminds them they cannot control what happened in the past. Lack of control often brings the fear that those mistakes may be repeated in the future.

    Depression or Anxiety

    • Negativity can also manifest in emotional problems like depression or anxiety. Depression is often referred to as worrying or not accepting the past, while anxiety is compared to worrying or not accepting the future. Both conditions, while opposite in nature, point to a negative state in which the person is not fully present in the here and now. This type of negativity may be short-lived and circumstantial or long-term and chronic.

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