519: How to Process Negative Emotions Without Getting Stuck

The Adult Chair Podcast with Michelle Chalfant · Jul 16, 2026 · 23m

In this episode, I'm talking about one of the questions I hear all the time: What do we do with negative emotions?

So many of us have been taught to push away, numb, judge, or "get rid of" emotions like anger, grief, sadness, fear, rage, and frustration. But the truth is, emotions are not bad. They are part of being human, and they are meant to move through us.

I talk about why we develop resistance to certain emotions, especially when we grew up receiving messages that our feelings were too much, wrong, annoying, or unsafe. When we are not taught how to process emotions, we often reach for…