26. Evaluating and Letting Go of Negative Emotions

Once you’ve identified the pain, cost and benefit of holding on to negative emotions, you can evaluate and let go of them. For this journaling exercise, consider:

1. What negative emotion(s) am I ready to let go of?
2. What context does this emotion appear?

Evaluating and Letting Go Exercise:

I have been holding these feelings for (how long) ______________________

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Holding on to these feelings have cost me ___________________________

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What these feelings have done to me is ________________________________________________________________

My payoff in keeping these feelings has been____________________________________________________________

The possible difference it could make in my life if I could let these feelings go is _________________________________

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The fears I have in letting go of these feelings are ________________________________________________________

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Is it possible that I could let go of these feelings? _________________________________________________________

Am I willing to let go of these feelings? ___________________________________ When?_______________________

In this moment are they gone? _____________________________________________

If I had the power to replace those feelings with something new I would like to feel______________________________

And I would like to tell myself such things as ____________________________________________________________

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Could I let those feelings in? ________________________________________________________________________

Am I willing to let those feelings in? ___________________________________________________________________

In this moment are those feelings present? ____________________________________________________________

The behaviors or actions that I tend to want to show when I feel these new feelings are _________________________

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The words that want to come out of my mouth when I feel these feelings are _________________________________

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A previous time when I have felt similar feelings was the time when _______________ _________________________

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Go to the next journaling exercise: New Possibilities for Thinking and Feeling

Click here to download pdf.

*Journaling exercises written by Cort Curtis, PhD, used with permission.