Positive Reappraisal

Although negative emotions are inevitable, we can actually make them more tolerable by infusing them with positive emotion. 

In this activity, you'll practice using an emotion regulation strategy called positive reappraisal. Reappraisal has been shown to both increase happiness and resilience and to reduce negative emotions and stress.

Positive reappraisal involves cognitively reframing an event as more positive. For example, let’s say that I dropped my sandwich on the ground and I have nothing else to eat for lunch. I might tell myself that this will be a fun challenge for me or it will give me an opportunity to spend my lunch doing something else I enjoy. 

This is a bit different from negative reappraisal which involves reframing an event as less negative.

Activity: Positive reappraisal

For this activity, you will get an example of an event that could happen. 

Practice reappraising this scenario as more positive. Come up with as many reappraisals as you can over the next few minutes.​
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Sample Situation:

“My boss yelled at me."
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