Achieving Healthy, Forward-Pushing Emotions
I invite you to consider the fifth mixtape by rapper NLE Choppa, entitled Me vs. Me (2022), which contains the song “Push It” that features rapper Young Thug and which was produced by YungM1lly and Ament. On the chorus, NLE Choppa states, “Push it, push it!”
In this context, the term push regards pressing against with force in order to drive or impel, as in to try to move beyond or expand (e.g., pushing one’s limits). Thus, the phrase push it relates to continuing to do or to try to do something (e.g., push it hard, and you may achieve success).
Noteworthy, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines achievement as “the attainment of some goal, or the goal attained.” Regarding care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I invite clients to push for healthy outcomes.
Also, the APA defines health as “the condition of one’s mind, body, and spirit, the idea being freedom from illness, injury, pain, and distress.” Admittedly, what one considers healthy or unhealthy is subjective (belonging to reality as perceived, rather than as independent of mind).
My approach to mental health care regards forward-pushing emotions, which the APA defines as “complex reaction pattern[s], involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which an individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter or event.”
For example, if client X unhealthily begins griping, whining, bitching, moaning, complaining, whinging, venting, etc., then I invite this individual to “push it, push it” regarding the pushing of unwanted feelings to more wanted or forward-pushing emotions (e.g. from sadness to joy).
Now, as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was formed by the late psychologist Albert Ellis, who reportedly developed the first cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) psychotherapeutic modality in 1955, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding his book, Ask Albert Ellis?: Straight Answers and Sound Advice from America’s Best-Known Psychologist.
REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.
Noteworthy, with virtually any undesirable Action that occurs, it’s your unfavorable Beliefs which cause unpleasant distress or disturbance (Consequence). Given this framing of self-distress and self-disturbance, it’s worth noting that one REBT source states (page 71):
REBT conceptualizes [distress] as healthy even though it is intense. Other approaches to therapy have as their goal the reduction of the intensity of negative emotions. They take this position because they do not keenly differentiate between healthy negative emotions (distress) and unhealthy negative emotions (disturbance).
Now, REBT keenly distinguishes between healthy distress and unhealthy disturbance. Healthy distress stems from your rational beliefs about a negative activating event [Action], whilst disturbance stems from your irrational beliefs about the same event.
Complete elimination of distress is highly unlikely in an impermanent and uncertain world, wherein people conceptually suffer, struggle, and battle with, or merely experience hardship. Still, individuals often make matters worse for themselves by disturbing about such instances.
In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to distress or disturb themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive scripts, think of the acronym GLAD.
Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.
From an A-C view, person Y clicks the link to NLE Choppa’s “Push It” video (Action) and sees midnight ballerinas (also known as exotic dancers, better known as strippers) in the video (Consequence). Yet, it’s one’s B-C view that causes subsequent negative, but unhealthy rage.
Person Y sees thick-ass strippers (Action), Believes, “Mental health professionals alluding to a stripper video are useless [G], and I can’t stand that Deric has done this [L], as it’s dreadful [A], so he should lose his licenses [D],” and then person Y causes one’s own rage (Consequence).
Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.
If person Y watched the midnight ballerinas in “Push It” and instead Effectively believed, “While I don’t like exotic dancers, it’s Deric prerogative to post what he pleases on his blog,” then person Y would cause one’s own negative, but healthy disappointment (Consequence).
When using an irrational Belief, person Y causes self-disturbance. Yet, when using a rational Effective belief, person Y causes self-distress. Both outcomes are negative, though the former is subjectively unhealthy while the latter is personally healthy. Of this, Ellis stated (page 35):
When they are faced with hassles and troubles, people can use REBT to feel the healthy negative emotions of sorrow and disappointment, which can motivate them to review their difficulties, instead of feeling the unhealthy negative emotions of panic, depression, and rage, which will help immobilize them.
REBT shows them how to have strong healthy rather than unhealthy feelings when they are faced with adversities. This, again, requires them to work at achieving healthy, forward-pushing emotions.
A “push it, push it” approach to improvement of mental health regards forward-pushing emotions—shifting from negative, but unhealthy to negative, though healthy feelings. Both of these outcomes are negative. However, one is subjectively better than the other. Now, push it!
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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Hollings, D. (2024, May 17). Feeling better vs. getting better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/feeling-better-vs-getting-better-1
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Hollings, D. (2024, February 14). Insufferable vs. undesirable. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/insufferable-vs-undesirable
Hollings, D. (2024, January 5). Know the limits. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/know-the-limits
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
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Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Lived experience. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/lived-experience
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Hollings, D. (2024, September 27). My attitude. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/my-attitude
Hollings, D. (2025, August 2). My philosophy. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/my-philosophy
Hollings, D. (2026, October 13). Negative, but healthy disappointment: Seasons change, and friends do too. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/negative-but-healthy-disappointment-seasons-change-and-friends-do-too
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Hollings, D. (2026, April 4). Objective reality. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/objective-reality
Hollings, D. (2026, April 19). Outcome: Victim mentality and playing the victim. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/outcome-victim-mentality-and-playing-the-victim
Hollings, D. (2026, January 17). Own it: Yeah, ‘dat me! Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/own-it-yeah-dat-me
Hollings, D. (2025, April 9). Perception, action, and will. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/perception-action-and-will
Hollings, D. (2025, October 27). Physiological and psychological fitness. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/physiological-and-psychological-fitness
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