Stress Changes Mixed Emotions’ Impact on Health

Imagine receiving exciting news about a new job, but simultaneously feeling a knot of anxiety about the big changes ahead.

That confusing blend of joy and nervousness is a mixed emotion: the co-occurrence of positive and negative feelings at the same time.

While sometimes celebrated as a sign of emotional maturity, other research suggests these conflicting states can be disruptive.

So, are mixed emotions good or bad for your health? A major new study suggests the answer depends entirely on the situation.

The Emotional Calculus of Stress

The research employed a large-scale Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study — a sophisticated method where 710 American adults reported their emotions and well-being multiple times a day over seven days.

This time-lagged, multilevel approach is a powerful tool for examining how a person’s emotions in one moment affect their well-being in the next, offering a more nuanced view than single-point surveys.

The researchers specifically focused on associations between mixed emotions and physical well-being (like bodily pain and fatigue) and social well-being (satisfaction with social interactions).

Critically, they tested if the presence of a stressful event—a daily hassle reported either moment-by-moment or at the end of the day—changed the mixed emotion-well-being relationship.

Calm Moments: The Conflicting Burden of Mixed Feelings

The study found that when participants were not reporting a stressful event, mixed emotions acted as a subtle toxin.

Experiencing mixed emotions was associated with poorer next-moment physical well-being.

Similarly, on days without a reported stressful event, a higher level of mixed emotions over that day predicted poorer physical health on the subsequent day.

This finding aligns with the “conflict perspective,” which argues that mixed emotions are inherently disruptive, signaling a sense of emotional contradiction and incoherence that is uncomfortable to hold.

Essentially, when everything is relatively smooth, the conflict inherent in mixed feelings may simply be a source of gratuitous distress.

When Stress Hits: Mixed Emotions Neutralized

The narrative completely shifted when stress was introduced.

When participants did report a stressful event just before the prompt, the association between mixed emotions and subsequent physical well-being became nonsignificant.

Mixed emotions were no longer linked to poorer well-being. The conflict disappeared.

The same pattern emerged for day-level analysis: on days when participants reported a stressful event, mixed emotions were not associated with poorer next-day physical health.

This supports the “integrative perspective”.

In a stressful context, mixed emotions may become adaptive, facilitating the ability to process a complex or contradictory situation more effectively.

When faced with a threat, the capacity to hold both the negative feelings (e.g., fear, sadness) and some positive coping or hope is beneficial.

However, the authors stress a crucial nuance: the link didn’t turn positive.

Mixed emotions didn’t lead to improved well-being during stress; they merely stopped being detrimental.

They served as a mitigation factor, not a super-power.

When the Context Is Too Distant

Interestingly, major adverse life events reported in the previous month – such as bereavement or a new illness – did not change the relationship between mixed emotions and well-being.

The researchers suggest the temporal proximity of the stressor matters most.

Only immediate, proximal stressors – the everyday hassle or moment-to-moment strain – were powerful enough to moderate the emotional impact.

Why It Matters: Reframing Our Relationship with Conflicting Feelings

This research fundamentally reframes how we think about mixed emotions, moving from a simple good/bad dichotomy to a context-dependent view.

For everyday readers and those focused on mental health, the takeaway is an important one: if you feel simultaneously happy and sad during a quiet, uneventful time, it might genuinely feel uncomfortable or taxing on your system.

This is the cost of emotional incoherence.

However, if you feel that same emotional blend while navigating a difficult situation, like a professional setback or a family issue, those conflicting feelings are likely part of a healthier, more adaptive process.

The inherent “conflict” of the emotions is overridden by their function in promoting sound judgment and effective coping.

The study also reinforces that day-to-day well-being, especially physical health, can predict subsequent emotional states.

Taking care of your physical health may help reduce the future experience of mixed emotions.

Future research needs to differentiate between specific mixed emotion pairs (like “gratitude-anger” versus “gratitude-guilt”) and their impact.

This will help refine therapeutic applications and better guide us on which mixed feelings to tolerate and which to gently address.