How can I keep my own emotions from directly affecting those around me in a negative way?

What I do to prevent this from happening, is I release my negative emotions in a healthy way. I like to work out, especially yoga, and it helps me contain my negative emotions and I won't take them out on someone else. You need to find a hobby that is good for you and will distract you.

I have found times when my depression has lead me to be short tempered to people around me. I have found been aware of what the thought I am focusing on is like "they don't want me around anyway" and understanding it is part of the depression. Challenging the thought by thinking of times and people when I have felt welcomed and supported has helped.

Sounds like a simple question, but if you are an empath (empathtest.com, found the link in the training materials for 7cups somewhere) then it is entirely possible your emotions are actually coming from the people around you. Learning the find art of observation and processing, not only of your own emotions, but others around you, may help. Stepping outside yourself to take inventory of everything going on in the area as well as in your life sometimes helps. What helps me is I have a close circle of friends, listeners, and a spouse that understand how emotions can affect me from others as I am, without a doubt, an empath and can be effected greatly by the emotions of those around me. It's very challenging, and infinitely more challenging when you haven't a clue what's causing your emotional funk. Sometimes, you just have to remove yourself from the situation, be it a walk, a trip to the bathroom for a cry or just processing, or a short chat out of earshot with a close friend to arrange the mangled emotions that may be troubling you, causing anxiety and such. If you trust those around you, good friends, feel free to tell them that you are having a bit of a funk. They will understand, maybe even more than you think. I hope this helps. It's kinda all over the map. The bottom line is processed and appropriate disclosure of emotions, both good and bad, releases them. Do that, and they no longer own you, you own them.

Journal. Talk to a friend. Practice empathy. Let go of fear and doubt. Distract yourself. Think before you speak.

It's good if you can find a release for the emotional roller coaster that you go through. So that the emotions do not effect the people around you.

You can by avoiding it in a few ways like talking it out with someone who knows you or even try doing it on your own too.

The important thing to remember is it's not your fault--you can't help or change the way you feel; it's not your choice. What you DO have control over, however, is what actions you take or how you behave because of the way you feel. If you're upset, you can't help feeling upset-- that's just a reaction to whatever's going on in your life. But it's your choice to lash out at somebody because you're upset, or to shut people out. If you're sad, you can't help being sad. But it's your choice to stop talking or stop eating or to start cutting yourself, and therefore you have a choice when it comes to whether or not the people around you are going to worry about you. To keep your emotions from directly affecting those around you in a negative way, it's important to think about the implications of everything you do, and then act accordingly. It's just a balance between expressing yourself and making sure other people aren't going to worry too much about you.