Hi!
A couple of months ago I've created some kind of "theory"
. Actually this theory is based on my experience. I wrote it down but in my native language, and now I'll try to translate it into English. I hope, you'll understand it
I'm sure we find out the value of something when comparing.
So when you ask yourself "How do I feel right now?", the answer will be based on the comparison of this moment of your life with another moment.
So that's why I concluded that if you wish to feel good, you should feel bad first.
When comparing two different states of yourself (I suppose, this comparision is being made unconciously, deep in the brain), you can get positive or negative emotions. But there is one condition: you should remember your feeling(s), when you were in another state (when you felt good or bad). Otherwise, if you already forgot the memories about that different state, your brain will not have a source to compare with.
All this you can feel when you move from one state to another. Here are some simple examples: you've freezed and are getting warm, drinking a cup of tea. You've got angry, and now are calming down. You've worked hard, and now are relaxing in a chair.
So when moving from state to state you, if I can say so, are in 2 states at the same time: you feel them both. You're still feeling negative emotions, but you're feeling how they leave, and at the same time you're feeling as positive emotions are filling you. And they are filling you, because negative emotions are leaving. So you just feel better
PS: Probably, a word "condition" suit better in this context, instead of a word "state"...