Comfortably Numb: 6 Signs of Emotional Inhibition Schema

Origins of emotional inhibition schema include the following:

• Growing up in a family context in which showing emotion often led to being punished, hurt, ridiculed, exploited, or neglected.
• Having parents or families where everyone was detached.
• Growing up with caregivers who had addiction issues or alcoholism.
• Growing up and living with structural violence and social dehumanization.

How to Overcome Emotional Inhibition Schema

• Consider your past. Schemas form as a way of adapting. So it’s likely that you formed this schema for good reasons in your childhood. Journal about ways that your childhood experience made expressing emotion seem problematic.
• Use third-person narrative. Start a feelings journal and work your way up to making daily entries. If you have trouble noting your feelings, try writing your day like it was the story of a character in a novel.
• Read fiction. Fiction by nature is about empathy for characters.
• Pay attention to films and TV where character motivation is driven by emotional needs and feelings.
• Use a feelings wheel. The feelings wheel is a chart with color-coordinated names for a broad spectrum of human emotion. Just like learning language for scents or tastes, you can build a vocabulary to describe feelings. This can be easily found online.
• Learn about boundaries. Overcoming emotional inhibition involves setting boundaries and thinking about how to be vulnerable: Numbness is a wall; healthy boundaries are a door. Boundaries help you manage vulnerability and feel secure but open.
• Practice sharing emotions with people who care. As you develop new awareness of emotion, you’ll be able to share your needs with loved ones. Start small and trust yourself with new feelings of vulnerability.
• Attend to your emotions with care, validation, nurturing, and security. Once you become aware of your feelings, it’s up to you to care for them!

Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!

Reflection:

Do you struggle with emotional inhibition schema?

#EmotionalRegulation #Childhood #EmotionalNeglect #MentalHealth