Suppressing Emotions Can Harm You -Here's What to Do Instead

“Emotions are physiological states that mobilize us for particular behaviors and communicate important information about our internal and external environments to ourselves and others. Emotions differ from feelings in that they can exist outside our conscious awareness. Feelings, by contrast, require a cognitive appraisal—they are our conscious interpretation and labeling of emotional states and other sensations.

Not every emotion is a pleasant experience. Because of how difficult some emotions can be, especially shame, anger, fear, and sadness—many people try to suppress them. Suppression may seem appropriate in certain situations. But too much reliance on suppression can harm us—literally, by increasing our risk of dying earlier, if we're not careful.

Next time you feel an uncomfortable emotion you want to suppress (or scream about), try doing the following:

• Notice where the emotion is in your body
• Notice the emotion's sensory qualities (is it hot, tense, heavy, small? What is its texture? Its shape?)
• Ask the emotion what it's trying to tell you
• Ask the emotion what it needs from you (sometimes this can simply be "reassurance" or "acknowledgment")
• Thank the emotion for the information it's trying to give you
• Offer the emotion what it needs from you (try saying "may you have ____")
• Invite the emotion to come with you—in your back pocket, say—as you go about pursuing your daily objectives and obligations.

The more we recognize, allow, and make space for our emotions, the greater tolerance we build for them. With greater tolerance, we're better able to modulate our emotions so they don't overwhelm our decision-making abilities or reason, or seem so unbearable that we have to suppress them. It may not always feel easy to respond rather than react to our emotions, but each time we try to do so, we get that much better at it.”

Read the whole article at Psychology Today

#Emotions #Feelings #Coping

💬 Do you tend to suppress emotions? How is it affecting you?/ If no, how do you express your emotions efficiency?