Feelings just don’t go away. But most of us learned that certain emotions, especially negative ones, are meant to be hidden. We often hear grown-ups tell kids to stop crying or mask your pain as it is not right to show vulnerability. Of course, most parents and guardians do not mean any harm when they say this. Most likely they grew up hearing the same thing from adults. This is why it’s hard to unlearn it.
To unlearn it is a must because emotions are meant to be processed, not suppressed. Bottling negative emotions does more harm than good. Hiding emotions can significantly affect your physical and emotional health.
Here are reasons why you shouldn’t repress your emotions:
Emotion Build-up
To pretend you are okay even if you’re not can only intensify your feelings. There are studies that support this fact. Fake it until you make it won’t work. For example, many of us believe that it’s better to suppress anger than express it. But repressing it means you won’t be able to resolve it so it continues to build and seethe under your pretense. Eventually, you cannot contain your anger any longer and you might burst and completely lose it. What makes it worse is that you might just blow up at someone who isn’t really the one who made you mad, making you feel more terrible than before.
Engaging in Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Some of us tend to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms when we are overwhelmed with masking our emotions. Some people turn to alcohol to numb themselves and forget their problems, and some even resort to substance abuse to feel euphoric and avoid frustrations. Others lash out at people around them. Then there are some who harm themselves because they can’t hold their feelings any longer. These are all self-destructive and do no good. The best way to avoid ending up with these kinds of behaviors is to express your emotions and your thoughts in a healthy way.
Communication Problems
When you are repressing your emotions, you are likely unable to communicate honestly and properly with your family and friends, making it difficult to deal with conflict. When you can’t work through your issues, chances are they’ll happen again and again until you’ll start feeling resentful. It’s just going to be a vicious cycle unless you start opening up what you truly feel. What makes it worse is you might lose some valuable relationships because of your failure to communicate your true feelings.
You might get used to hiding what you feel until such a time you are going to do it unconsciously or you start to lose touch with your own emotions.
Relationship Strain
We have this tendency to hide what we feel or keep to ourselves when something is bothering us in fear of being judged or to protect others’ feelings. When someone asks if you’re okay, you’ll say you’re fine even if you are obviously not. You might think masking your real thoughts and feelings would avoid tension but the truth is it can only make the person confused or frustrated. They also might feel hurt that you don’t trust them enough to tell them the truth. They will also begin to not trust you.
And if they do believe you are telling the truth, they might feel that there is something wrong with them for they cannot understand you or they may feel that they don’t really know you, making them question your relationship’s strength.
Loneliness Will Be Your Company
If you bottle up your emotions, you are also building a wall that will keep people from coming in. You will feel disconnected. When you are afraid of expressing what you truly feel to others, you will feel alone even if there are people who are there ready to listen to you and to support you no matter what.
Greater Chances of Early Death
This might sound intense but it is supported by a 12-year study. According to the study, emotional suppression is associated with the risk of early death. One probable explanation for the link between the two is the fact that emotional suppression adds stress to your life. Prolonged stress in the body puts you at higher risk of high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, heart problems, and sleep issues. These conditions can significantly affect your health and when left untreated can cause early death.
How to Stop Bottling Negative Emotions
Some people just find it hard to express their feelings but anyone can start with baby steps. Here are ways to help you stop bottling up your emotions:
Express your emotions by writing about them and talking about them. To be better at navigating your emotions, acknowledge them and move with them. If you aren’t ready yet to talk to someone about what you feel, you can start by writing a journal to record your thoughts and feelings.
Eventually, you’d need someone to talk to about your feelings. Know that feeling negative emotions is natural. We experience them because we are human beings. To be vulnerable is not a weakness. Sharing your feelings with others will lighten the burden.
Determine what keeps you from expressing your emotions. You probably might have had unresolved issues in the past. Why do you fear opening up? When you know the root cause, you can start addressing the problem properly.
Some negative emotions are not easy to resolve on their own. You may find it hard to figure out the cause of unresolved emotions. A Reiki session can help you start opening up more. Facing negative feelings is uncomfortable, and Reiki can help you cope with these feelings. Reiki can also help you become more aware of your own emotions so you can be better at managing them.
Another more advanced type of energy healing treatment you might want to try is Intuitive Healing with a focus on emotional energy healing. This form of healing releases negative emotions that are stuck in your body that might probably cause you to bottle up. This way you are freed from it. It also helps in altering your subconscious thought patterns so you are less prone to hide your emotions. Additionally, emotional energy healing supports emotional release in a safe and gentle way. In metaphysics, we believe that many mental health issues (such as anxiety, depression) and physical conditions (commonly such as gut issues, cancers, thyroid issues, hormonal imbalances, chronic pain) are caused by unresolved negative emotions. Intuitive Healing sessions for emotional release, which I specialize in can be done in-person, or remotely via distant healing sessions. They can massively help with physical conditions or chronic illnesses in a natural and non-invasive way.
Start listening to what you are feeling. Embrace them fully and let them flow. This way, the negative feeling won’t be intensified. Start with allowing yourself to feel. That’s the first step towards healthy emotional release.
