Signs That You Might Be Repressing Your Emotions
Patterns of thinking: You believe negative emotions are something bad, weak, or embarrassing. You believe negative emotions should not be expressed. You believe that you never struggle with negative emotions and describe yourself as feeling 'fine.
Emotional suppression happens when uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are pushed out of mind. People do this in a variety of ways, from using distraction (i.e. watching TV), or numbing (through drugs and alcohol), to overeating or controlling food intake.
Some people call suppression shutting down. Sometimes this leads to numbing yourself with scrolling on your phone, watching TV, or doing any other activity so you don't have to feel your emotions. This type of behavior can be temporary.
Repressed feelings are those that are unconscious. They differ from suppressed emotions, which are feelings you intentionally avoid because you're unsure of how to deal with them. When you suppress things, you know that you're pushing them down.
Yet, they're still there. The unresolved emotions get trapped in our body where they build and fester, draining our energy, leading to burnout, emotional imbalance, and eventually disease. When we chronically repress emotions, we create toxicity in our body, mind, and heart.
One reason is self-protection. People may think that if they don't feel their emotions, they can't get hurt by them. Other times, people suppress emotions because they think it's what others want them to do. They may have been told not to express certain emotions or that their feelings are invalid.
In general, people describe emotional numbness as feeling empty or dead inside, not caring about anything, and feeling disconnected from oneself and from the people around you.
For example, after losing a soccer game, a child might suppress his sadness and smile in front of his friends. In a perfect world, thought suppression or emotional suppression would leave a person with no traces of their unwanted thoughts. However, psychologists found the opposite in studies1.
It can also cause us to feel stressed, depressed, or anxious. In some cases, we may even feel deeply angry or rageful and develop feelings of resentment toward others. “There is some evidence that bottling up your emotions can lead to physical stress on the body,” says Dr. Mullen.
Emotional suppression, the act of consciously or unconsciously shutting down overwhelming thoughts and feelings, is often seen as a coping mechanism in response to traumatic events. Basically, suppressing emotions means pushing them down and not allowing yourself to feel them.
Smothering or bottling up emotions is suppressing one's feelings rather than expressing them openly and honestly.
For some people, the tremors are big movements in the muscles. For others, they are tiny contractions that feel like electrical frequencies moving through the body. TRE® is not painful—in fact, most people enjoy the sensations.
Emotional Trauma Symptoms
Psychological Concerns: Anxiety and panic attacks, fear, anger, irritability, obsessions and compulsions, shock and disbelief, emotional numbing and detachment, depression, shame and guilt (especially if the person dealing with the trauma survived while others didn't)
Neck Tension = Fear and Repressed Self-Expression
Fear and anxiety are also frequently stored in this area, particularly as a physical response to danger (as the neck is a vulnerable area) or strange environments. Neck muscle tension is also related to trust issues.
Along with memory loss, other signs of repressed trauma can include low self-esteem, substance abuse disorders, increased physical or mental illnesses, and interpersonal problems. Therapy can help you recover from trauma.
Grief can be stored in various parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, throat, and stomach. People may also experience physical sensations like heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat when experiencing grief.
Childish reactions may be a sign that you're dealing with repressed childhood memories. It could be that you throw tantrums, speak in a child-like voice, or are stubborn about small things. These regular regressions are all indicative that you have memories you haven't unlocked.
Suppression gets held in the body and creates a host of downstream effects, including anxiety, depression, stress-related illness, all the way to substance abuse and suicide.
Suppressing Emotions
Many with quiet BPD, especially those who experienced childhood trauma, hide their feelings because that is what they learned to do to survive when they were younger. You might believe your emotions are only acceptable if you appear in good spirits.
Although emotional suppression is often seen as the easier and more effective coping mechanism in the short-term, choosing emotional expression instead can lead to not just better physical and mental health, but also more emotional stability as well as a deeper understanding of the self and others.[41]