Bottling up negative emotions like anxiety and anger can disrupt the normal function of your stress hormones called cortisol. This results in lowered immune function and an increased risk of developing a chronic illness. Not expressing your emotions is also a gateway to developing mental health conditions.
Smothering or bottling up emotions is suppressing one's feelings rather than expressing them openly and honestly. Also known as expressive suppression (ES), it is a common technique used to regulate difficult emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness or hide them from others.
Over time, we may feel like nobody cares about our needs or desires and that our opinion or voice doesn't matter. 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.
In today's world where every person has the freedom of speech, these beliefs may act as roadblocks. Another reason people bottle their emotions is to avoid getting hurt. Suppressing one's feelings may prevent us from being vulnerable in front of others.
“Suppressing your emotions, whether it's anger, sadness, grief or frustration, can lead to physical stress on your body. The effect is the same, even if the core emotion differs,” says provisional clinical psychologist Victoria Tarratt.
Suppressed emotions stay in the body. The effects of suppressed emotions include anxiety, depression, and other stress-related illnesses. Such suppression can lead to alcohol and substance abuse. (Read more about the link between childhood trauma and addiction here.)
Reticent means either quiet or restrained. If you're reticent about your feelings, you like to keep them to yourself, and you're probably quiet in rowdy groups where everyone is talking over each other.
CALM's new research shows:
Almost two in three (62%) 18-24 year olds saying they regularly hide their true feelings. The most common reasons men cited for not opening up about their emotions were not wanting to worry anyone (43%) and preferring to sort it out themselves (49%)
It's not an uncommon experience and it's called anhedonia. Simply put, anhedonia is when you lose interest in the social activities and physical sensations that you once enjoyed. It's a symptom of many mental health conditions, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
People who repress their emotions tend to focus on their physical health and seek physical health solutions for emotional health problems (Abbass, 2005). Just like a physical wound may fester and become infected if left untreated, the accumulation of unaddressed emotions can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Helpful stress (also known as eustress) can assist you with getting things done by helping you focus your attention. Unhelpful stress (distress), on the other hand, can be so severe that it can lead to fatigue and heart disease. If you have coronary artery disease (CAD), your heart may be deprived of oxygen.
Hiding your feelings has a high cost. A study from the University of Texas found that when we avoid our emotions, we're actually making them stronger — this can create serious implications for your body and mind. Bottling up emotions can make people more aggressive,” according to the research.
OTHER WORDS FOR pent-up
bottled-up, checked, confined, repressed, suppressed.
ENFP: You like to explore others' feelings, but are prone to bottling yours up.
One in four people don't feel they have someone to confide in, according to new research. Even after sharing their feelings, seven in 10 have held back how they really felt from a coworker, friend, or partner.
apathetic. / (ˌæpəˈθɛtɪk) / adjective. having or showing little or no emotion; indifferent.
Nonmedical terms describing similar conditions include emotionless and impassive. People with the condition are called alexithymics or alexithymiacs.
Alexithymia is when a person has difficulty experiencing, identifying, and expressing emotions.
The need for self-expression is an important part of our lives. When we don't express ourselves, we repress important parts of who we are and cause ourselves considerable struggle and lasting mental and emotional pain. Our frustration turns to rage. Our isolation turns to depression.
Suppressing our feelings can lead to exacerbated depression, anxiety, panic attacks and other mental health issues.
Many people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) will report that they spend a lot of time and energy suppressing emotions. If you have ever had an intense thought or feeling that you couldn't handle in the moment and tried to push away, you have experienced emotional suppression.