When you suppress your emotions for too long, it can lead to physical, mental, and emotional effects. Physically, suppressing emotions can cause chronic pain and lead to an increased risk of developing diseases, like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Mentally, it can lead to distorted forms of thinking, such as critical self-talk and inaccurate perceptions of the world. It can also lead to an increased risk of developing mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Emotionally, suppressing emotions can lead to a complete emotional shutdown where you don’t experience any emotion at all. It can lead to avoidance of relationships and difficulty engaging in social situations.
It can also lead to an increased risk of developing addictive behaviors, such as drug or alcohol use. If you find yourself suppressing emotions for too long, recognizing it and learning to express those emotions in healthy ways is important.
Otherwise, it can have a long-term negative effect on your physical and mental wellbeing.
What are the consequences of suppressing emotions?
The consequences of suppressing emotions can be both physical and mental, and vary in severity depending on how frequently and long-term the suppression of emotions takes place.
Physically, suppressing emotions can lead to an increase in stress hormones, such as cortisol, resulting in a weakened immune system and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Physical tension can also result in headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and gastrointestinal issues.
Mentally, suppressing emotions can lead to feelings of depression, isolation and detachment, difficulty concentrating and making decisions, low self-esteem, and a lack of trust. The prolonged release of stress hormones can also lead to anxiety and make it difficult to maintain healthy relationships.
Furthermore, suppressing emotions makes it nearly impossible to recognize, label and understand one’s own emotions, leading to problems in communication and decision-making.
Therefore, it is important to recognize, understand and express emotions in order to maintain mental and physical health. Talking with friends, family, or a professional can help in learning how to express emotions in a healthy way and cope with difficult experiences.
Can suppressing emotions be harmful?
Yes, suppressing emotions can be harmful. People sometimes try to hold in or deny negative feelings such as anger, sadness, and fear, as though the feelings don’t exist. But suppressing these emotions can have a number of negative consequences.
It can lead to increased stress and mental health issues, influence physical health and limit the ability to effectively cope with life’s challenges.
Holding in emotions can lead to physical health concerns. Research has shown that long-term suppression of emotions can weaken the immune system, increase tension and lead to a range of physical issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, headaches, and digestive issues.
Such physical health issues can, in turn, interfere with the ability to function adequately and keep up with responsibilities.
In addition, suppressing emotions can affect mental health. One study found that individuals who report suppressing emotions were more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who do not practice emotional suppression.
This is because if a person doesn’t give themselves the opportunity to sort out and process their feelings, a cycle of despair, fear and rumination can develop which can be difficult to break out of.
Finally, suppressing emotions can also lead to ineffective coping strategies. Instead of dealing with and managing difficult situations, emotions are pushed down and ignored. This can lead to the development of unhealthy ways of coping with difficult feelings such as overeating and drinking, which can ultimately become addictions.
In essence, while suppressing emotions may seem like a quick solution to cope with difficult feelings, it can often lead to greater problems in the long run. Practicing healthy ways of coping with and expressing emotions, such as talking to a therapist and engaging in physical activities, can have a positive effect on mental and physical health.
How long can you hold an emotion in?
It is difficult to say exactly how long you can hold an emotion in, as this varies significantly from person to person. While some people are able to suppress their emotions, it is ultimately not healthy to do so for long periods of time.
The longer you keep an emotion in, the more likely it is to impact your mental and physical wellbeing. Emotions, both positive and negative, are a normal and healthy part of life and should be expressed in a healthy and constructive way.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, it is important to take a step back and talk to someone to help process and understand your feelings, rather than keeping them bottled in.
Can you be emotionally numb forever?
No, it’s not possible to remain emotionally numb forever. Our emotional state is in constant flux and can be affected by any number of external and internal factors – from physical health and life circumstances, to emotional trauma and the relationship we have with ourselves.
We can suppress our emotions and emotional responses, but that doesn’t mean that the emotions go away. They can still be experienced and expressed in other ways.
For some people, emotional numbness is a coping mechanism for difficult or intense emotions that can be too painful to feel. It can also be a way of protecting oneself from any further emotional distress.
But, like all forms of defense mechanisms, staying numb can only be effective for so long. When we allow ourselves to really feel our emotions, no matter how difficult it may be, we can start to regain a sense of control over our own feelings and reactions.
This doesn’t happen overnight – processing painful emotions can take time and hard work, and people tend to move through a range of emotions before they can truly find peace.
What is the 90 seconds rule in emotion?
The “90 seconds rule” is an emotion regulation strategy that tells us that emotional intensity typically lasts only 90 seconds. This means that intense emotional reactions are usually short-lived and pass quickly.
The idea behind this rule is that emotional reactions can be observed and fully experienced in the moment, but they don’t and shouldn’t have to linger in the long term.
Adopting the 90 seconds rule involves understanding and accepting your emotions, and allowing yourself to process them effectively and productively. This means that when we experience intense emotions we can take a step back and be mindful of our reaction, allowing the emotion to pass within 90 seconds or less, without getting overwhelmed or obsessed with it.
Over time, this practice can help us to become more aware of our emotions and better at managing them.
Can you hold emotions in your body?
Yes, it is possible to hold emotions in your body. When we experience strong emotions, our body reacts by releasing hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, and endorphins. These hormones cause physical changes like increased heart rate, perspiration, and shaking.
Long-term exposure to these hormones can cause physical issues and lead to stress-related illnesses. Furthermore, according to Trauma theory, the body can store trauma which can take the form of physical ailments or emotional reactions to stressful triggers.
When we experience trauma, or any other strong emotion, we may incubate it in our body rather than experience it fully and consciously. Without proper release of these emotions, the body can carry the tension and strain of them, causing physical symptoms.
For example, a person who is holding on to intense anger may experience muscle tension, headaches, or even increased blood pressure. As such, it is possible to hold emotions within the body, as the body can emotionally and physically store them.
Can emotions get stuck?
Yes, emotions can sometimes get stuck. This means that an individual may have difficulty processing an emotion and feel unable to move on from it. It can create a feeling of being trapped in the emotion and unable to be free from it.
It can occur as a result of a traumatic or difficult experience, or it may be caused by changes in hormones or imbalances in neurotransmitters. It can also occur due to any type of stress or an inability to cope with challenging moments.
This can cause an individual to feel like they are in a state of “emotional paralysis” and can lead to long-term psychological and physical health problems. In order to break out of this stuck state, it is important for individuals to take steps to process emotions in a healthy and constructive way.
This can involve talking to a trusted person, engaging in mindful practices, practicing self-compassion, or using creative outlets to express emotions. It’s also important to remember that it is normal to feel stuck sometimes, and that emotions need to be experienced in order to move forward.
