How to deal with buried emotions

Holding on to feelings you consciously avoid are called repressed emotions. These buried emotions are typically a result of our childhood experiences, meaning if you grew up in an environment that lacked communication and talking about your feelings, it's likely that will follow you into adulthood.

Common childhood experiences

Growing up in a family that rarely showed or talked about emotions
Being shamed for expressing emotions
Being told your feelings or emotions are wrong/bad
Hearing things like “calm down” or “you have no reason to be sad” and “you’re so ungrateful”
Childhood trauma

Why do these childhood experiences lead to repressing emotions later on in life? It’s a coping mechanism we develop because it feels safer to avoid these emotions all together than to potentially feel awkward or shame when addressing them. Essentially we believe these are emotions we shouldn’t have, and oftentimes, we don’t even realize we’re doing it!

So what are the most common emotions we repress? Everything from anger to frustration, sadness, fear and even disappointment. The common theme here is that each of these emotions are considered negative or bad, and we therefore think we will be judged for expressing them.

How this can impact you

Stress
Anxiety
Decreased immunity
Loss of appetite
Digestive upset
Sleep issues
And even depression

6 signs you may have repressed emotions

You feel nervous a lot
You get annoyed when people ask about your feelings
You’re forgetful
You’re often stressed without any cause
You feel numb regularly
You feel uncomfortable when other people share their emotions

How to release your repressed emotions

It might be easier said than done, but it is possible! Holding on to these buried emotions and feelings have a major impact on your mental and physical wellbeing, therefore it’s important to address them and work on improving yourself each and every day so you can live a happy, comfortable life.

Working on your repressed emotions

Seek therapy – it will help you talk about it, and get out of your comfort zone, professional help is a safe and effective way to address this
Talk about your feelings more often – start with people you trust, or people you know that are open and receptive to it
Stop judging yourself and start praising yourself – use phrases starting with “I” to address problems you're feeling inside, for example “I feel good right now” or “I feel uncomfortable right now, and that is okay”
Check-in with yourself daily – ask yourself how you’re doing/feeling, try journaling to release your feelings and emotions and discover ways you can improve upon them

Learning how to address these emotions can be difficult at first, but result in a very rewarding process that will help change your life! So what are you waiting for <3