Unveiling the hidden realm of suppressed emotions, we delve into the mysterious journey they undertake. Discover the unseen corners of your psyche, where these unexpressed feelings reside, and the profound impact they have on your overall well-being.
People sometimes suppress their emotions and avoid fully experiencing or responding to them
Suppressed feelings may be channeled or redirected into physical activities
- People may mislabel or misinterpret a suppressed emotion to replace the uncomfortable feeling with a more acceptable one
- Sometimes, we are the playthings of emotions, particularly strong ones. They overtake our bodies and minds, and all we can do is act on them or wait for them to pass
Unconscious Feeling
Much as we have unconscious thoughts, we can have unconscious feelings and affective processes.
- We can only imagine that the emotions we try to suppress and do not allow ourselves to feel continue to exist in us in just that way: outside awareness. In that state, they may evolve and change, or they may not.
Attention and the Body
Change the character of our mental states by redirecting our attention
- Part of what it means to not allow oneself to feel some emotion is to not focus on that emotion’s object and instead, to pay attention to something else
- We can invite or disinvite emotions by assuming physical postures and undertaking activities either conducive to or incompatible with the given emotion
The Role of Interpretation
We may also partially block the experience of an emotion by mislabeling it
- Sometimes, we interpret sadness as anger, because we think sadness is weakness while anger preserves our dignity
- Deflection may only work for so long before the floodgates open
- What happens with the emotions deflected or suppressed temporarily?
