What happens when you suppress your emotions for too long?

A 2021 study conducted in Italy during the first wave of lockdowns showed that when we regulate or ignore our emotions, we can experience short-term mental and physical reactions as well. “Suppressing your emotions, whether it's anger, sadness, grief or frustration, can lead to physical stress on your body.

What happens if you suppress your emotions for too long?

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.)

Can suppressing emotions be harmful?

Studies have shown that suppressing emotions actually endangers your health and well-being, both physically and psychologically. Emotional suppression (having a stiff upper lip or “sucking it up”) might decrease outward expressions of emotion but not the inner emotional experience.

What can suppressed emotions lead to?

Repressed emotions can also factor into mental health conditions, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. These issues often cause physical symptoms, including: muscle tension and pain. nausea and digestive problems.

Can suppressing emotions cause mental illness?

There isn't a lot of research that indicates that repressed emotions cause health problems. But your overall emotional and mental health is directly linked to your physical health. Repressed anger or other negative emotions may be tied to a higher risk for things like: Depression.

A Neuroscientist Explains the Danger of Suppressing Your Emotions

What happens when you bury your feelings?

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.

What happens when repressed emotions surface?

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.

How do you unlock suppressed emotions?

How do I know if I'm suppressing emotions?

What happens if you don't talk about your feelings?

By hiding your emotions, you prevent clear communication with the people in your life. This lack of communication makes it tough to navigate conflict. When you can't work through problems, they'll probably keep happening.

Can bottling up emotions cause memory loss?

“There is some evidence that bottling up your emotions can lead to physical stress on the body,” says Dr. Mullen. “The stress caused to the body can lead to increased diabetes and heart disease risks. Other effects can be memory difficulties.”

What is a person who hides their feelings called?

Stoic is a term for someone who can handle pain and hardship without showing one's feelings or complaining.

Can suppressing emotions cause anxiety attacks?

Our emotions accumulate and worsen the longer we try to deny or avoid them. Suppressing our feelings can lead to exacerbated depression, anxiety, panic attacks and other mental health issues.

How long can you hold an emotion in?

“Feelings are like ocean waves,” says psychologist Alyson Stone, “they rise, crest and recede, all day long.” We can all relate. But according to brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, these waves last just 90 seconds. After that, we're simply re-stimulating our internal circuitry.

What does trauma release feel like?

After practicing TRE® people often use the words 'grounded', 'relaxed' and 'calmer' to describe their feelings. After a period of several months people have reported relief from illnesses such as Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Eczema and IBS.

Is bottling up emotions good?

Bottling up your emotions is never good for the mind and body. Your physical and mental health is greatly affected when you repress your emotions. Bottling up negative emotions like anxiety and anger can disrupt the normal function of your stress hormones called cortisol.

How do you know if you have unprocessed trauma?

People who have unprocessed trauma often report having commonly known symptoms, such as intrusive thoughts of the event(s), mood swings, loss of memory and more. However, some people may be struggling with unresolved trauma without even realizing it.

Where trauma is stored in the body?

Ever since people's responses to overwhelming experiences have been systematically explored, researchers have noted that a trauma is stored in somatic memory and expressed as changes in the biological stress response.

Where is sadness stored in the body?

Emotional information is stored through “packages” in our organs, tissues, skin, and muscles. These “packages” allow the emotional information to stay in our body parts until we can “release” it. Negative emotions in particular have a long-lasting effect on the body.

Can suppressing emotions cause PTSD?

Emotional avoidance may be effective in the short-term and can provide some temporary relief. In the long run, it often causes more harm as avoidance behaviors are associated with increased severity of PTSD symptoms.

Can suppressing your emotions cause memory loss?

Result. Individuals who reported to fully agree on suppressing their emotions had nearly five times higher risk of developing dementia/AD as compared to those who fully disagreed on suppressing their emotions (Hazard ratio [HR] 4.93, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.11–21.93).

Where do repressed thoughts go?

repression, in psychoanalytic theory, the exclusion of distressing memories, thoughts, or feelings from the conscious mind. Often involving sexual or aggressive urges or painful childhood memories, these unwanted mental contents are pushed into the unconscious mind.

What happens if you suppress love?

Chronically holding back negative feelings doesn't work.

Chronically suppressing emotions can make you feel more distant and resentful. When you chronically don't express what you feel, you are expecting your partner to be a mind reader and depriving them of the opportunity to change their behavior or give you support.

What happens if you hold in tears?

Your brain signals your adrenal glands to release stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals boost your heart rate and blood pressure, so if you hold them in while trying not to cry, it can translate into chest tightness and heavy breathing.

Can suppressing emotions cause heart problems?

The heart and the mind are intimately connected. Negative states of mind, including depression, anxiety, loneliness, anger and chronic stress, may increase the risk for heart disease over time or worsen heart issues that already exist.