Скачать или смотреть what is suppression and why not to suppres your feelings and emotions

A series of studies over the past few decades show that suppressing your emotions can and does affect your body and your mind. In fact, a 2013 study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester showed people who bottled up their emotions increased their chance of premature death from all causes by more than 30%, with their risk of being diagnosed with cancer increasing by 70%.

However, it’s not just your long-term health that can suffer if you suppress your negative emotions. There have been numerous studies showing 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. The effect is the same, even if the core emotion differs,” says provisional clinical psychologist Victoria Tarratt. “We know that it can affect blood pressure, memory and self-esteem.”

Longer term, says Tarratt, there’s an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. And avoiding emotions can also “lead to problems with memory, aggression, anxiety and depression”.

A study from the University of Texas found that by not acknowledging our emotions we’re actually making them stronger.

“For example, you might be angry at your brother and after stewing in your anger, not saying a thing, you could encourage an emotional outburst,” says Tarratt.

“So when you’re driving the car a few weeks later and someone cuts you off, you can get all-out road rage, causing an accident. That explosion and overreaction to a situation is your body’s way of releasing that pent-up emotion.”

Habitual use of suppression to manage emotional experience has been associated with a range of negative outcomes including higher levels of negative affect, lower levels of positive affect, poorer social adjustment, and decreased well-being (Gross & John, 2003).