Importance of Expressing Your Emotions

Our modern life is comprised of emotional hurdles. The pressure to succeed, the need to “keep up,” fear of missing out, the agony of not getting what we wanted, desire for good relations and work satisfaction can all evoke volatile combinations of sensations.

However, what we have learned from our society is not how to work with our emotions, but how to block and avoid them.

With sayings such as ‘she’ll be right and ‘no worries’ becomes a part of our daily vernacular; it seems that our society rates them as positivity highly. But if you’re having a tough time, stifling negative emotions doesn’t make them completely go away and could be unhealthy.

If you didn't know, your thoughts and emotions can affect your well-being. Emotions that are experienced freely and expressed without judgment or attachment always tend to flow fluidly without reshaping your health.

Whereas thwarting emotions is not good for your mental or physical health. To be more precise it is like pressing on the gas and brakes of your car at the same time, creating an internal pressure cooker.

Repressed emotions especially those fearful or negative ones mostly can zap our mental energy, negatively influence the body, and could lead to health problems...

It's important to acknowledge our thoughts and emotions and be aware of the effect they have—not only on each other, but also on our bodies, habits, and relations.

People who have good emotional health are always aware of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. They would have learned many healthy ways to cope with the stress and problems which are a normal part of their life too. They must have often felt good about themselves and have healthy relationships.

I would say, anger, frustration, fear, and other "negative emotions" are all a part of our human experience. They can all lead to stress and are often seen as emotions to be avoided, ignored, or otherwise repudiated, but they can be healthy to experience.

There is no other better approach than to manage them without denying them, and there are several reasons for this.

What do you mean by thoughts?

Thoughts are mental cognitions—our ideas, views, and beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. They include the perspectives we bring to any circumstance or experience that color our point of view for better, worse, or neutral.

While our thoughts are usually shaped by life experiences, genetics, and education, they are generally under conscious control. Only if you are aware of your thoughts and attitudes, you can choose to change them.

What are emotions?

Emotions are the flow and experience of feelings, for instance, joy, sadness, anger, or fear. Emotions can be triggered by something external like seeing a friend suffer or watching a movie or something internal such as an upsetting memory.

While emotions are universal, each person may experience them and respond to them differently. Some people may struggle with understanding what emotion they are undergoing.

These emotions serve to connect us with others and help us to cultivate strong social bonds.

To explain its seriousness I can only tell you this, 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 the causes by more than 30%, with their risk of being diagnosed along with cancer increasing by 70%.

How do manage these negative thoughts?

The idea of "managing" these negative emotions is always a complex one much more than you could know. It doesn't mean avoiding them—restraint is a form of coping that attempts to do this, and it can often backfire.

When the mind thwarts the flow of sentiments because they are too overwhelming or too conflicting, it puts stress on the mind and the body, creating psychological crisis and traits. Emotional stress, like that from blocked emotions, has not only been linked to mental afflictions but also physical problems like heart disease, intestinal problems, headaches, insomnia and autoimmune disorders.

Managing negative emotions is more about embracing the fact that we are indeed feeling them, determining why we are feeling this way, and allowing ourselves to receive the messages that they are sending us before we express them and move forward.

Yes, you read that right but trust me it's true. Our emotions are designed to be messengers to tell us something that we miss about ourselves. These messages can be very valuable if we listen to them.

'Negative thoughts?

You can ask me if they are negative thoughts and emotions and the answer would be no. When we talk about these so-called negative emotions, it's important to remember that these emotions, in and of themselves, aren't negative as in "bad." It is deeper than they are in the realm of negativity as compared to positivity.

Emotions aren't necessarily good or bad, they are just events and flags that allow us to pay more attention to the events that create them. This can either motivate us to create more of a certain experience or bring us down as a matter of fact.

Unlike some emotions, negative emotions aren't always pleasant to experience and dwell upon. But, like most emotions, they exist for a reason and can be quite useful to feel.

On the contrary argument, I can pose the statement, even positive emotions have downsides. Optimism, for instance, has been linked to many beneficial outcomes for health and happiness as well as personal success.

Unchecked optimism, can lead to unrealistic expectations and even dangerous risks that can lead to loss and all of the negative feelings that can come with it. While on the other hand more uncomfortable emotional states like anxiety, however, can lead to motivation to make changes that can create more success and avoid danger.

Coping with strong emotions

There are many ways which improve your emotional health. A better strategy is to accept and embrace our negative states, while also engaging in activities that can authentically counter-balance these uncomfortable emotions.

Sorting out the causes of sadness, stress, and anxiety in your life can help you out to manage your emotional health. Some of the mentioned remedies are:

1. Express your feelings in appropriate ways

If feelings of stress, sadness, or anxiety are the ones causing physical problems, then keeping these feelings inside can make you feel worse. It’s okay to let your loved ones know when something is troubling you.

2. Live a balanced life

Focus on the grateful things or persons in your life. Do try not to obsess about the problems at work, school, or home which can lead to negative feelings. This doesn’t mean you have to pretend to be happy when you feel stressed or feeling anxious. It’s important to deal with these negative feelings first, but try to focus on the positive things in your life, too.

3. Take care of yourself

To attain good emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body by eating healthy nutritional meals, getting enough sleep, and exercising to relieve pent-up tensions and feelings. Avoid overeating and don’t get abused by drugs or alcohol.

4. Calm your mind and body

Relaxation methods, such as meditation, listening to music, listening to guided imagery tracks, yoga, and Tai Chi are immensely useful to bring your emotions into balance. Free guided imagery videos are also available on YouTube which gradually leads you away from your problem.

5. The role of forgiveness

Forgiveness means fully accepting that a negative event has occurred and relinquishing our negative emotions surrounding the situation. Research shows that forgiveness helps us experience healthier mental, emotional and physical health.

6. Talking to your Doctor

You may not be used to talk to your doctor about your pent up feelings or problems in your personal life. But remember, they can’t always tell that you’re feeling upset just by looking at you. I think you do know that it’s important to be honest with your doctor if you are having these feelings.

If your negative feelings don’t go away and are so strong that they keep you from enjoying life, you need to talk to your doctor. Considering the symptoms, you might have what doctors call this “major depression.” Depression is a medical illness that can be treated with individualized counselling, medicine, or both.

But I would suggest you this, do surround yourselves with positive cheerful souls as you can feel the positivity and can soak up in their sunshine too. That doesn't mean you should control your emotions... Don't bottle up your thoughts and emotions. Let it free and live free should be your goal mantra.

That's how others could understand you and can realize that you require attention and support.

Written By - Bennet Vini

Edited By - Chavi Goel