Many people tend to bottle up their emotions. This may be because the emotions are painful to feel and there is an understandable tendency to avoid the hurt. Maybe there is a fear that if you allow your feelings out you will be consumed with the emotion and feel out of control. Others may falsely believe they do not have a right to feel their emotions and associate this practice with being labeled as “weak.” Or perhaps you just cannot find the time and privacy to let it out.
Regardless of the reason it is essential you do release your emotions. Failure to do so may cause a buildup of stress which can create a host of all kinds of problems both physically and emotionally. Heart disease, skin problems, cancers, and other aliments are linked to pent up emotions. Anxiety and depression are more common in people who are not processing their feelings.
If necessary, make an appointment with yourself or with someone else, whether a friend or professional, and let it all out! Maybe you need to watch a sad movie, listen to certain music to get the process going. Once you start processing your feelings you can then deal with and resolve your negative emotions. However, if you do not confront your emotions they will not leave, and you risk other complications. The emotions may come out in an uncontrolled way such as on the wrong person or in the wrong setting. Do you really want to be that person that loses it on the poor innocent pizza guy, has a tantrum in the mall or freaks out at back-to-school night? I imagine not so take appropriate steps to feel your feelings now. You will be glad you did!