Not everyone wears their heart on their sleeve. Hiding one’s emotions or true feelings is done for a variety of different reasons. However, evading your true feelings isn’t healthy. If you are like the many people who have trouble coexisting with their emotions, you may find that you hide your emotions with facades, jokes, etc. Although this can seem like a very helpful coping mechanism, you still are unable to get to the root of the problem.
Some people fear their feeling because they believe that it is a sign of weakness to show emotion. Thus, they suppress their emotions totally in an attempt to numb any ounce of feeling. However, emotions are a part of our makeup as human beings and should be addressed as our emotions can help us make critical decisions pertaining to our life.
Emotions can be useful tools to help guide us in making sound decisions. Decision making is not fully dependent on intellect. There must be a balance as emotions sometimes tell us things that intellect can not. When you decide to master your emotions and learn to decipher your feelings, you can better tap into your intuition. It is also fair to those people in your life for you to be able to express your emotions. It is possibly safe to say that your loved ones aren’t mind- readers. So, they rely on you to tell them how you are feeling about certain things. By communicating this, your interpersonal relationships will greatly improve.
Although it may not be easy for some to get into the habit of connecting with their emotions, it is possible by incorporating the following:
Do NOT suppress your emotions/denial
A part of expressing your emotions is to own them. This can be one of the hardest things for some people to do as they are being asked to take account of how they feel and be accountable for their emotions. Remember that suppressing your emotions only means that your feelings pile on top of each other. Bottling up emotions can lead to bigger problems as some people reach their breaking point and are forced to expel their emotional buildup.
Don’t minimize
Another coping mechanism people use to deal with their emotions is through the use of jokes. Although it may serve as a distraction from any upsets, it fails to address the real problem. Express your emotions openly and honestly so that others can help. If you are always joking, people won’t be able to tell whether or not the matter is serious. If you are frustrated about something, express your frustrations and explain why. You will get the reassurance that the matter is fixed so that your frustration doesn’t get triggered again in the future.
Don’t judge yourself
Sometimes our emotions are not always rational. However, they are always valid and should always be observed. Don’t judge your emotions or yourself based on the feelings you have. Some people are hard on themselves for feeling certain emotions. Instead, try to understand what caused that emotion and how it can be alleviated.
