When stress becomes a permanent part of our lives, and we accept its presence, more destructive changes begin to take place in the body. Over time, hiding from the mental load caused by the stress, and ignoring its warning signs, will cause our body to become physically sick.
- Do you perceive everything in terms of “white or black”?
- Do you often use the words “always” and “never”?
- In stressful moments do you imagine the bleakest scenarios to save yourself from disappointment?
- Do you think badly about yourself, about others, about the future or the world?
If you answer yes to these questions, you may have a problem with the effects of suppressing your emotions. Still not convinced? Maybe your body is giving you signs? Here are the general symptoms of chronic stress and its effects:
Body: headache, muscle tension, frequent back pain, fatigue, chest tightness, sleep problems, decreased libido
Mood: frequent exhaustion and feeling powerless, lack of motivation, emotional emptiness, depression, and a feeling of multidimensional depression
Behaviour: overeating or unhealthy diet, not eating enough, withdrawing, avoiding contact with friends, family or other people, outbursts of anger and mood swings, succumbing to addiction
What lies behind anger?
Anger is one of our most complex emotions. Its complexity is caused by interpretation of events or feelings, rather than character faults or emotional overload. People who suppress emotions most often describe their condition with anger, mistaking it for regret, rage, disappointment, fear or sadness. Contrary to appearances, anger is a feeling aimed at ending suffering, not intensifying it. It is also one of the warning feelings that is supposed to protect us, either by words or actions. However, before and after anger you also experience other emotional states. The order is as follows:
Irritability – Discomfort that causes irritation similar to when we try to rid ourselves of a mosquito.
Irritation – begins when muscle tension builds up (increases with cumulative feelings). This condition, in turn, can be compared to chasing away from the mosquito to prevent biting and its negative consequences.
Anger – here we can use the example of the wasp, which we run from, and it finally falls into a cup with our freshly made tea. We chase it away, we want to save the tea and the cup, as well as ourselves. We react with involuntary emotions but under the control of ego, adjusting actions to reality.
Rage – a condition when one wasp falls into a glass, the other flies around our heads, and the third one bites us in the calf. The load of emotions is too big, we begin to lose control over reality, we enter into destructiveness.
Fury – no longer thinking about the bite, the desire is to destroy the whole nest. In this state, we have lost contact with ourselves and reality. This emotion has immense destructive strength.
However, if we suppress most of the energy related to anger or fear, we also suppress normal and positive emotions. The emotional load increases and grows like a balloon, until it finally “penetrates” into our body. The body’s capacity for storing every negative feeling is limited, and when you put a blockade in front of it, more than likely the “balloon” will burst, and both physical and mental damage will occur.
Do you feel that this article may be about you and you want to find ways to effectively combat the suppressing mechanism? We invite you to read other articles on our blog where we talk about ways to relax your body and mind!
