Published By: Elisa Ghosh

Repressed emotions or Feeling Frustrated? Know how to release your pent-up

Repressed emotions are those that you unintentionally suppress. Are you also dealing with suppressed emotions: Let it out!

As long as you take care to address those emotions as quickly as possible, suppressions might occasionally be a useful short-term option. On the other side, repressed feelings are not given a chance to be understood. However, that does not mean they just vanish. Instead, they could manifest as a variety of mental or physical problems.

Acknowledge your feelings

The more you comprehend your emotional landscape, the easier it will be to process your emotions in constructive ways. Connecting with and understanding your emotions is the first step. It can be difficult for people with repressed emotions to recognise their own emotions, which is why speaking with a mental health professional can be helpful. You can achieve this by exploring different methods to categorise your emotions to assist you understand them or by using psychological tools like the cognitive distortion categories.

Resolve previous traumas

We often carry things with us for years that date back to our childhood. Here are some examples of past traumas that need to be resolved such as mental, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Loss of a loved one, neglect, bullying, separation from a parent, dysfunction at home. Also, one more important thing would be unresolved childhood traumas that can show up in many ways like self-blaming, feeling depressed, casting blame on others, and withdrawing from social activities. After you have permitted yourself to grieve, you can acknowledge the adaptive approach you have formed as a result.

Shadow work

Shadow work offers a distinct lens for examining the various aspects of ourselves that we tend to keep buried, usually out of shame or a sense of inadequacy, much like the exploration of childhood trauma. Most people tend to hide that part of themselves which they things is not acceptable in society.

Practising stillness

Being still enables us to be present with our thoughts and sensations. It uses the brain’s default mode, which is a network-trusted source when your brain briefly goes into inactivity. This causes what psychologists refer to as "self-generated cognition". Here are a few ways to practise stillness like breathing exercises, meditation, repeating affirmations, sitting in nature, and listening to soft music.

You can let go of the tension caused by prior traumas by employing ways to work with your emotions, such as counselling, deliberate movement and shadow work.