Suppressing Emotions
I suppress my emotions as a way of managing the thoughts arising from my mind. Emotional suppression is a type of strategy of regulating uncomfortable thoughts and feelings by making them more manageable (Iwamitsu et al., 2013). Research has shown that emotional suppression has a rebound effect on the thought structure of the individual. For instance, if an individual tries to push away a feeling or a thought, he or she ends up thinking more about the same issue (Stupar et al., 2014). Additionally, this effect applies if the person evades from discussing a given topic.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Emotional Suppression
The advantage of incorporation of emotional suppression is that it has assisted me in dealing with negative thoughts and feelings that would eventually distort my reasoning capacity. In return, the suppression of the negative emotions allows room for positive thoughts that are of value in my classwork, friendship circle, and family. I have been able to gather more friends after the adoption of this strategy due to the positive feelings and thoughts from my mind.
On the contrary, while emotional suppression has enabled me to get rid of negative thoughts, there are a couple of times when bad feelings increased instead of reducing. This situation made me feel more depressed, less satisfied, and to have lower self-esteem (Stupar et al., 2014). It is during these moments that I feared getting into newer relationships since the feelings and thoughts made me inauthentic.
Change of Style and how I adjusted it Suit my Personal and Professional Relationships
I have learnt that the solution to suppress one’s emotions is through the incorporation of healthier ways of managing emotions. If an individual has more techniques to suppress one’s feelings, he or she is less likely able to push away the thoughts. I have been able to adjust my emotional suppression style through engagement in other activities, such as sports, and it has proven to be effective in dealing with uncomfortable thoughts in a healthier way (Iwamitsu et al., 2013). This adjustment has made me create a more satisfying personal and professional relationship.
References
Iwamitsu, Y., Shimoda, K., Abe, H., tani, T., Okawa, M., & buck, R. (2013). Anxiety, Emotional Suppression, and Psychological Distress Before and After Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Psychosomatics, 46(1), 19-24. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.46.1.19
Stupar, S., van de Vijver, F., & Fontaine, J. (2014). Emotional suppression and well-being in immigrants and majority group members in the Netherlands. International Journal of Psychology, 49(6), 503-507. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12040