Each and every one of us suppresses our emotions to a certain extent. It has become socially acceptable to walk around with a bitch face because this way you are not labeled a ‘crybaby’ or someone hysterical. This mostly happens when it comes to men because from very early childhood they have been taught to ‘man up’ and never show their true emotions. Emotions like anger and happiness are completely acceptable but quando si tratta di tristezza, their little heart shuts down and they don’t even bother to think about what is causing this.

Are you one of those people who suppresses your emotions? If you’re not sure then read carefully and do some self-analyzing to see if you truly are, because if this is true for you then suppressing your emotions can actually become something very dangerous for your mental and physical health.

1. Mancanza di sonno

Those nights are the worst, when you’re just lying there in bed, looking at the ceiling or moving around nervously because your brain is on fire and it won’t let you sleep. There is nothing worse than a lack of sleep. It’s dangerous because this is crippling for all your relationships, for your work and also for your mental and physical health. Sleep is crucial for our immune system.

2. Cattive relazioni

Of course, suppressing your emotions and trying to hide them from your friends and partner is something that will ruin those relationships. You can’t keep on arguing or being passivo-aggressivo just because you do not know how to handle your emotions correctly. Instead of hiding away those tears, instead of hiding the fact that you have been hurt to the bone, you are stuck in relationships with people who are taking advantage of you, who aren’t genuine and it’s all because of the fact that you are not being honest about how you feel and that is extremely dangerous.

3. Alta pressione sanguigna

Uno studio condotto presso l'Università di Stanford ha dimostrato che sopprimere le emozioni può portare a problemi cardiovascolari, con conseguente pressione alta. Naturalmente, questo non deve accadere a tutte le persone che reprimono le proprie emozioni, ma potreste essere ad alto rischio.

4. Depressione

Nascondere le proprie emozioni alle persone che ci circondano deriva di solito da un problema più profondo. Nella maggior parte dei casi, una persona che reprime le proprie emozioni pensa di non essere degna di provarle, magari le è stato insegnato fin da piccola che la rabbia, la tristezza o l'eccessiva felicità sono qualcosa di negativo e che deve stare lontana da queste emozioni. Per questo motivo, di solito le persone sviluppano una depressione ad alto funzionamento, che è molto pericolosa per la mente e il corpo.

5. Si cerca una via di fuga

Taking into consideration the fact that your emotions are still there, no matter whether you show them or not, you might get into the habit of escaping reality at any moment. You do this by escaping into your head, into your room, into your books, or simply not talking to the people around you at all (it looks like you’re not even able to hear them). By escaping reality, you end up never facing the world around you.

6. Problemi digestivi

Because of the stress that you’re going through, you will end up getting digestive problems that are most probably leading to excessive weight gain. Many people jump to ‘binge eating’ to ‘fill the hole’ inside them. Most of them are not even aware of the reason why they are doing so. They turn to food as their only salvation.

7. Passaggio alle dipendenze

The most dangerous of all of the symptoms of suppressed emotions is addictions. Addictions give that moment of satisfaction where you feel whole. You feel whole while you’re taking your addictions in. This includes alcohol and drugs, of course, which do not bring anything good to your body. I have a friend who just tried some drugs one night and the next morning she came up to me, telling me that that was the only happiness she ever felt in her life and that she wanted to always be happy and that was the moment when she turned into a drug addict. Just like that. Overnight. So don’t take your addictions lightly, go find help because things like these truly are dangerous.