Aim for regulation, not repression

When you suppress or repress emotions, you’re preventing yourself from experiencing and expressing feelings. This can happen consciously (suppression) or unconsciously (repression).

Either can contribute to mental and physical health symptoms, including:

• anxiety
• depression
• sleep issues
• muscle tension and pain
• difficulty managing stress
• substance misuse

Healthy emotional expression involves finding some balance between overwhelming emotions and no emotions at all.