Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Psychiatrist Dr. Erman Şentürk shared information about which emotions are suppressed and the effects of suppressed emotions on human psychology.
Psychiatrist Dr. Erman Şentürk continued his words by saying that because some experiences and problems are painful, people prefer to act as if they never happened:
“Humans tend to suppress their strong and compulsive emotions. Suppression; It is the pushing of unwanted feelings and thoughts into the unconscious and keeping them there. We tend to suppress negative emotions such as disappointment, fear, sadness, and anger in our relationships with people around us. On the basis of this, there are usually thoughts such as that if we express our feelings, we will be judged, excluded, upset, offended, and appear weak. Sometimes, we postpone and suppress our emotions because we do not want to experience that emotion and carry the burden it will bring. However, strong emotions pushed into the unconscious are sometimes brought into consciousness through dreams and slips of the tongue.”
Stating that it is a good example of suppression for an individual who has experienced serious mental traumas in childhood to be unaware and indifferent to what has happened as they get older, Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Erman Şentürk said, “These repressed emotions can directly or indirectly affect the relationships and behaviors that a person establishes today. Suppressing emotions helps to control the negative effects caused by traumatic or challenging events and thus to lessen their effects. However, this defense mechanism can gain an unhealthy quality by removing from consciousness the emotions that we sometimes need to accept and face and deal with.”
Pointing out that the long-term suppression of emotions begins to tire the person not only mentally but also physically, Dr. Erman Şentürk said, “As with other stressful factors, suppressing emotions affects the immune system, and paves the way for the formation of some cardiological, gastroenterological, dermatological, neurological and psychiatric conditions. Anxiety disorders, somatization disorder, depression, burnout, sleep disorders and intermittent explosive disorder are psychiatric disorders that we frequently encounter in individuals who prefer to suppress their emotions rather than sharing them. In short, keeping our strong feelings behind us for a long time or avoiding expressing them invites many diseases.”
Underlining that expressing emotions is as important as feeling them, Psychiatrist Dr. Erman Şentürk said, “Suppressing emotions and thoughts has always been a natural part of life and is protective as long as it stays within certain limits. Through suppression, unwanted emotions are not remembered, removed from consciousness and forgotten. Consciously holding back or suppressing our feelings and thoughts gives the impression that everything is fine at first, but over time it becomes quite challenging. Because suppression needs to be used constantly so that unwanted emotions do not arise. Although suppression seems like a successful defense mechanism, it causes a decrease in physical and mental endurance to the extent that it is successful.
Stating that the most important aspect of understanding our emotions is that it offers the opportunity to understand our behavior that follows. Erman Şentürk continued his words as follows:
“We should not forget that our emotions are a learning tool and can signal us to notice certain things. Experiences give birth to emotions after passing through a certain filter and interpreted. This explains why we behave differently in the face of similar events. Our emotions are formed as a result of our experiences, where we look at the world only from our own window, and are personal. Each situation evokes different and unique feelings in our inner world. Therefore, knowing our emotions well and knowing the situation or thought that brought them out causes us to understand how to act.
Stating that emotion regulation is a skill in which emotions are accepted as they are without suppression and behaviors suitable for these emotions are developed, Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Erman Şentürk said, “Emotion regulation is a skill that can be developed in the presence of mental health professionals. At this point, being able to face the thoughts underlying the suppressed emotions, talking and thinking about negative experiences helps to better understand and stay behind.”
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