Interesting Psychology Team
5 – You Are Always ‘Alright’
If you never speak up when something is bothering you, you are repressing your emotions. When anyone asks how your day’s been or if you ever need any help with something, you always say that you’re doing βfine” and don’t need anything.
Yet, in reality, everyone has great moments and not-so-great moments. There are plenty of times where we are anything but fine. Even so, your go-to is to end the conversation by convincing others that you’re doing just fine – rather than exposing any vulnerability.
6 – You’ve Been Accused Of Being Passive-Aggressive
Has anyone ever told you that you were being passive-aggressive? If they have, it could be due to your emotional repression. It comes from the inability to face your problems as they arise, since you have a hard time telling people what’s bothering you at the moment. But your emotions never end up magically leaving you.
Instead, they begin to brew inside you, even when you make it seem like there isn’t a problem. This might subconsciously cause you to hurt those you love by ignoring them or giving them “the silent treatment” when they do something that bothers you.
7 – You Hold Grudges
A common habit of holding back your feelings is holding onto grudges for long periods of time. The reason this happens, is because when someone hurts you, you never take the time to process those emotions.
You believe that time heals all anger and disappointment, so ignoring it is the best solution. However, this method is flawed in the long term because you’ll only suffer emotional buildup, which inevitably results in resentment.
Because you never confront conflicts in your relationships in the first place, you never really forgive those people. Even if you don’t notice this resentment up front, you become further chained to your feelings and only end up hurting yourself.
8 – You Blow Up Over Small Things
If you frequently explode over minor inconveniences, it’s another indicator that you are bottling up your emotions. Think about it. In your past fights with friends or family, most of them have probably never been about truly important things.
Instead, your pent-up emotions explode over the tiniest things. Of course, people think that you are overreacting or causing a big fuss over nothing. This might even come as a shock to you because you were probably always known as someone who doesnβt really overreact, much less completely blow things out of proportion.
But, most people might not realize that your outbursts have an innate cause. They probably will never know either, unless they can somehow read your mind whenever you’re bothered, or you actually speak up.
The take home
Trying to confront feelings and open up to vulnerability can manifest itself differently for everyone. Some great ways to get started involve talking with your loved ones, such as friends or family, consulting a professional, or even trying some mindfulness exercises.
No matter what you do, just start to trust yourself more. Let yourself believe that being vulnerable and emotional at times is totally acceptable. After all, it’s just a part of human nature.
