Sigmund Freud: Applications Outside of Psychology Class
"Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways."
- Sigmund Freud
I found this quote by Freud and I wanted to elaborate on it a bit. Yes, he was a very controversial psychologist and I certainly don't agree with all of his theories, but sometimes there is a very valuable kernel of truth in what he has to say.
As a melancholic, I am rather an expert on not expressing my emotions. Or at least, I think I'm an expert. I think that I can hide what I'm feeling like a professional actress. That works great until it doesn't work. Because it doesn't really work at all.
You see, we all experience emotions. You can try to bury them, hide them, and repress them. If you are feeling sad, you can put on a happy face. If you are angry, you can still be friendly to someone. Notice what Freud says, though: "They are buried alive..." Yes, buried ALIVE. Buried alive! Meaning, they aren't actually DEAD! You may have put your emotions beneath the surface, but they are going to come out sooner or later, trust me on this one!
Going back to the whole actress thing, sometimes it's necessary to put on a show for the sake of common courtesy. Sometimes you have to fake something that you don't feel to be Christian-like and friendly. You may think, "Well that's not being true to your real emotions." But that's not the issue here. Yes, I've debated that with myself on more than one occasion. And I've always realized that being nice trumps any kind of "genuine" feelings that I may be experiencing at the moment (because those aren't always charitable, though I may hate to admit it!)
What this all comes down to is that you can't just always repress your emotions. It's not healthy. I am speaking from personal experience here: they are going to expose themselves sooner or later. It may be a facial expression, comment laden with "hidden" meaning, or any number of nonverbal messages. But others are going to notice. So make sure you have a healthy outlet for your unexpressed emotions. One good possibility that I have utilized myself is a journal. This is a good idea, but it won't always work if you don't write down EVERYTHING that's bothering you, big or small.
That's my two cents for the day. Have a good one. Blessings to you all!
- Sigmund Freud
I found this quote by Freud and I wanted to elaborate on it a bit. Yes, he was a very controversial psychologist and I certainly don't agree with all of his theories, but sometimes there is a very valuable kernel of truth in what he has to say.
As a melancholic, I am rather an expert on not expressing my emotions. Or at least, I think I'm an expert. I think that I can hide what I'm feeling like a professional actress. That works great until it doesn't work. Because it doesn't really work at all.
You see, we all experience emotions. You can try to bury them, hide them, and repress them. If you are feeling sad, you can put on a happy face. If you are angry, you can still be friendly to someone. Notice what Freud says, though: "They are buried alive..." Yes, buried ALIVE. Buried alive! Meaning, they aren't actually DEAD! You may have put your emotions beneath the surface, but they are going to come out sooner or later, trust me on this one!
Going back to the whole actress thing, sometimes it's necessary to put on a show for the sake of common courtesy. Sometimes you have to fake something that you don't feel to be Christian-like and friendly. You may think, "Well that's not being true to your real emotions." But that's not the issue here. Yes, I've debated that with myself on more than one occasion. And I've always realized that being nice trumps any kind of "genuine" feelings that I may be experiencing at the moment (because those aren't always charitable, though I may hate to admit it!)
What this all comes down to is that you can't just always repress your emotions. It's not healthy. I am speaking from personal experience here: they are going to expose themselves sooner or later. It may be a facial expression, comment laden with "hidden" meaning, or any number of nonverbal messages. But others are going to notice. So make sure you have a healthy outlet for your unexpressed emotions. One good possibility that I have utilized myself is a journal. This is a good idea, but it won't always work if you don't write down EVERYTHING that's bothering you, big or small.
That's my two cents for the day. Have a good one. Blessings to you all!
Nicely written and very informative too! I believe we all should have a constructive outlet for releasing our "hidden" emotions. For some it is art, and others is photography - as it is for me.
ReplyDeletePeace!
Thank you! How do you release your emotions with photography?
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Sorry, for not replying sooner. What I mean is that, photography is a way to express myself. Just how a songwriter composes a song that expresses what he is feeling, thinking, hoping, dreaming, etc..
ReplyDelete