It’s More Than Just Feels
Ancient schools of thought propagated by various philosophers, such as Plato, the Stoics, and the Puritans, have suggested for thousands of years that emotions are irrational, primal, and potentially even destructive.[1] However, newer research suggests that this is not the case— in fact, it suggests the opposite. Emotions have been found to play many vital roles in the human experience, from increasing chances of survival in ancient times to helping us connect with each other in the modern day.[2,3] Emotions guide our decisions, actions, relationships, and friendships. They provide roadmaps to help navigate the complexities of human challenges, the ones that exist within the self as well as those impacting society as a whole. In these ways, emotions act as key components of not only our social lives, but also our internal lives, through building our identities and moral judgments.[4]
Unfortunately, despite the important role emotions play in various aspects of our lives, many societies seem to favor the suppression rather than expression of emotions— Western, individualistic cultures tend to suppress negative emotions in an attempt to maximize positive emotions while collectivist cultures, such as that of many Asian countries, tend to suppress both positive and negative emotions.[5,6] This suppression stems from beliefs that emotions are unnecessary byproducts of life, the result of individual choices, or spawns of irrationality.[7-9] However, emotional suppression is neither effective nor helpful to us— and a greater emphasis needs to be placed on the idea that emotions are vital, unavoidable, and important to guiding the human experience.[10,11]
Functions of Emotions
Evolutionary Functions:
Basic emotions, such as anger and sadness, have historically helped our ancestors increase their chances of survival by resulting in adaptive behavior that help subvert specific evolutionary issues (e.g., fear motivates escaping behaviors in the face of danger).[12,13] Although times have changed significantly since then, the overarching themes of emotion-eliciting stimuli have remained the same (e.g., sadness is caused by suffering a loss, while anger is caused by perceived injustice).[14,15] Additionally, these basic emotions remain consistent in their expression across cultures.[16] This universality that transcends both space and time highlights the importance of emotions in solving dilemmas that arise in every person's life.[17]
Social Functions:
Emotions help with both the creation and maintenance of various interpersonal relationships— such as intimate, platonic, and filial relationships. Towards the beginning of interpersonal relationships, emotions help determine the nature of the relationship being established: for instance, feelings of sympathy and love may drive parents to adopt the role of caregivers. Additionally, interacting with specific people results in specific emotional responses based on the nature of the relationship: for instance, seeing a friend may evoke joy while seeing an authoritative figure may evoke fear. This specific emotional response that occurs upon meeting a certain person acts as a maintenance mechanism for the established relationship.[18]
Emotions also help us communicate with others through expression, whether it be vocal, tactile, or facial displays. Emotions provide others with information not only about one’s current affect, but also their intentions and perspectives. Emotional expressions also help trigger certain responses from others (e.g., tears trigger concern and caregiving, which can help bond people together).[19]
Lastly, emotions determine and impact group dynamics, for both intra-and inter-group relations. Within groups, positive emotions promote a sense of belonging and create stronger, tight-knit bonds between members.[20,21] Between different groups, negative emotions such as anger and disgust can act as catalysts of inter-group conflict.[22]
Intrapersonal Functions:
Emotions guide vital and interconnected aspects of ourselves, such as our actions, memories, personalities, and moralities. In human life, wherein most situations lack the scope for objective, calculated rationality, emotions allow us to still respond appropriately by promoting quick, intuitive action. Additionally, emotions guide what we pay attention to and what we remember, thus impacting the way in which we perceive the world. In this way, emotions guide the creation of our intuitions and beliefs about right and wrong, as well as our temperaments and traits— consequently guiding the development of our moral judgements and personalities.[23]
Expression vs. Suppression
Emotional suppression involves the deliberate inhibition of expressive behaviors during emotional arousal. It specifically involves preventing external, physical displays in an attempt to both conceal and subvert a feeling.[24] Suppression is often seen as an effective way to regulate emotions— however, pure suppression is neither efficacious nor beneficial, and is actually destructive towards physical and emotional well-being.
Although emotional suppression reduces outward expressions of emotions, it does not impact the actual experience or the intensity of the emotion.[25-27] In fact, it has been found that suppression can actually increase stress more than natural emotional expression.[28] This is because suppression increases rumination and fixation around the repressed emotion, amplifying distress.[29] Consequently, suppression results in an increased risk of a plethora of negative psychological outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, stress-related conditions, impaired memory, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse.[30,31]
Emotional suppression has been linked not only to negative mental health impacts but also to worsened physiological outcomes.[32,33] In a study by Derogatis et al., higher mortality rates were found in cancer patients who tended to repress their emotions as compared to their more emotionally expressive counterparts.[34] Furthermore, among patients suffering from chronic illnesses, those who express rather than suppress emotions tend to report less pain.[35] These effects arise because emotional suppression impacts various systems in the human body. As a result, it can lead to various conditions, such as: heart conditions, thyroid dysfunction, muscular pain, and sexual dysfunction.[36,37]
Additionally, emotional suppression can impact one’s social life, by impacting both the suppressor as well as surrounding people. When someone is suppressing their emotions during a social interaction, both people experience more anxiety and negative affect, and also wind up feeling less connected to each other.[38,39] This is likely due to the communicative role emotions play in social interactions as they provide insight into the other person— about their thoughts, intentions, and personality traits— to both people involved.[40]
In general, emotional expression promotes better health and well-being while suppression tends to do the opposite. Although emotional suppression is often seen as the easier and more effective coping mechanism in the short-term, choosing emotional expression instead can lead to not just better physical and mental health, but also more emotional stability as well as a deeper understanding of the self and others.[41]
Image Source: Canva
Yes, We Need Emotions— But Also, Their Regulation
Then should we forego all societal norms and constantly express all our emotions as we feel them? Not necessarily. Despite the clear benefits of emotional expression, there are times when it may be helpful to regulate or even eliminate aspects of an emotion— situations wherein emotional responses are extreme, unwarranted, or undesirable. For instance, emotional regulation is adaptive in disorders that provoke abnormally high levels of certain emotions— such as anxiety in phobias and generalized anxiety disorder, or anger in borderline personality disorder.[42, 43] In general, strong bursts of emotion in daily life result in negative feedback from surrounding people.[44] In such contexts, emotional regulation could be the most effective or desirable response.
However, emotional regulation is not the same as suppression. Emotional regulation involves attempting to alter the intensity or duration of an emotion. This can be achieved through strategies that aim to change either the cognitive aspects of emotion or its physiological manifestations.[45]
Emotional regulation, when done properly, avoids the negative consequences of suppression, while also being far more effective in alleviating negative emotions and promoting positive affect.[46,47] This is because effective emotional regulation involves targeting all aspects of the emotional response from start to finish— it involves re-assessing and re-framing the triggering context and occurs early on in the process of feeling an emotion. On the other hand, suppression only targets expression, a mechanism that occurs later on in the emotional response. Furthermore, healthy emotional regulation specifically targets negative emotion whereas suppression impacts positive emotions as well. Since it is likely that the resultant loss of positive affect is what causes suppression to inhibit interpersonal connections, emotional regulation does not lead to any negative social consequences.[48,49] As a result, emotional regulation results in improved affect without negative outcomes such as impaired memory, loss of positive affect, and risk of negative psychological outcomes.[50]
Regulating emotions using strategies such as re-appraisal or mindful acceptance can actually be beneficial, both in the short-term as well as the long-term: it not only helps alleviate suffering in the moment, but it can also lead to a broader perspective that can help guide future personal growth. In fact, healthy emotional regulation is key to emotional well-being, while imbalances in regulation make up the primary symptoms of many disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder).[51] Overall, emotional regulation enables us to learn and grow from stressful situations, mitigate disordered emotions, and to exist harmoniously with others, even in the face of hardship.
Why This Matters
Emotional suppression has a host of consequences for individuals that go beyond the short-term. Resulting in issues across the board, from increased risk of psychopathology to physiological symptoms, emotional suppression is an unhealthy habit that is unfortunately promoted by many societies. While some level of emotional regulation is a requisite of living harmoniously in society, suppression is not the best way to go about achieving this.[52]
Promoting focus on emotions and healthier coping strategies could enhance not only individual well-being, but also the well-being of society as a whole. Healthy emotional regulation can help improve mental and physical health outcomes, resulting in social benefits such as more positive affect, more social connection, and reduced suffering, while also reducing strain on the economy. For instance, depression— a condition primarily involving impaired emotional regulation and heightened emotional suppression— is currently the world’s largest cause of disability, incurring billions of dollars in costs to U.S. employers every year.[53,54] Additionally, putting emotions at the forefront of solving societal issues can provide multiple benefits to society. The Emotion Revolution 2020, an international psychotherapy conference, promotes the idea that emotions are integral, rational processes that are central to human psychology and that emotions should be centered when designing systems.[55] This approach can result in a wide variety of societal benefits such as a more restorative justice system, new healthcare solutions, new approaches in law, and less violence.[56]
Centering emotions as relevant and vital aspects of human life will not only help us cope with them in a healthier manner but can also allow us to recognize their wisdom and use them to grow as individuals and a society. Emotions exist and persist for a reason— and perhaps it is time that we stop encouraging their suppression.
Contributed by: Sanjana Bakre
Editor: Jennifer (Ghahari) Smith, Ph.D.
REFERENCES
Keltner, D., Oatley, K., Jenkins, J.M. (2018). Understanding Emotions. (4th ed.). Wiley.
1 Gu, S., Wang, F., Patel, N. P., Bourgeois, J. A., & Huang, J. H. (2018). A Model for Basic Emotions Using Observations of Behavior in Drosophila. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.0078
2 Dacher Keltner & Jonathan Haidt (1999) Social Functions of Emotions at Four Levels of Analysis, Cognition and Emotion, 13:5, 505-521, DOI: 10.1080/026999399379168
3 Keltner et al. (2018)
4 Tsai, W. (2019). Culture and Emotion. In J.A. Cummings, L. Sanders (1st ed.), Introduction to Psychology. University of Saskatchewan. https://openpress.usask.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/culture-and-emotion/
5 Tsai, W., Sun, M., Wang, S.-w., & Lau, A. S. (2016). Implications of emotion expressivity for daily and trait interpersonal and intrapersonal functioning across ethnic groups. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 7(1), 52–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000043
6 Emotion Revolution. (2022). About Emotion Revolution. Emotion Revolution. https://www.emotionrevolution.no/about-emotion-revolution
7 Keltner et al. (2018)
8 Tsai (2019)
9 Cullen, M. (2020, January 30). How to Regulate Your Emotions Without Suppressing Them. Greater Good Science Center. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_regulate_your_emotions_without_suppressing_them
10 Keltner et al. (2018)
11 Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3-4), 169–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939208411068
12 Lench, H.C. (2018). The Function of Emotions: When and Why Emotions Help Us. (1st ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4
13 Ibid.
14 Keltner et al. (2018)
15 Ekman (1992)
16 Ibid.
17 Keltner et al. (2018)
18 Ibid.
19 Stellar, J. E., Gordon, A., Piff, P. K., Anderson, C.L., Cordaro, D., Bai, Y. & Maruskin, L. & Keltner, D. (2017).Self-transcendent emotions and their social functions: Compassion, gratitude, and awe bind us to others through prosociality. Emotion Review, 9(3), 200–207.
20 Keltner et al. (2018)
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Gross JJ, Levenson RW. (1993). Emotional suppression: physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol.64(6):970-86. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.64.6.970. PMID: 8326473.
24 Cullen (2020)
25 Ehring, T., Tuschen-Caffler, B., Schnulle, J., Fischer, S., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Emotion regulation and vulnerability to depression: Spontaneous versus instructed use of emotion suppression and reappraisal. Emotion, 10, 563–572.
26 Keltner et al. (2018)
27 Butler EA, Egloff B, Wilhelm FH, Smith NC, Erickson EA, Gross JJ.(2003). The social consequences of expressive suppression. Emotion. 3(1):48-67. doi: 10.1037/1528-3542.3.1.48. PMID: 12899316.
28 Cullen (2020)
29 Ibid.
30 Gross, Levenson (1993)
31 Cullen (2020)
32 Jainish Patel, Prittesh Patel (2019) Consequences of Repression of Emotion: Physical Health, Mental Health and General Well Being. International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research - 1(3):16-21.
33 Derogatis LR, Abeloff MD, Melisaratos N. Psychological Coping Mechanisms and Survival Time in Metastatic Breast Cancer. JAMA. 1979;242(14):1504–1508. doi:10.1001/jama.1979.03300140020016
34 Patel, Patel (2019)
35 Ibid.
36 Abbass A. (2005) The case for specialty-specific core curriculum on emotions and health. , Royal Coll Outlook 4, 5-7.
37 Butler et al. (2003)
38 Gross, J. J. (2001). Emotion Regulation in Adulthood: Timing Is Everything. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10(6), 214–219. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00152
39 Keltner et al. (2018)
40 Patel, Patel (2019)
41 Ibid.
42 Keltner et al. (2018)
43 Cullen (2020)
44 Keltner et al. (2018)
45 Ibid.
46 Gross (2001)
47 Ibid.
48 Butler et al. (2003)
49 Gross (2001)
50 Keltner et al. (2018)
51 Cullen (2020)
52 Keltner et al. (2018)
53 Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. (2022). The Cost of Depression. Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. https://mmhpi.org/topics/educational-resources/the-cost-of-depression/
54 Emotion Revolution (2022)
55 Keltner, D. (2022, August 24). Introduction to Human Emotion [PowerPoint Slides]. Psychology Department, University of California, Berkeley.