HOME
HOME> Emotions> suppression 

EC

suppression
 

John Ruskan's
Emotional Clearing

introduction
12 Step / Recovery
addiction
alpha state
anger
anxiety
art therapy
astrology
beliefs
blame
blocked
bodywork
breathwork
burn-out
chakras
compulsive eating
depression
east/west
eating disorder
emdr
emotional release
energy psychology
fear
food addictions
forgiveness
guilt
guru
holistic
hypnotherapy / hypnosis
inner child
karma
loneliness
loving yourself
manic-depression
meditation
new age
obsessive-compulsive
panic attack
performance optimization
positive attitude
psychotherapy
relationships
repression
sadness
self-rejection
spirit releasement
stress
substance addiction / abuse
suppression
the subconscious
trauma
worry

Suppression is the act of rejecting emotional experience from the field of awareness.

The problem with suppression of feelings is that the feelings are not resolved but merely hidden. When something is suppressed, it is made temporarily unconscious, only to accumulate and break forth at some later time. Anger, for example, does not dissolve when suppressed but remains as forceful as when originally felt, except that it is no longer within the field of awareness. When it erupts, it is likely to cause much more damage because of the buildup that has occurred.

Suppressed feelings influence us in even more far-reaching ways. They leave us much in the position of being ruled by hidden forces – forces that at times can seem uncontrollable, like a separate entity with an independent intelligence and will. We become guided by neurotic, unconscious urges that lead to irrational, self-destructive behavior. We are attracted to the wrong people, reject the right people, and become compulsive, addictive, and unreliable, all in spite of our best intentions. Our urges are strong and difficult to oppose. Indeed, opposition is impossible because the suppressed energy eventually has to come out. Holding it back will only bring a more destructive release later. We go through life leaving more or less a shambles behind us, accumulating more unresolved energies and adding to our Karma.

Energy is what
becomes suppressed

Unpleasant feelings as well as unresolved situations are the kinds of things that are suppressed, but when we suppress, it is energy that is being put into storage. Emotions can run high, and emotions are nothing but energy moving through the centers of consciousness. When people interact, there is an energy exchange between them. Energy is what enables us to have experiences. Experiences are kinds of energy that we assimilate. Of course, I am referring to psychic energy, which is not yet generally recognized by science. Nevertheless, subconscious energy can build to a considerable strength. It becomes part of our personality, affecting us as well as others.

Since we suppress in consistent yet individual ways, we build a reservoir of negative energy of a specific type. Some people suppress mainly anxiety; some, the sense of worthlessness or sexual frustration, for example. The suppressed energy then creates patterns: unconscious, individualistic ways in which we meet life. Patterns would not be a problem, except that they are often negative, keeping us from full realization of our creative power. Because patterns are usually unconscious, we don’t know that it is we who are limiting ourselves.


 
 

© 2004 John Ruskan / The Institute for Integrative Processing