29/01/2026
This image is usually explained as emotional suppression vs emotional processing.
But again, the difference is much simpler than it sounds.
On the left, the emotion isn’t gone.
It’s just being held down.
You’re still carrying it.
Still using energy to manage it.
Still keeping one eye on it in case it surfaces.
This is what many people were taught to do:
keep it together,
don’t make a fuss,
get on with it,
deal with it later.
So you press the feeling down just enough to function.
And over time, you can become scared to fully feel your emotions.
Not because you’re weak or avoidant,
but because there was never space, time, or guidance to do it safely.
No one showed you how to feel without being overwhelmed.
So holding it down became the safest option you had.
The emotion doesn’t move.
It doesn’t resolve.
It just waits.
On the right, nothing dramatic is happening either.
The emotion isn’t being analysed or forced out.
It’s simply being allowed to exist.
Emotional processing isn’t about digging.
It’s about letting a feeling rise without immediately trying to control it.
You notice it.
You name it.
You allow it to come and go in its own time.
And because you’re no longer holding it underwater,
your system doesn’t have to stay tense.
That’s the quiet difference.
Suppression says: “This feels unsafe to feel.”
Processing says: “I have enough safety now to let this move.”
Most people aren’t bad at emotions.
They’re people who were never taught how to feel them without fear.
