Suppressed Emotions Damage Your Health

You can eat clean, exercise daily, and take all the supplements in the world, but if you're emotionally backed up, your body will let you know.

Unprocessed and unresolved emotions don't simply go away, they bury themselves into every facet of your being.

You might not feel these unforgotten emotions outwardy, but your insides do. Your immune system knows and so does your gut.

You may think you let something go, but instead you get really good at suppressing those unpleasant emotions. Unprocessed emotions stay in the body, showing up as Inflammation and dis-ease, leading to symptoms, chronic illness, or chronic burnout.

This week, we talk about what happens when you don’t deal with how your emotions. We will also discuss what you can do about it.

Ignored Emotions Lead to Sabotage

We learn to suppress our emotions as a way of self-preservation that eventually leads to self-sabotage in different areas of our lives. This sabotage is not weakness, though, it’s a learned survival skill to keep us safe.

You were taught to:

• “Go with the flow, be flexible, easy” instead of angry when warranted.

• “Man up and be strong” instead of feel sadness when we should.

• “Optimistic and positive” instead of honest about how we truly feel.

This creates a cycle of bottling up and denying your true emotions and feelings. Eventually this becomes chronic and over time, your nervous system learns to avoid your feelings, forgetting to process them altogether.

Unprocessed Emotions Take Control of Your Body

When you suppress emotions, especially strong ones like grief, fear, or rage, your body takes over the job of holding them for later use. This is costly, much too expensive to be ignored by you.

How Unresolved Emotions Show Up:

🔥 1. Chronic Stress and Cortisol Overload

Suppressing your emotions keeps you in fight-or-flight mode. That means:

• Higher levels of cortisol are constantly being released (stress hormone)

• You have disrupted sleep

• Your immune system slows and weakens

• You develop brain fog

• You start to pick up weight (especially around the belly area)

All of this happens because your body wasn’t built to live on high alert and in emergency mode 24/7.

💥 2. Digestive Dysfunction

Your gut and your brain are more connected than you realize. When you suppress your emotions like fear or sadness, your vagus nerve becomes dysregulated. Your vagus nerve which is the main nerve of your parasympathetic nervous system. Known as the “rest and digest nerve” linking your brain to your digestive system.

That can lead to:

• IBS symptoms

• Bloating and indigestion

• Appetite changes

• Nausea

A way to assess if your vagus nerve is dysregulated is by asking yourself:

Do I get stomach issues when I feel emotionally overwhelmed?

🧠 3. Exhaustion That Feels Physical but is Actually Emotional

Unprocessed emotions do not simply go away. Emotions like grief or guilt will begin to drain on your energy, depleting your battery, and leads to burnout. This is like having too many tabs open on your computer’s browser.

Over time, this can look like or show up as symptoms of:

• Chronic fatigue

• Autoimmune flare-ups

• Burnout that is not refreshed with rest alone

Real-Life Example from Personal Experience

My marriage ended before it even started.

My husband was not content with just one woman so he began cheating within weeks of our wedding.

I was living under poor self-worth and low self-esteem and with each new woman or new incident I fell lower and lower but I put on this front like I was a happy wife in a happy marriage.

Fast forward twelve months:

• My sleeping became scarce

• I began having dizzy spells with passing out

• I lost 75 pounds because I had little to no appetite

• My doctor stressed that my symptoms were “probably just stress” but I was already aware of that

What was really happening with me? My body was grieving for me, because I refused to.

Suppressed Emotions are Not a Flex

You might think you’re protecting yourself by pushing things aside but avoiding your emotions is costly.

Here's what happens when you choose to habitually suppress your emotions:

• 💔When you block off one emotion you lose access to the rest so when you shut off sadness, you also shut off joy. When you deny anger, you block happiness.

• 😡 You end up piling on more than you can bear. This builds internal pressure that leads to outbursts (emotional immaturity).

• 🧊 You numb out entirely, blocking your ability to feel anything at all.

Unfelt feelings don’t just disappear. They show up later... as symptoms, imbalance, disconnection, or dis-ease.

Feelings Need Movement not Stagnation

The key isn’t to wallow in every emotion. It’s to allow them to move through you in real time, rather than store them for later.

You have the power to fix this right now and you don’t need to have a breakdown before you start working on it.

All you need to begin is five minutes of honest emotional expression per day to start shifting things in your life.

✍️ Exercise: Journaling with Prompts to Reroute Suppressed Emotions

This week’s exercise will help you get real about how you’re feeling and what your body may be holding onto that should be released.

Instructions:
Get a piece of paper or download your free prompt journal sheets below. Spend 10–15 minutes to ground yourself by taking a mindfulness moment of a few deep breaths before beginning this exercise. Then I want you to focus on the following prompts:

Prompt # 1: Name the Symptom

List 3 recurring physical symptoms you’ve experienced lately. (e.g., tension headaches, chest tightness, nausea, chronic fatigue)

Prompt # 2: Name the Emotion

Now ask yourself:

What emotion could be causing these feeling?

Use the following example to get started:

• Tension in jaw → Is this anger an unprocessed frustration?

• Chest tightness → Is this grief related to fear of vulnerability?

• Fatigue → Is my emotional burnout the result of suppressed resentment?

• Nausea → Is this anxiety a fear of confrontation?

One thing to keep in mind is you don’t have to be right, you just need to be honest with yourself.

Prompt #3: Write Freely

Use this prompt to write for 5 minutes:

“The emotion I avoid the most is ___ because ___.”

Don't edit. Don’t analyze. Just write.

💡 Step 4: Reflect

After journaling, ask yourself:

• What emotion came up that surprised me?

• Where might this emotion be stuck in my body?

• What would it feel like to actually express it?

BONUS: Try This Micro-Practice

Next time you feel tension rising in your body but can't quite name the emotion:

1. Pause and breathe in slowly for 4 seconds.

2. Exhale for 6 seconds (longer exhale signals safety).

3. Ask: If this tension could speak, what would it say?

4. Let it speak. Out loud or in writing.

You might be surprised what comes out.

Don’t Let Your Silence Become Your Source for Sickness

You don’t need to analyze every emotion. But you do need to feel them.

You were never meant to carry this much emotional weight alone or forever. Your body is smart. It holds what you don’t feel safe enough to hold. But it also knows how to let go.

Start by telling the truth to yourself first.

Action Steps for This Week: Recap

• Complete the Emotional Journal prompt this week

• Notice where you feel tension and ask what emotion might be stored there

• Practice micro-expression: sigh, write, move, or cry; whatever your body needs

Join the Conversation

What emotion do you find hardest to express and why do you think that is? Drop a comment below or share anonymously. Let’s normalize real feelings, not fake strength.

Rewire your Brain Downloadable PDF

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Downloadable 7-Day Habit Tracker

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Free Download: Suppressed Emotions Journal Pages 👇🏽