After years of struggling with the fallout from our too-big, too-loud, too-unregulated feelings, it’s common for us to go to great lengths to avoid and/or suppress our emotions: We avoid situations that might bring up difficult emotions. We distract ourselves from them. We “reframe” or intellectualize our emotions. We try to make the situation more tolerable, often with food or substances, such as alcohol or drugs. We mask our feelings and pretend we’re fine.
