PulseAugur
EN
LIVE 11:38:50

Emotional suppression can be a useful tool, not always harmful

The article explores the distinction between emotional suppression and self-soothing, arguing that emotional suppression is not inherently negative. It posits that the ability to suppress intense feelings evolved to provide behavioral flexibility, allowing individuals to override immediate impulses like fight or flight when necessary. This suppression mechanism is described as a way to manage associated feelings and impulses, enabling individuals to engage in desired activities despite underlying emotional states, such as maintaining composure during a job interview or dealing with a difficult customer. AI

RANK_REASON The item is an opinion piece discussing psychological concepts.

Read on LessWrong (AI tag) →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 1 sources. How we write summaries →

Emotional suppression can be a useful tool, not always harmful

COVERAGE [1]

  1. LessWrong (AI tag) TIER_1 English(EN) · Kaj_Sotala ·

    When is it "self-soothing" and when is it "emotional suppression"?

    <p><span>You’ve probably heard people say that emotional suppression is bad, and self-soothing is good. But how do you know which one is which?</span></p><p><span>I don’t actually think that suppression is </span><i><span>all</span></i><span> bad. To understand why, and to answer…