12/24/2025
At the root of all sick is emotional suppression. Sometimes it's survival. Sometimes it's habit. Sometimes it's overload. That's why sickness calls for rest and rejuvenation. Sickness forces us to slow down, go inward, and rest for long periods of time. Perhaps it was long overdue so that's why sickness can come with high need of care for the self. Listen to your body đź’›
You were praised for keeping it together. For not crying. For being “the strong one”. Somewhere along the way, you learnt that the safest thing you could do with your feelings was bury them so deep even you could barely find them. Tears made her uncomfortable. Anger made you “ungrateful”. Sadness was “dramatic”. So you swallowed it all down; every hurt, every disappointment, every moment you should have been allowed to fall apart. On the outside, you looked composed. On the inside, your body was paying the price.
Unfelt feelings don’t disappear because you refuse to acknowledge them. They reroute. What you weren’t allowed to express started showing up as anxiety, insomnia, chronic fatigue, tension headaches, stomach issues, that constant tightness in your chest. Your nervous system has been holding everything you wouldn’t let yourself feel, like a pressure cooker with no release valve. You’re not “overly sensitive” for feeling unwell; you’re carrying years of emotional backlog that never had a safe way out.
Suppressing emotions is often framed as maturity; especially in toxic families. Staying quiet during chaos. Smiling through pain. Not reacting when you’re being disrespected. People call that “being the bigger person” or “not letting things get to you,” when what’s really happening is self-abandonment. You disconnect from your own experience so convincingly that even you start to believe nothing’s wrong. Meanwhile, your body keeps sending signals that something is very wrong and those signals get louder the longer they’re ignored.
Letting yourself feel doesn’t make you weak; it makes you honest. It’s the emotional equivalent of lancing a wound so it can heal instead of fester. That might look like crying when you’d usually shut down. Admitting, even just to yourself, “that really hurt me.” Feeling anger towards someone you were taught you’re not allowed to be angry with. At first, it can feel like you’re getting worse because everything you’ve been holding back starts to surface. In reality, it’s your system finally having a chance to move what has been stuck inside you for years.
You don’t owe anyone the performance of being “strong” if strong means silent and slowly sick. Your body has carried enough for you. The most courageous thing you can do now is let your emotions exist, be heard, be released, so you don’t have to keep sacrificing your health to maintain a lie.
