For years I have been unable to become physically angry. I can on exceedingly rare occasion cry. But by and large I can't express any form of negative emotion, specifically the strong kind. How many times have you heard this advice about dealing with painful emotions? "Stop being so sensitive. Suck it up and move on."

When others tell you to bury your feelings, it makes you question yourself and the messages your body is trying to send to you. Think about how many times today you've attempted to push away a painful feeling by scrolling through social media, binging on Netflix, or using food, alcohol, or addictive substances to avoid emotions. In a world filled with distractions and with the invalidating messages we've received throughout our lives about emotions, it's easy to see why so many people are afraid of feeling.

But there's many reasons why this doesn't work. When you suppress your emotions, you are confusing and hurting your body in a profound way. Emotions are our body's way of getting us to take action. On a very primal level, our bodies are trying to keep us safe at all times. Back in the cave man and cave woman days, we learned to listen to our guts because they would save us from attack: run away or get eaten. People today are not necessarily running from wild animals anymore but reacting to an emotion and processing it can still ultimately protect them from dangers, both physical and mental. With the speed of our days, it can be challenging to hear what our bodies are trying to say, but when we ignore those messages, we can still suffer greatly.

The question then, is how have you, the reader, overcome this particular obstacle and begun to feel and express your emotions in a healthy, productive manner?