To repress means moving something painful away from conscious
experience. In fact, the brain does this automatically when the emotional pain
is too much to handle. Avoidance, distraction, replacement, dissociation, all
involve repression. When practiced, it becomes a habit and we do it almost
spontaneously.
Naz told us about some work she had previously done to try and
understand the brain and physiological mechanisms behind repressive coping, a
coping style used by people who believe that they are not anxious, but
physiologically, they still may show signs of anxiety, especially in stressful
situations. When we use repressive coping we are using an avoidant coping style
to deal with stressful and upsetting experiences.
Does repressive coping help?
Research on the brain shows that people who repress, and downplay their
emotions, process even greater levels of threat sometimes greater than those
who report high anxiety. Avoidance also weighs heavy on brain networks. So,
physiologically there are signs of distress.
Repressive coping is regarded a possible risk factor for physical
disease as well as a consequence of chronic illness, and as such is very
relevant in breast cancer. Repressive coping is linked with cancer,
cardiovascular disease, crohn’s disease, hypertension and so forth. While most
of the evidence is correlational, recent work is trying to establish a causal
relationship, especially with chronic stress.
Our members discussed how they’d used repressive coping. Almost everyone
agreed that they repressed and hid their true feelings and fears at time of
diagnosis and through treatment. Many of us felt completely numb, due to the
shock, in fact we didn’t know what we were feeling. Numbness is another form of
repression. Through time however, the repressed feelings are rising to the
surface. We can feel confused. We become aware of those feelings but we find it
difficult to deal with them. There are mixed feelings. We feel mentally
exhausted, fatigued, we are fearful of crying because ‘I may just cry forever’,
‘I just want to scream’. The pain is difficult to digest, and so it may express
itself through ‘mini melt-downs’, ‘not coping with side effects efficiently’.
The brain can learn how to let go, and help us regulate our emotions.
Repression brings rigidity, and hinders brain plasticity. Talking helps,
writing helps, exercise helps. Breathing helps. Crying is a good release.
Reaching out for help, helps! Facing our fears and embracing them can work.
Many of us reported that counselling has helped, but the process of healing for
some of us can be longer. What we agreed on is the awareness of those feelings,
and that is a major first step.
So, the question of whether repressive coping works or not has an easy
answer. Sometimes repression can work in the short term, but the longer term
effects on our physiology take a toll.