All of us will face hard times in our lives. All of us will also have our number of crises. However, not all of us will deal with them the same way.

During chaotic events in our lives, the emotions can be very difficult to handle, especially for those that are passionate as-is. So what do you do? Do you choose to experience these emotions in their entirety? Do you choose to swallow these emotions, refusing to feel them? Maybe something in the middle? Which one you live out could either lead you towards healing or possibly hitting rock bottom.

This answer is not “one size fits all.” You have to know yourself and your limits. In some aspects, I would advise that you do not ignore your emotions or push them away. Not processing them gradually could cause them to build and sneak up on you unexpectedly. You could be doing fine, but then you’re left alone for a day and find yourself in the middle of a serious breakdown.

Unless you are very highly skilled, you will not be able to just ignore your feelings until they dissipate altogether. Unresolved issues will present themselves in opportune times. You might assume that if you never think about how your parents are getting a divorce, it won’t affect you. But then you have a final coming up you have to ace, and in the stress of that situation, you can’t help but also pile on how you truly feel about the divorce. Thus causing a breakdown that could have been avoided if the feelings were dealt with prior.

Bottling up your emotions can also take a toll on your empathy. If you refuse to feel for your own situations, how can you feel for others? No one wants to be friends with an unemotional robot.

You are going to have to deal with your emotions at some point. So, pushing them away is only slowing down this whole healing process right? Bad choice? Not exactly.

Ignoring your emotions can be necessary in dealing with very trying times. There have been periods in my life where I had no choice but to push my emotions away. I was so exhausted and beaten down. There was no way I would have made through the last three or four years of my life without bottling up some things to deal with later. I have a hard time doing that because I tend to feel everything, but I had to give myself rest. You can only deal with so much at one time. Taking on more than one set of soul crushing emotions will just tear you down.

My signature move used to be to just hit everything head on while I was alone and then sleep or shake it off, act like nothing was wrong, and then do it all over again. I got burnt out very quickly doing that. I couldn’t keep it up. I learned that there is value in pushing some things aside.

I’d say the best way to deal with heavy emotions is to switch in and out of processing them. This means you get the benefit of having the load get lighter as you go along, but when you have other difficulties come your way, you can take the load off and deal with the oncoming obstacles.

Get to know yourself and your limits. Be aware of what you are pushing away and what you are taking in. The goal is to avoid breaking down while also not setting yourself up for failure in the future. Again, this for dealing with more serious events in your life, so you might not need this for the smaller problems. Keep in mind though, it is just as imperative that you take care of your emotional state as your physical one. Striving for a healthy balance will provide the best outcomes and healing.