If there's a volcano about to erupt, you can't simply put something over the top of it to make it stop. It would only make it worse and make the explosion even more catastrophic. Instead, once it's erupted, while it could still cause damage, the lava itself is finally freed from the confines of the volcanic walls.
While this is a very extreme example, it's a lot like what would happen if we didn't allow ourselves to express our feelings. In today's world, there's a lot of pressure to be put together all the time. Just "let it go" or "shake it off" and everything will be fine. Or maybe someone's told you that whatever you're feeling isn't that big a deal. Maybe you've even told yourself to keep in your tears or bite your tongue.
The thing is, when we do that, much like the volcano, our emotions only get worse. They build up inside of us until the littlest thing makes us lash out or explode. It sucks when that happens, because sometimes we feel as though our reaction was too intense for the situation. The reality is, it's not so much your reaction then, it's the lack of reaction(s) you had in previous situations.
Say you had a fight with your best friend and you kept all your anger inside. Well, maybe on the way home, a car is driving too slow and you honk your horn. Then perhaps you get home and find that you forgot something at school or work. You sit and stew, pounding the steering wheel or get super mad and blame it all on the fight with your friend. You think: "Well, if this hadn't happened, then I wouldn't have forgotten my book," or whatever it may have been at the time. It's not your friend's fault, and it's not entirely your fault either. The common thread in all of this is that you didn't allow yourself to take a moment to breathe or feel your true emotions. You bottled them up inside, which led you to overreact at smaller situations.
I've been guilty of doing this a lot, especially with negative emotions like sadness. I tend to not let anyone see me cry because I think it makes me seem 'weak' or 'imperfect.' I want to be happy all the time because that's what I see as a good thing. But what I have to remember is that being sad is not a "bad" thing. It only means that I'm human and that I feel other emotions besides happiness. Just like there's more than one side to a person, there's more than one emotion you can feel. There's a whole entire spectrum - anything from guilt and fear to pride and joy. That's not to say that negative emotions are fun to deal with (because they're not) - but what's even worse is keeping it all inside.
It's worse because it can lead you to do something that would make you feel more hurt in the long run. Like if you've gotten in another argument with your significant other, you may turn to drinking to take away the pain instead of talking it through with them. I've been guilty of using negative ways to cope with my feelings, and I'm here to tell you that while you may feel better for a few minutes, you'll feel really crappy later. Why? Because drinking, drugs, partying or whatever else it is that you do, doesn't actually solve the problem. It only masks it, just like you mask your true feelings by putting on a happy face when you're really sad.
It's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to scream, to cry, or feel whatever you need to feel. Much like the volcano, sometimes we need to let everything flow and allow ourselves to let go a little bit. We're not perfect, we're only human and showing emotion is a part of that.
