Emotionally Disconnected

When we were babies, our emotions were out there on our sleeves. We had happy and upset and not a whole lot in-between. Skip to about five years old, and we are starting to understand the more complex nature of things. Maybe a pet has already died, or someone had hurt our feelings. Our parents/guardians have to now make a decision; how do you tell us little kids how to deal with our emotions.

If someone is making fun of you, you A) Ignore them, B) Make fun of them back, or C) Something else. The result is another emotion. If that emotion is good, then we have found our coping mechanism.

When/How do they show us how to repress our emotion? What makes a lover and a fighter? Why do I get upset when people I’m meeting up with are late, and serial killers feel no remorse for the lives they have taken? Why do I laugh when a guy is talking about how hot Morgan Fairchild was (naked) onstage in The Graduate, and someone else loses it and yells at them about how offensive it is?

As we grow older, we call it being “mature” and “immature.” We can no longer throw a fit because we didn’t get what we want. Different things have more of an impact. As Americans we like things wrapped up; we like our ending. Nothing ever really dies in our minds if there isn’t a clear-cut ending. We have no control of what upsets us and what doesn’t.

So why do people always tell us to get over it? Why are we constantly trying to control our emotions, and most of the time we lose control? Sometimes life is so hard, and our emotions just take over…sometimes we are so upset that we shut down. We start laughing because we are tired of crying…or we just plain stop caring. We cared so much for so long, that we just can’t care anymore. Where did those emotions go?

Where do emotions go when they are suppressed?