Men are raised to hide their emotions and even fear them at times, whether it be a result of parenting, friendships, relationships, or personal reasons. The truth is, feelings are a completely natural part of life and knowing how to express your emotions in an accurate way can improve your quality of life.
There’s a reason why emotions happen spontaneously and without our consent, it’s because they are meant to be felt and more importantly meant to be shared. Many studies suggest negative consequences when these emotions are not expressed or avoided all-together, including stress, anxiety, irregular heartbeat, and difficulty breathing.
When we stress ourselves out, it causes tension throughout your body and mind. This tension can lead to other health problems including stomach issues, headaches, depression, and other psychosomatic illnesses.
Learning how to express your emotions can ease yourself of all the stress and tension that could be affecting your personal or professional life — or both! Everyone has different ways of doing this, but understanding how to detect, analyze, and react to your emotions can make it easier to share with others.
If you can accept your emotions, chances are other people will too.
“How Are You?”
Think of all the times you are asked that question on a daily basis. Now think of how many times you respond truthfully — or at least accurately and detailed. Most men automatically turn to one phrase, whether it be “Good, how are you?” or “I’m fine, thanks.”
It seems to be impossible to get a real answer out of men and most of them would probably tell you it’s because they don’t feel comfortable sharing how they truly feel. I can understand there being a time and place for certain things, but not all things.
Next time someone asks how you’re doing, try to truly analyze your emotions and feelings in that moment. It doesn’t matter if you’re happy, proud, sad, mad, nervous, or scared, tell them that very emotion you’re feeling!
Take it a step further and explain to them why you are feeling that way. Whether you just got a promotion at work or have a speech coming up that you’re nervous about, giving the other person some context to your emotions can help spark a meaningful conversation.
You will find that steering away from the typical “I’m good, thank you” will lead to deeper connections with others and will result in a better understanding of yourself.
Body Language Says It All
Many men have difficulty expressing their emotions because they struggle to identify and understand what they are feeling at any given moment. This can be resolved by analyzing your body during times of peak emotion.
It is said that our total means of communication is split into three categories — body language, tone of voice, and words. Many would be surprised that body language makes up a large majority of that communication, coming in at 55%. In fact, words only account for 7% of our means of communication.
By simply analyzing your body language, you can start to understand how certain events, actions, and emotions make you truly feel. Our emotional reactions are often involuntary and happen immediately, these are the reactions you need to cling onto and share.
Hiding your emotions will not bring you any benefit or joy in life. Feelings are meant to be shared, not feared. Free yourself of the unwanted stress by coming to peace with your feelings and emotions.