Most of us do not feel the liberty to express our emotions others on a regular basis. I imagine there are various reasons for this. For one, it is hard. I feel this personally and professionally. It is difficult to slow down and even be aware of what we feel. Also, people often share that they feel like sharing too many emotions will cause them to bother others, be misunderstood, or be viewed as weak. As a result, people do not from allow themselves to feel and express.
But in my experience, people who avoid strong emotions often describe feeling internal chaos. I believe this avoidance is unhelpful because it causes us to continue in pain and isolation God did not create us to thrive in.
I try to spend a lot of time urging people to slow down and pay attention to their emotions, and to allow themselves to feel them and express them. As I do, I remind them that God made them with emotions for a reason, whether they are reacting to times of joy, sorrow, intense suffering. Avoidance and suppression are in ways more comfortable methods of coping, but they are not sustainable or paths to health.
There are many helpful resources to show us how to be emotional in a healthy way. I am going to list a few for anyone who wants to practice this!
The book of Psalms in the Bible
Untangling Emotions, a book by Alasdair Groves
Your Emotions Matter To God, a sermon by John Piper
