I strongly agree. I don't think it's only anger that we suppress, but rather emotions in general, especially higher intensity ones. I think emotions are one of the most powerful tools we have for communicating with each other, especially when we pair the physical expression with words detailing the deeper contexts, and yet we seem to somehow think emotional expression is maladaptive. It confounds me and frustrates me and saddens me all at the same time.
Yes, strong emotions are almost always shamed. We need to learn to process those emotions and accept them, not suppress them. Suppressing never works forever, because the emotion is still there, and it will surface one way or another eventually.
And also to express them to others. This is where I think it gets tricky, or has for me. I built an app for micro-journaling how I felt and I got really good at answering "How do I feel?" "What's happening?" And yet when I say these things to others, it can cause huge conflicts because they don't want us to talk about how we feel and I do. A suppression vs expression fight and it seems to happen with almost everyone I meet.
So for me, I feel confident to process and accept them by myself, it's when I communicate them with others it can bring lots of conflict, and yet, if I only express them to myself and not to others, they don't often achieve their function of communication, which I think may be one of the core functions of emotions.
