A healthy response to an emotion is to feel and express that emotion, and allow the emotion to pass. Let’s take grief for example. If a loved one passes away and you choose to avoid your feelings of grief by avoiding the funeral and work extra, your body and mind will not have the opportunity to process that emotion of grief. The emotional energy is neither processed nor released. If there is too much resistance, or if an emotion is too intense, the energy of the emotion can become stuck in your body, leading to other imbalances. 

There are healthy ways to express emotions. In my opinion, the best way to process an emotion is to feel it, however that comes with challenge of dealing with feeling your emotions in real time. You could choose to talk about how you are feeling with others. You could exercise to get your aggression out. I believe the worst thing you can do with an emotion is not to process the emotion and repress it. Emotions are signs and signals from your body. They are trying to send a message. Don’t ignore them. Emotions are meant to be felt and expressed. 

It’s unnatural to avoid your own emotions and pretending like they don’t exist. Like I said, I’m an expert in avoiding my emotions. Emotions are complex and there is no one size fits all for coping with them. Some people have a natural ability to manage their emotions seamlessly. Some folks are highly attuned to their own emotions, and are able to pick up on read other peoples emotions as well. It’s very easy for them.  

For some us, it requires practice and building skills to become better at managing our emotions. The process becomes easier with practice. You might not have even noticed that emotions can cause triggers that may drive you to certain behaviors, including addictions.