Ignoring feelings? Compartmentalising? Putting stuff in a box, or to the back of your mind? Things we haven’t dealt with can still resurface in our overreactions, as anxiety or as general unease.
We can suck it up for a while – we need to cope and get through the day after all – but boxes of stuff don’t always stay silent. Sometimes it can be enough to acknowledge that they are there, and impactful. Sometimes you want to tip them out, sort through the contents and stack it more neatly – this is what we do in counselling.
What do you think about compartmentalising? Is it a necessary survival skill, or just avoidance? Let me know your point of view in the comments on any of my social pages.