How Do Different Emotion Management Strategies Affect Trauma Symptoms?

What you need to know

• How we manage our emotions can significantly impact our mental health during stressful times
• Suppressing emotions tends to increase trauma symptoms
• Reframing situations in a new light helps reduce trauma symptoms

The Impact of Managing Emotions

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to handle stress better than others? The answer may lie in how we manage our emotions. Just like choosing the right tools for a job, the strategies we use to handle our feelings can make a big difference in how well we cope with difficult situations.

Two Key Approaches to Handling Emotions

Research has identified two main ways people typically manage their emotions:

Cognitive reappraisal involves changing how you think about a situation to change how you feel about it. It’s like choosing to see a glass as half-full instead of half-empty. For example, viewing a challenging situation as an opportunity for growth rather than just a hardship.

Emotional suppression involves pushing down or hiding your feelings, like forcing a smile when you’re actually upset. While this might seem helpful in the moment, it’s like putting a lid on a boiling pot - the pressure is still there underneath.

What the Research Found

The study followed participants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a unique opportunity to see how different emotion management strategies affected people’s responses to a major stressful event.

The results were clear: People who regularly used reappraisal before the pandemic reported fewer trauma symptoms during it. In contrast, those who typically suppressed their emotions experienced more trauma symptoms when facing pandemic-related stress.

Why This Matters

These findings held true even after accounting for factors like age, income, anxiety, and depression. This suggests that how we handle our emotions plays a crucial role in our mental health, independent of other life circumstances.

What This Means for You

The good news is that we can learn and practice healthier ways to manage our emotions. Here are some practical steps:

• Practice reframing situations by looking for alternative perspectives
• Notice when you’re suppressing emotions and try to express them in healthy ways instead
• Talk to trusted friends or family about your feelings rather than bottling them up
• Consider working with a mental health professional to develop better emotion management skills

Conclusions

• How we handle our emotions significantly impacts our ability to cope with stress
• Suppressing emotions may provide short-term relief but can lead to longer-term difficulties
• Learning to reframe situations more positively can help build resilience against trauma