Our emotions arise as reactions to events, situations, memories and interactions with others. It's said we have over 50 emotions that help us express how we feel; they influence our mood and can help us make healthy decisions. It's like our bodies way of giving us information and guidance. That is only if we stop, listen and take notice. In this blog I look at the alternative ways we supress our emotions and how we can learn to connect with them.

Last week my blog focused on anger which is suppressed or denied. But for some people anger has become so much part of who they are that they carry it around as a heavy load, to discard this load would be to lose part of themselves. So, in this blog I focus on my insights into why for some anger has become so embedded, why we can't just let go of it and how to find a way forward.

This is my first of two blogs on Anger where I focus on those who try and avoid their anger, who feel it is shameful and overwhelming. I explore how our past experiences can cause us to suppress or deny our anger and how we struggle to control the 'leakages' of anger that escape when we are provoked. By looking at anger in new ways I explore how we can use anger as our guide to protect us and help us make healthier choices.