Anxiety Suppression

Anxiety suppression, unlike subconscious repression, is voluntary — a person blocks or doesn’t confront their anxiety to avoid discomfort and not feel difficult emotions. Repression and suppression are both mental defense mechanisms—both can damage mental wellbeing in roughly the same way. Anxiety suppression may be essential to function at work, school, or with family. Or it may stem from being acculturated as children to see anxiety as a weakness (told to calm down or not act like a coward) — with men to not show emotion or women not to allow emotion to control them. Suppressing anxiety is a maladaptive coping strategy, providing temporary relief but long term not working or making anxiety worse. Suppression prevents understanding and dealing with anxiety’s cause — especially since all anxiety disorders can be treated. A first step is acknowledging anxiety. Ignoring and not treating its symptoms allows anxiety to fester and grow.