THE HELD SELF™ · TRAUMA Suppression/Repression
Are You Suppressing Or Repressing Your Sexual Assault/Other Trauma
The Difference
Releasing Is the Only Way Through
It is perfectly logical ~ given the horrific nature of the experience. Wouldn’t you want to blank it out or stuff it down just to survive?
I did. So if that is your situation too, I understand.
I did not know the difference between suppressing and repressing at first. So I found out.
Suppression ~ conscious efforts or activity to push pain out of awareness.
Repression ~ unconscious processes operating beneath awareness entirely.
Then I had to ask myself: what would it look like if I were doing either of these to manage my symptoms and pain?
5 Symptoms of Suppression
Substance Abuse ~ using alcohol or drugs to numb emotions, escape reality, or push pain out of awareness.
Overworking and Excessive Activity ~ filling every moment with tasks or motion to avoid stillness, thought, or emotional contact.
Distraction Techniques ~ TV, streaming, internet scrolling, video games ~ keeps you outwardly focused and away from inner experience.
Avoidance Behavior ~ avoiding people, places, or situations that might trigger memories of the incident.
Perfectionism and Control ~ trying to control every detail of your world or striving for impossible standards ~ often to create a false sense of safety or avoid inner chaos.
5 Symptoms of Repression
Memory Gaps ~ difficulty recalling specific events or entire time periods ~ especially those involving distress or trauma. This is a significant one. For a deeper exploration see Did Childhood Trauma Leave Gaps In Your Memory?
Dreams and Nightmares ~ repressed material often surfaces in unsettling dreams, repeating symbols, or night terrors.
Unexplained Emotional Reactions ~ sudden outbursts, panic, or deep sadness that does not quite match the current moment.
Psychosomatic Symptoms ~ chronic physical pain, illness, or fatigue with no clear medical explanation.
Difficulty with Introspection ~ struggling to identify feelings or distancing from inner reflection altogether.
Do You Recognize Yourself in Any of These?
From personal experience ~ the longer suppression or repression continues, the more life tends to unravel. Mentally, emotionally, physically, financially ~ every area starts to feel it. And one day you may blow ~ as I did.
You did not ask for this experience. You did not ask for the wreckage it created.
But there is a way out. And it does not take a lifetime.
You do not heal by repressing.
You heal by releasing.
Healing came for me the moment I stopped holding it in and got onto the right path. When you are ready to release what never belonged to you in the first place ~ I am here.
This is not a sales call.