Emotional outbursts can be overwhelming. All of a sudden, you find yourself emotionally overloaded and blowing up on others. As a result, feelings of guilt, confusion, and regret flood in. Meanwhile, you’re left not knowing what to do or how to stop these moments from happening.
In this blog you’ll learn about emotional outbursts, certain triggers for emotional outbursts, the impact they can have on you, and tips for navigating these situations more effectively.
What is an emotional outburst?
An emotional outburst can look like a sudden episode of intense expression. It can often involve emotions like anger, frustration, or sadness. This might look like shouting, crying, or physical expressions like punching. It’s normal to feel like these moments are coming out of nowhere. However, it can be helpful to try to explore the root causes of emotional outbursts. Doing this can help promote your mental health and improve your relationships. Anyone can experience these types of outbursts, but for men, there are certain stigmas and expectations related to emotional expression that might impact their understanding of this type of experience.
Triggers for Emotional Outbursts in Men
Relationship Issues and Emotional Outbursts
Emotional outbursts can often result from conflicts in relationships that go uncommunicated or unresolved. Leaving things unsaid can lead to feelings of frustration and resentment. An outburst might also come about if there is a lack of emotional support in your relationship. If someone you care about is unavailable, you might blow up as a means of connection. It’s also true that the end of a relationship might trigger an emotional outbursts, especially if there have been feelings that remained unspoken throughout your relationship.
Work Stress and Emotional Outbursts
Work can be a big source of stress and the pressure to succeed and provide can easily lead to moments of emotional outbursts. This pressure can come from employers, or might even be self-imposed. Regardless, these pressures can become overwhelming. Additionally, the need to provide for a family can add additional stress and working to balance the demands of work with your own personal life can end up in emotional strain.
Societal Pressures for Men and Emotional Outbursts
The societal expectations and demands on men to be emotionless and stoic might cause them to repress their emotions, which can eventually cause them to explode. It’s common that men may have pent-up emotions as a result of not asking for help or not opening up to other because they think these actions might be perceived as weakness due to overarching expectation from society that men should always be strong and independent, no matter what they are going through. This type of expectation can lead to chronic stress and emotional strain in both their personal and professional life.
You might recognize some of these common phrases that reinforce your tendency to keep your emotions concealed:
- “Stop being so sensitive”
- “Don’t be a baby”
- “Keep it to yourself”
- “It’s not a big deal”
- “Hold it together”
This fear of feeling judged or seek as weak is common for men, but can raise up an internal pressure to keep their true emotions hidden. Constantly feeling like they need to conceal their genuine feelings in order to keep up a stoic exterior can be emotionally taxing and cause emotional outbursts. It’s like a pressure cooker. You stuff all of these emotions inside, put a lid on them, but eventually the pressure builds up and if you have no way to slowly release them, the lid flies off, leaving an absolute mess.
The Impact of Suppressing Emotions: Beyond the Outburst
Physical Health Consequences of Emotional Outbursts
Suppressed emotions can cause long-term stress that raises the risk of heart disease and hypertension. Long-term repression of emotions can impair immunity, increasing susceptibility to disease. Physical manifestations of suppressed emotions include headaches, stomach issues, and persistent discomfort.
Mental Health Consequences of Emotional Outbursts
There is a clear link between emotional suppression and depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and depression can result from suppressing emotions. Tension and anxiety within might result from unspoken feelings. Other mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can arise as a result of emotional repression.
Social Consequences of Emotional Outbursts
Repressing feelings can make it difficult to communicate honestly, which can result in miscommunication and interpersonal conflict. Forming deep connections can be challenging when emotions are suppressed, since it can lead to a sense of emotional detachment from loved ones. Feelings of loneliness and detachment can be exacerbated by social disengagement and social retreat brought on by an inability to communicate emotions. Being unable to show vulnerability can impede the development of meaningful, long-lasting relationships. Relationships that struggle to establish and preserve trust are often the result of emotional repression. Those who suppress their feelings may find it difficult to connect with others on a more profound emotional level, leading to shallow encounters.
Practical Tips for Men Experiencing Emotional Outbursts
Strategies for Immediate Emotional Regulation
- Deep breathing techniques
- By practicing deep breathing, men can engage their parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers the body’s stress response and helps calm powerful emotions, by breathing deeply with their nose, holding their breath for a few seconds, and then exhaling slowly through their mouth.
- Giving yourself space
- Finding a quiet area to be by yourself and removing yourself from the circumstance that is provoking you will give you time to calm down, gather your thoughts, and identify how you are feeling.
- Engaging in physical activity
- Exercises like running, walking, cycling, or even a fast push-up or jumping jack exercise can produce endorphins, which are naturally occurring mood enhancers, and provide pent-up emotions a physical release.
Long-Term Practices for Emotional Health
- Regular self-reflection
- Men can learn to comprehend and manage their emotions, identify emotional triggers, and spot patterns and reactions through practices like writing or meditation.
- Creating a supportive network of people
- Feelings of loneliness can be lessened by reaching out to dependable friends or family.
- Identifying enjoyable activites
- Participating in enjoyable and relaxing hobbies or interests can contribute to general emotional health by elevating mood, lowering stress levels, and boosting well-being.
- Starting Therapy
- Therapy can offer emotional validation, exploration and guidance, and opportunities to practice identifying and expressing emotions in a safe way.
Find A Therapist To Help With Emotional Outbursts
In therapy, men can examine feelings, identify underlying problems, and create coping mechanisms in a secure environment. Therapy can help men better understand their emotional patterns, enhancing self-awareness, and their ability to express themselves. Developing these skills helps to avoid that pressure-cooker scenario, leading to less of those sudden emotional outbursts. Remember, seeking this type of help and support is not a sign of weakness but rather of strength and self-awareness. If you want to enhance your quality of life, build stronger coping strategies, and improve your relationships, reach out for help.
