socks_ftw

The product of bordem, misdirection and little else in the way of creative options would probably, most of the time, result in an illegitimate child. However today it spawned this page, for me at least.

Expression and Supression end in the same thing, only in the verbal sense. Emotionally they're probably akin to the East and West coasts of America, only with less shooting and womanising, most of the time. The act of expression is thought of as an adult virtue, something that adults should do with each other, when they feel a certain way. Not through obligation, but through the assumption that adults are more capable of it than children. Yet ironically, as adults, we supress each other all the time. Granted, some people can get fickle and pedantic over exercising their right to express themselves. I doubt if you were unallowed to say 'Fuck Bush', for the umpteenth time in your life, on some public platform like a million other people have done before you, that you would face an emotional cross roads and be forced to evaluate your emotional state - Yet it's not uncommon to come across people who would act as if it were over the inability to express something equally as meaningless. The censorship of swear words in remote situations is an example of when it shouldn't really matter if you get to say tits or not, but by mentioning supression I was actually speaking of something a little more important (Yes, there are more important things than forever being against the American Government :( ).

Social supression shows itself in a few ways, it can show up in peer groups, relationships, family circles - But never at your grans birthday, because she's old and old people are allowed to do silly things. You happily supress yourself due to that, thus cancelling the supression out because you did it yourself, the same way as it's not sex if you were the only one there.

Peer groups for example, boast a few variations of supression, sometimes it depends how childish your friends are. Smearing playdoh over your friends mouth as they prepare for speech in reply to you, for example, would be quite childish - But it works so I choose not to form an opinion either way, in aid of not being a hypocrite. A more mature* way seems to come in the form of arguing or shouting your point atop of the opposing parties voice, so that either; you can't hear their argument, they (and any possible spectators) can hear yours more clearly than their own or more commonly, you look like the one most likely to punch the other and win via looking like John Wayne momentarily.

Shouting over the top of one another isn't exclusive to peer groups, it does of course show itself in every other category I mentioned, but in relationships it usually comes equipped with a plate being missile'd towards your face...lovingly. 

Of course, all of this is blatantly obvious to anyone who doesn't live in the OC (and therefore isn't perfect, like Ryan <3). The thing which may not be obvious, are the effects of expressive supression. After an argument, two people generally mend their differences, whether that is through airing feelings, or maybe having a fondle - It builds towards the same thing, or the same thing and a little extra if you chose to have the fondle over the first option. However alot of the time the original issue and the points that one felt needed to be raised don't get brought up again, either through tiredness or fear of everything firing up to the state it was before, this is were supression happens. After this the situation is thought to be over and finished and one or more of the parties involved leave feeling momentarily satisfied, until the supressed thoughts bubble up at a later date and alot of the time, manifest themselves into odd forms.

In situations like this, people who otherwise aren't at all obsessive compulsive, can show signs of being so. An obsessive compulsive nature usually works on the basis of 'If I do this, it will prevent me from feeling that', and people who actively work to keep feelings supressed, work on this basis also although sometimes in a more theraputic, self pampering manor. Some people can turn to buying clothes, going on holidays, having spa treatment, or pursuing a hobbie further than they normally would. This of course can lead to creative exhaustion, and a bit of an anorexic bank balance - All because you didn't tell Tom he was a cock for what he said. Not only could it possibly cause these problems, but the quick fix, OCD solutions won't take the supressed feeling away. Sadly, a large portion of people tend to work their way through years of their lives with supressed feelings and emotions, and don't realise it due to going through their feel good routines that often, over time they may grow to forget the association between the feel good ritual and what made them start doing it, but they still won't forget what exactly is being supressed.

However, do not fear. If you find yourself in such a position, with deep rooted depression, locked up feelings and suicidal tendancies, visit your Doctor. He'll give you paracetamol, and we all know that fixes mental conditions.


* I didn't mean 'mature' in the wise, sophisticated sense. Rather in the ape like, 'fully grown physically' way.