Pain, anger, and fear are danger emotions that provide feedback to us around our survival being threatened. Our survival is threatened if we are not getting our emotional needs met for bonding, because it is a biologically-based need. Having access to all of our emotional responses is important so that we have continuous feedback about what we need. If we repress our danger emotions over a long period of time, we will then think through the filters of anger, pain, and fear. We will create images and thought patterns that reflect these bottled up emotions.
Emotional expression is important because emotions are the body's biofeedback mechanism.
TO HOPE Denied hopelessness is the emotional state that most often precedes the development of cancer. We experience hopelessness when we do not get our emotional and psychological needs met over a long period of time. Because deprivation is a painful experience, we learn to protect ourselves by repressing and denying the pain, anger, and fear that are the real emotions associated with deprivation. We begin to give up unconsciously about ever getting what we really want. Eventually, we may completely lose awareness of our deep-rooted sense of hopelessness.