The Dangers of Enforced Jolliness: How Suppressing Emotions Can Impact Your Health

As human beings, we are wired to experience a wide range of emotions – from happiness and joy to anger and frustration. However, in certain situations, such as in customer service jobs or in our personal relationships, we may feel pressure to suppress our true feelings and put on a facade of positivity and cheerfulness. While this may seem necessary to maintain harmony and professionalism, research has shown that this enforced jolliness may actually have negative impacts on our health.

A recent study conducted by Professor Zapf, involving a population of 4000 people, explored the effects of enforced jolliness on stress and physical health levels when dealing with abusive clients. The study found that those who repressed their true feelings and remained friendly and polite all the time had a higher level of stress and physical strain than those who were allowed to answer back. Furthermore, even after the call had ended, their heart rates continued to race which indicated prolonged stress.

The conclusion reached by the psychologists was clear and alarming – being friendly against one’s will causes nothing but stress. This is a warning that everyone should take seriously, as customer service representatives and those in similar professions, such as flight attendants, shop assistants and carers, are often forced to put on a happy face and suppress their true emotions for extended periods of time.

As human beings, suppressing our true feelings can have dire consequences on our well-being. We must learn to give value to our emotions and express them in healthy and appropriate ways. By repressing them, we not only put ourselves at risk of stress-related illnesses, but we may also end up damaging our relationships with others.

It’s important to note that the impacts of enforced jolliness on our health can extend beyond just stressful situations at work. Suppressing emotions can take a toll on our mental and physical health in other areas of our lives as well. For example, in our personal relationships, we may feel like we need to suppress negative feelings to keep the peace or maintain a sense of harmony. However, doing so can lead to bottled-up emotions and increased stress levels. This can ultimately harm our relationships and our mental well-being.

It’s clear from the research that suppressing emotions can be detrimental to our health. However, this doesn’t mean that we should always act on every emotion we feel. Instead, we should learn to express our emotions in a healthy and constructive way, without causing harm to ourselves or others. This may mean seeking professional help, such as therapy, to learn how to manage our feelings better.

In conclusion, the dangers of enforced jolliness cannot be underestimated. Suppressing our emotions may seem like the easiest solution, but it can have serious negative impacts on our health. It’s important to learn to express our feelings in a healthy and constructive way, without causing harm to ourselves or others. By doing so, we can improve our physical and mental well-being and strengthen our relationships with others.