I have this problem with anger the most but yes, I relate. I have been one to choose numbing, escapism, anything to avoid feelings other than cheerfulness and happiness.
Mine I believe stems mostly from growing up in a house with an angry mother. I used to hate how much she was angry and would see why logically she shouldn’t be about those things and therefore I logic myself away from those feelings. I also learned that it was easier to go along to get along so I got very good at hiding my feelings.
I used to not be able to cry either, and I would maybe do it once in a year or longer.
I still have some trouble with it.
However, what helped me is a meditation exercise. In which you breathe in deeply several times and try to move your energy from your head to your chest.(mind to heart). I would Google that, I just used videos online for it. And I try to remember to do it, I am not as consistent as I should be now a days with it. But I have less trouble crying and getting in touch with my feelings as I once did and I think that helped a lot.
I also try to be mindful and present, I lose that battle more than I win it, but that too has been a good coping mechanism when I am overwhelmed. When we are in the present moment and we remind ourselves that we are safe in it, it helps a lot.
Also you might want to check out things that help regulate your nervous system. I hum a lot (probably to the irritation of those around me) but I feel better when I do it. I do not like yoga, as mich as I want to like it, but a lot of people say it helps. Also this one is weird but rubbing the area just beneath where your clavicle meets your shoulder is supposed to help release pent in emotions. I have been doing that one lately. They say if you are doing it right it will make you feel like yawning. So far I have not observed benefits from it but things have been pretty calm so maybe that’s just me.
Brene brown wrote an encyclopedia of emotions that some people have found helpful to identify emotions in their body but I have not done that.
