We have created an internal map of what we think reality is.  We create this map as we grow up, in such a way that we can feel the greatest amount of safety – usually within our family situation.

According to Bill Harris of the Centerpointe Institute, “In your map you might, for instance, suppress certain feelings or aspects of yourself because it wasn’t safe to express them while you were growing up. As an adult, though, you might find that certain areas of your map don’t work very well – they don’t serve you as well as they did when you were a child, when you were small and powerless and your situation was different.”

Although at the time, it was the right choice because it kept us alive, it may no longer be serving us for our best good.  These suppressed, internalized negative emotions can lead to all kinds of inappropriate coping or stress distraction activities: sex, alcohol, drugs, T.V., music, food, sports, negative attitudes, computers, video games, sleeping, reading, anger, dissasociation, sickness, injury, illness, etc.

Do some of the things on the above list surprise you?  Too much of anything, even good things, can be a bad thing.