_Cela is a sophomore journalism major at MU. She is an opinion columnist who writes about daily life for The Maneater._

While the purpose of winter break is to rest and recharge for the semester ahead, one’s R&R may be interrupted by familial stress, existential angst and an attack on the Capitol, among other things. Returning to campus, students feel burnt out from the fall semester and dread the long weeks ahead. Grappling with homesickness and stress, the winter months grant no reprieve to students.

Given the pandemic and revolving door of headlines — each more frightening than the last — no one has had the chance to recover. Day after day there is something new and the news is always there to cover it. One year after the United States’ first COVID-19 case, the U.S. passed more than 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Hope is on the horizon with the vaccine rollout promising an end to the virus in the near future, although unpredictable mutations generate unease.

Without relief and time to recharge, individuals feel emotionally constipated and unable to process the physical and mental toll the year takes. Emotional constipation involves repressing emotions in order to save face and not look bad. Often individuals don’t have the time or energy to digest and deal with their emotions. They also lack the courage to be vulnerable and share how they’re feeling with others.

While some label emotionally constipated behavior as introversion, it is often withdrawal. This includes withdrawal from family, friends, classes, responsibilities and interests because the brain is too exhausted to handle additional mental processes. Rather than be vulnerable and address strong emotions, an emotionally constipated individual suppresses their true feelings. It’s harmful to mask the positive emotions and repress the negative ones.

Additionally, phones and technology alter human attention spans and outfit individuals to expect instant personal gratification. In an effort to ignore uncomfortable feelings, the individual can flood their senses with mindless screen time, alternating between screens but not truly paying attention to either. Digital fixation distracts one from themself and results in emotional constipation.

Psychologist Anna Rowley says, signs of emotional constipation are disassociation, monoemotional response, numbness, empathy gap and “I think therefore I am.” “I think therefore I am” symbolizes a mentality where an individual deflects their undesired emotions by focusing on facts and logic.

Undesired or “shameful” emotions consist of “anger, rage, depressions, grief, disappointment, and anxiety” Jenny Helms said in SOMA Therapy. Individuals mask positive emotions like joy or happiness due to fear of outside judgment.

Emotional constipation suppresses the “good” and the “bad” emotions. People seek out things that bring them comfort to alleviate stress. This can manifest as binge eating, emotional eating, using social media, etc.

Unfortunately, emotional constipation cannot be cured like physical constipation. The emotional equivalent to laxatives is catharsis. Catharsis is the feeling of relief after letting go of repressed and pent-up emotions. Movies prompt the viewer to experience catharsis by placing the characters in mortal peril, and at the last second, the characters escape and triumph over evil. This way, the viewer invests in the film and is stressed at the necessary plot points, releasing their stress in the end when the protagonist succeeds.

Winter break should not be the only time a student is able to relax. It’s important to build in self-care moments and activities throughout the semester to avoid emotional constipation. For a student, this could mean having a deep talk with a friend, going on a run to release stress and emotion, writing in a journal or watching a movie to induce catharsis. Be open and generous with emotion and don’t keep it bottled up for it to one day explode.

_In pursuit of racial and social equity, The Maneater encourages its readers to donate to the Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security organization. WCAPS is devoted to fostering
dialogue and strategies for engaging in policy discussions on an international scale. Donate at: https://wcaps.networkforgood.com/ _

_Edited by Sydney Lewis | slewis@themaneater_