Have you seen someone smiling, yet within the smile you recognized sadness? Have you heard someone laughing, though you knew the heart was not healed?
“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.” Proverbs 14:13
Repressed grief occurs when a person has reason to grieve and needs to grieve, but does not grieve.
The person with repressed grief exhibits negative lifestyle patterns but does not know why. Examples may be distancing from others, playing the clown, using mood altering substances like alcohol or drugs, engaging in mood altering behaviors like gambling or compulsive spending.
Only by facing the truth of your painful losses in life and by going through genuine grief will you have emotional healing.
In the bible, the Psalmists prayed this prayer.
“Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me.” Psalm 43:3