Yes, we do. No need to be defensive. Just as every physical body contains harmful bacteria, scars and experiences unexpected injuries, nobody lives his entire life immune to emotional damages.
Most of us were raised by parents (plus schools and societies), who might have had the best intension but nonetheless were imperfect. They may be limited by their parenting knowledge, financial struggle, character flaws, time constraints or emotional immaturity. As a consequence, we grew up not getting enough acceptance, love, appreciation or respect. In other words, our emotional needs were not always met. In general, many parents strive to meet our physical needs before our emotional needs are even recognized.
These unmet emotional needs become unexpressed emotions which create all sorts of problems in life – low self-esteem, unhealthy relationships, and even physical diseases. The worst of it all is our society sympathizes with people carrying physical problems but label or shame people who need emotional help until the problem accumulates and presents itself as behavioral issue or depression. By the same token, legal systems provide more protection from physical abuses than from emotional abuses.
In western societies, we over-emphasize cognitive capabilities while neglect emotional expressions which ironically are far more intelligent and important in comparison. Connecting with our emotions and expressing them appropriately is vital to a healthy and fulfilled life. It is about time we stop treating ourselves as emotionless objects and fully reclaim our rights as human beings.
