Why Suppressing Emotions Doesn’t Work — and How I Turned Mine Into Art (+ Bonus Exercise to Achieve It)
- lafrappiere
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Most of us are taught, from a young age, to control our emotions. We hide our anger at work, we smile through sadness, we try to be “rational” even when we feel the opposite. But the truth is: suppressing emotions doesn’t make us stronger—it makes us disconnected.
Art offers us another path. Instead of burying what we feel, we can transform emotions into forms, colors, and lines. By doing so, we not only release what weighs us down, but we also learn to listen to ourselves more clearly. And when you can listen to yourself, you make better decisions, clearer judgments, and even more accurate forecasts about your own life.
Let’s see how great artists have already walked this road:
Piet Mondrian and the Rhythm of Joy
When Piet Mondrian arrived in New York in 1940, he was mesmerized by the city. The flashing lights of Broadway, the endless movement of taxis, the syncopated rhythm of jazz pouring from clubs—this was a world of vibration and pulse. Mondrian, who had spent years reducing forms to straight lines and primary colors, suddenly discovered a living equivalent: the city itself was like jazz.
His painting Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942–43) translates that sensation. The canvas is a grid of yellow, red, blue, and gray rectangles intersected by white lines. But if you look closely, it is not rigid—it pulses. The rhythm of the small squares feels like beats of music, like light bulbs switching on and off, like jazz improvisation. Mondrian transformed joy, movement, and sound into a visual dance.
👉 Lesson: Joy doesn’t have to be chaotic; it can be structured, rhythmic, and endlessly alive.
Jackson Pollock and the Release of Energy
When Jackson Pollock painted Number 1A, 1948 or One: Number 31, 1950, he wasn’t sketching a plan—he was moving. He dripped, poured, and flung paint in a dance across the canvas. His works embody anger, urgency, intensity, but also freedom. What many saw as chaos was actually a record of Pollock’s presence in the moment, an honest map of his state of mind.
👉 Lesson: Expressing energy openly can prevent it from controlling you unconsciously.
When emotions are expressed—whether in color, form, or even a simple line—they stop clouding our mind. Neuroscience confirms this: writing down or visualizing emotions reduces their intensity. By giving them an outlet, we create space for rational clarity.
Just as Mondrian found structure in joy and Pollock found rhythm in chaos, we too can create a personal system that helps us transform emotions into tools.
Harnessing Emotions = Sharper Thinking
A One-Week Exercise: Mapping Your Emotional Rhythm
Take:
One pencil
