ABSTRACT
Theorists have long claimed that the free play of emotion is incompatible with civilization (Elias, 1978; Freud, 1961). There has been a lingering suspicion, however, that the emotion control required by civilization may come at a steep price. In the popular literature, this price has often been represented in terms of the adverse consequences emotion inhibition may have for physical health (e.g. Martin, 1998). In the scientific literature, too, there have been reports linking emotion inhibition to a variety of diseases (e.g. Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987; Pennebaker & Traue, 1993). For example, emotion inhibition has been implicated in asthma (Florin et al., 1985; Teiramaa, 1978), cancer (Denollet, 1998; Greer & Watson, 1985; Gross, 1989; Temoshok, 1987), chronic pain disorders (Beutler et al., 1986; Harrison, 1975; Udelman & Udelman, 1981) and cardiovascular diseases (Brosschot & Thayer, 1998; Haynes et al, 1980; Jorgensen et al., 1996; Julius et al., 1986).
