Наталья Грабарь

Relationships with other people matter a great deal in the life of everyone, because by nature we are social beings. All of us want relationships that are comfortable and that feel good to us.

Our life is quite unpredictable, and every day we feel a whole range of emotions, some of them positive and some negative in colouring. Today I would like to dwell on anxiety.

I often hear that there are "bad" and "good" emotions. Many people believe that being angry is not allowed, that being afraid is harmful, that being sad is bad, and so on. Sometimes I meet people who will not let themselves show emotions that they, or those around them, consider "bad". Sadly, all of this is imposed by social norms: from early childhood a child hears phrases such as "Don't cry so loudly, what will people say" and the like. Besides forbidding expression, remarks like these also impose a f