The 7 forbidden emotions hit me hardest last Tuesday, sitting in a Starbucks in suburban Ohio, watching some 22-year-old influencer film a “day in the life” while I’m over here thirty-mumble with a half-eaten pumpkin loaf and a soul that feels like wet cardboard.
Like, I’m not proud of it, but I wanted to yeet her Ring Light into the parking lot.
1. The Quiet, Sick Joy When Someone Hotter Than You Fails (Schadenfreude’s Ugly Cousin)
I felt it when my ex—who ghosted me for someone with better cheekbones—posted a crying selfie about her start-up tanking. My first thought wasn’t “aww poor her,” it was a tiny firework of YES in my chest. Immediately hated myself. Then screenshotted it. Then hated myself harder. That’s the forbidden part—no one admits the spark before the guilt shows up.
2. Resentment Toward People You Love (The Worst One)
My mom called last week asking why I haven’t visited. I love her, I do, but the second she said “you never make time,” this molten wave of “because existing near you feels like drowning in expectations” rose up. Didn’t say it. Smiled through the whole call. Hung up and rage-ate an entire sleeve of Oreos in my car in the Target parking lot. Forbidden emotion unlocked.
Why Suppressing These 7 Forbidden Emotions Is Killing Us Softly
Look, I’ve tried the Instagram spirituality thing—journaling, breathwork, whatever. Still woke up at 3 a.m. last night hating my best friend because she got the promotion I wanted. The shame of feeling that? Heavier than the jealousy itself.
3. Envy So Deep It Feels Like Grief
Not regular envy. The kind where you see someone living the life you were supposed to have and it literally aches behind your ribs. Happened when I scrolled past my college roommate’s wedding photos—she married the guy I crushed on for four years. I liked every picture. Then threw my phone across the room. Then picked it up and liked them again because God forbid I look bitter.
4. The Urge to Burn Everything Down When Life Is Objectively Fine
Everything’s… good? Job’s stable, dog’s healthy, rent’s paid. And yet sometimes I fantasize about disappearing, new name, new state, just torch the whole identity. It’s not depression (been there). It’s this feral itch that good isn’t enough. Terrified me the first time I noticed it.
Quick List of the Remaining 7 Forbidden Emotions (Because My ADHD Is Kicking In)
- Shame for wanting more when you “should” be grateful
- Rage at children (yes, even yours, sometimes—don’t @ me)
- Secret relief when bad things happen to bad people (and then panic that makes you a bad person)
Anyway. I’m not saying wallow in these 7 forbidden emotions forever. I’m saying I stopped pretending they don’t live in my house. They sleep on the couch, eat my leftovers, and sometimes I let them pick the Netflix show because fighting them 24/7 is exhausting.
The trick that actually worked for me? Naming them out loud to another human. Like, full sentences: “I’m jealous and I hate that I’m jealous and I’m telling you because secrets make them grow teeth.” Every single time, the other person goes, “Oh thank God, me too.”
So yeah. That’s my unhinged little confessional on the 7 forbidden emotions we all carry. If you felt seen, cool. If you felt attacked, also cool—means it’s in you too.
Tell me in the comments which of these 7 forbidden emotions you pretend doesn’t exist. I read every single one while stress-eating cereal at 2 a.m., promise.
(References for the nerds:
