By Julia Ditzer, M.Sc., and James Gross, Ph.D.

Imagine being in a cozy coffee shop. People around you chat softly, and cups clink as you sit across from someone you’ve recently met and hope to get to know better. Your conversation goes beyond the usual small talk. You open up and share your feelings. As you do so, they reciprocate, and something special happens: your connection deepens.

In a world that so often values thinking “logically” and holding back emotions, these genuine moments can be rare and the idea of being more rather than less emotional with others may seem counterintuitive. Society has shaped our........

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