See, my MLs mother, Mrs. Moon, barely feels her emotions, at least negative ones, because she's taught herself to be so in control. She doesn't feel as if there is anything she's missing, but if you can imagine it like "the picture of dorian gray," what she ignores will affect her physically, even if she can keep going without thinking about rest, taking a vacation, etc. And it still affects her son, who lives knowing he wouldn't exist if his mother hadn't been able to figure out how to make his childhood 'convenient.'