The Nuance
Is Sharing Your Feelings Always Healthy?
Sometimes spilling your guts is not the answer
Every week, the Nuance will go beyond the basics, offering a deep and researched look at the latest science and expert insights on a buzzed-about health topic.
In an influential study, a group of Stanford researchers asked pairs of unacquainted people to watch and then discuss a documentary about the World War II bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As part of the study, some participants were asked to “behave in such a way that your partner does not know you are feeling any emotions at all.” Compared to the people who were free to express emotions, those who were told to hide their feelings experienced spikes in blood pressure and distraction. Also, compared to the pairs who were allowed to express themselves naturally, both people in the emotion “suppression” groups tended to feel less rapport and less positivity toward each other.
This study is one of many that suggest concealing emotions can have negative repercussions — both for the person doing the concealing and for those around them. More research has linked emotion suppression to higher rates of anxiety, insomnia, and other unhealthy outcomes.
