We have been taught to behave with restraint: it is not befitting for an adult serious person to openly show feelings. But perhaps it’s time to reconsider, because the intensity of the expression of emotions directly affects our health.
In everyday life, we often operate with one-dimensional assessments of the state: bad, good, or “everything goes on as usual.” Sometimes we limit ourselves in the manifestations of feelings or even in the very possibility of experiencing something. But this is what makes us vulnerable to disease. The more diverse the emotional life, the more resistant we are to diseases. At least that’s what the authors of the Emotional Diversity study say.
Researchers have known for a long time that positive emotions are good for health. It is known that they normalize blood pressure, lower the pulse, strengthen the immune system. People with an optimistic attitude are more likely to benefit from difficult circumstances. A good mood can even protect against a cold, Sheldon Cohen of the University of Pittsburgh discovered in 2006. By and large, cheerful natures fall ill less often, live longer, and are better armed against the blows of fate.
However, several more recent studies indicate that health may depend not only on the presence of good feelings, but also on the degree of their intensity. You also need a variety of experiences themselves, which allows you to maintain emotional balance and psychological stability.
The less feelings, the longer the depression
People who allow themselves to frequently experience the full gamut of feelings have a higher emotional diversity than those who are limited to a couple of emotions – joy, pride or sadness.
This was confirmed by a study conducted in 2017 by psychologist Anthony Ong from Cornell University. At his request, 175 respondents kept a diary of emotions for 30 days. Each evening, they indicated which of the 16 positive and 16 negative emotions they experienced during the day, how strong the emotions were or whether they did not experience them at all.
Six months later, scientists took a blood test, which revealed various markers. In doing so, they found that the more different positive feelings the participants experienced from day to day, the lower the concentration in the corresponding markers.
In people with depression, positive emotions are expressed not only weaker, but also less diverse. This is indicated by a 2018 study in which Alice Werner-Seydler’s team at the University of Cambridge studied a small sample of depressed patients. Positive feelings in the main group were less varied than in the control group. Those who exhibited a particularly “modest menu” of emotions also complained of more frequent and prolonged depressive episodes.
Another study in Belgium covered approximately 1 respondents. It showed the same trend: people who reported a richer palette of positive and negative emotions had fewer doctor visits, fewer hospital visits, and fewer medications than participants with a poorer emotional set. At the same time, it turned out that the health of the subjects is more closely associated with a variety of feelings than with diets and sports.
The good side of bad feelings
“Bad” feelings, such as sadness, rage and envy, also have positive aspects, as evidenced by numerous studies.
“Each negative emotion can, in a certain context, help to adapt,” says Louise Prüssner from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Heidelberg. The most obvious example is fear. If it takes possession of us, it captures all attention. The heart beats faster, the muscles tense, the pupils dilate. The body prepares at lightning speed for fight or flight, a life-saving reaction in the face of real danger.”
Sometimes negative emotions have a positive effect on memory or creativity. Bad moods, for example, sharpen the mind, as researcher Josef Forgas of the University of New South Wales in Sydney found in 2009. The scientist asked 73 customers after leaving the stationery store whether they noticed 10 items that Forgas’ colleagues had previously posted at the checkout. Those of the subjects who were in a bad mood could list more objects than respondents who were in a good mood.
Source: spektrum.de