Secrets condition can have a physical impact on your health, even leading to dementia
A science expert has explained how the impact of keeping things from your loved ones can have a negative effect leading to very serious health conditions
The intriguing concept of "embodied cognition" suggests that harbouring secrets can lead to physical manifestations, including even leading to dementia and high blood pressure in the long term, as one expert has highlighted the unexpected ways our bodies react.
Concealing personal truths not only burdens our mental well-being but also, as recent research indicates, exerts peculiar physical effects.
Science journalist David Robson provided a startling insight into this phenomenon during his chat with Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast.
Chris recounted his astonishment: "Someone holding onto a secret, when given a ball they need to throw at a target they overthrow the ball, compensating for a perceived weakness.
"This inner fragility they have manifested in themselves; 'Oh well, my real world strength must be equivalently feeble'."
The specialist concurred, detailing: "There's lots of good research showing that if you keep secrets in your mind, you actually experience it like a physical burden.
"When people are primed to think about a secret that they haven't told the people they love, they actually physically overestimate how steep a hill is going to be to climb.
"If they're throwing a ball into a target, they'll overthrow because they kind of assume their strength isn't as great as it really is. It's embodied cognition that changes the way you navigate the world. Everything feels more tiring than it should be."
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While it may seem straightforward to simply share the secret with loved ones, David explained that revealing the secret to virtually anyone can help alleviate the physical burden secrets carry.
He said: "If you get them to reveal the secret to someone, even one of the researchers, that embodied cognition kind of vanishes so they suddenly start to be more accurate in their movements or perceiving the physical challenges in front of them."
Elsewhere in the discussion, the expert highlighted that "authentic, meaningful connections" without secrets are also crucial to prevent "existential isolation". This type of loneliness can lead to a range of health problems from high blood pressure to diabetes and even Alzheimer's Disease.
