Navtej Kohli Interest Blog

Today
I come across another study challenging conventional wisdom and a very
popular belief, unburdening oneself is healthy. This study
paradoxically says that bottling up your feelings is better. Navtej Kohli Interest Blog features the complete report:

Debunking the popular notion that unburdening oneself might be
normal or even healthy, the study suggests that those who remain silent
might be better off than those who vent their feelings!

In a finding that goes against conventional wisdom, a new study
contends that it is better to keep your feelings bottled up -
particularly after experiencing a traumatic event like a terrorist
attack.

The study, by Mark Seery of the University of Buffalo, focused on people’s responses to the terrorist attacks of Sep 11, 2001.

The findings have important implications for expectations of how
people should respond in the face of a collective trauma affecting a
community or a nation, said Seery.

He said the results should not be interpreted to mean that
expressing one’s thoughts and feelings is harmful or that if someone
wants to express their emotions they should not do so.

“It’s important to remember that not everyone copes with events in
the same way, and in the immediate aftermath of a collective trauma, it
is perfectly healthy to not want to express one’s thoughts and
feelings,” he noted.

“We found… people who chose not to express were better off than people who did choose to express,” Seery said.

Seery pointed out that immediately after last year’s tragic
shootings at Virginia Tech University there were many “talking head”
psychiatrists in the media describing how important it is to get all
the students expressing their feelings.

“Instead, we should be telling people there is likely nothing wrong
if they do not want to express their thoughts and feelings after
experiencing a collective trauma.

“In fact, they can cope quite successfully and, according to our
results, are likely to be better off than someone who does want to
express his or her feelings.”

Hmmm…Sounds Interesting!

I think bottling up feelings to an extent is normal, but there has
to be a point of saturation. As for myself, I really cant dissimulate
my feelings for long! What About  you?

Tags: About Navtej Kohli, AKA, Kohli Navtej, Navtej, Navtej K, Navtej Kohli, study