How the anger you feel today can affect your health 10 years later

Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health

How long do you hold onto anger when it comes? Do you let it go pretty quickly or does it often last a few days?

Research shows that holding onto negative emotions over several days after a stressful event negatively affects our physical health 10 years later (Leger et al, 2018).

In a study of 1,155 people, they were asked how much negative emotions they felt and whether any stressful event occurred each day for eight consecutive days. Then after 10 years later, they were asked about their health conditions.

The results showed that the longer they held onto negative emotions over several days after a stressful event, the more likely they suffered from more physical illnesses 10 years later.

So how quickly we can let go of our negative emotions will contribute to both our emotional and physical well-being. It’s quite extraordinary how toxic emotions can produce toxic thoughts in our minds, and cause physical illnesses. Holding onto negative emotions such as feeling nervous, worthless, hopeless, lonely, afraid, irritable, ashamed, upset, angry, frustrated or restless etc is like holding onto harmful toxin in your body. So don’t let the sun go down while you are angry. What negative emotions are you still holding on today?

Leger, K. A., Charles, S. T., & Almeida, D. M. (2018). Let it go: Lingering negative affect in response to daily stressors is associated with physical health years later. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1283-1290.