Its very common for people to report feeling ‘lighter’ after a hypnotherapy session, so I was interested to read new research that demonstrates that psychological burdens are manifested physically.
Researchers conducted four experiments that showed people harbouring secrets like infidelity or sexual orientation are physically encumbered. They estimated hills to be steeper, shopping heavier and distances to be further.
They concluded that “the more burdensome the secret and the more thought devoted to it, the more perception and action were influenced in a manner similar to carrying physical weight”.
This research adds to the growing body demonstrating the mind-body link – an emerging field with the mouthful name of psychoneuroimmunology. Indeed the researchers warned: “We suggest that concealment…leads to greater physical burden and perhaps eventually physical overexertion, exhaustion, and stress”.
(Slepian, M., Masicampo, E., Toosi, N., and Ambady, N. (2012). The Physical Burdens of Secrecy. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0027598) http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/secrets-leave-us-physically-encumbered.html
