Get Out Of That Funk - Persistent Bad Mood Leads To Poor Health

[Guest guest]

Source:

Kansas State University

(http://www.ksu.edu/)

Date:

Posted 5/10/2002

Get Out Of That Funk - Persistent Bad Mood

Leads To Poor Health

MANHATTAN -- We've all known what it's

like to have the blues.

Depression and anger can make you sick,

literally. But a new study at Kansas State

University shows that some people take

longer to snap out of it -- which can lead

to health problems -- while cheerful

people tend to stay happy longer.

Psychologists have known for a while that

some people experience emotions more

intensely than others. But little was

known about how people differ in the

amount of time they experience an emotion

before it fades away, said

Hemenover, an assistant professor of

psychology at K-State.

In the past, neurotic people were defined

by how strongly they felt depressed or

angry, not how long those emotions lasted.

Likewise, extroverts were defined by how

strongly they felt happy, not how long

they felt happy. Extroverts are also

associated with sociability and the desire

to seek excitement.

Hemenover performed a study that found

that people with different personality

types have different rates of mood decay.

People with neurotic tendencies hold on to

a bad mood longer than other people.

Extroverts tend to stay in a positive mood

longer than average people.

" For example, if I go to a funny movie

with a friend, we will both be happy after

the movie. But after 20 minutes, I might

still be happy and my friend has faded to

neutral because I'm more extroverted, "

Hemenover said.

Hemenover presented a report on his study

at the Midwestern Psychological

Association conference in Chicago May 3.

The study can give a clue on improving the

health of people who have problems with

negative emotions like anger or

depression, Hemenover said.

" Maintaining a negative mood for a long

period of time is harmful to your health.

People think that getting stressed and

anxious is bad for you. The key isn't how

stressed you are, but how long you are

stressed, " he said. " Staying stressed for

a long time can impair your immune and

cardiovascular functions. "

Hemenover said people who tend to stay in

a bad mood for a long time can learn to

use strategies that will help them snap

out of it faster.

" Neurotics see the world as a nasty place.

If you teach them to view the world in a

positive way, and to think their way out

of feeling bad by rephrasing things in a

positive way, it can help their health, "

Hemenover said.