Bickering, bitterness can actually make you ill
Thursday, 11 August 2011, 17:46 IST
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Toronto: Remember family elders telling you not to harbour ill-will if you wanted to be in sound health? A study shows they were right after all. Researchers from Concordia University have come up with evidence to show that bitterness and bickering can make you really ill, miring your life in failures. "Persistent bitterness may result in global feelings of anger and hostility that, when strong enough, could affect a person's physical health," says Carsten Wrosch, professor in psychology at the varsity. Wrosch, with his co-author Jesse Renaud, singled out failure as one of the most frequent causes of bitterness. Unlike regret, which is about self-blame, acrimony lays the blame on external causes, according to a Concordia statement. "When harboured for a long time," says Wrosch, "bitterness may forecast patterns of biological dysregulation (an impairment that can affect metabolism, immune response or organ function) and physical disease." Wrosch and Renaud say bitterness can be avoided, if people who experience failure can find other ways to fulfill their goals.
Source: IANS