by SANDRA UPSON
Sharing a secret can forge a relationship and solidify a bond with a friend. Keeping a secret, however, can eat away at our health and happiness. As it turns out, hiding a painful truth also changes the way we communicate with others.
By analyzing big data sets such as email logs and Twitter feeds, psychologists are unveiling the subtle, subconscious ways our language reflects our inner thoughts. These shifts in speech can also crop up in the way political leaders communicate with the public. They may even indicate when one of the Boston marathon bombers first decided to carry out his act of violence.
Psychologists have long known that keeping a secret takes both a psychological and physical toll. Two competing theories sought to explain why secrets tax us. Perhaps we withdraw from our friends and family, thus losing some of the social support that keeps us healthy. Alternately, we might remain highly connected, but in a hyper-vigilant way, always monitoring to make sure that no one suspects anything is amiss. (A heightened state of arousal is also known to weigh on our health.)
Scientific American for more