Being a Loud Woman May Be Good for Your Health, According to a Study

Managing our emotions is often complicated. Sometimes it’s necessary to mitigate them, remain silent, and keep calm in moments of stress. We don’t want them to harm our personal relations. But on other occasions, what works best to maintain our relationships is to speak out and express ourselves. After all, letting out all that we’re feeling and thinking can help us see things from a different perspective. However, what you may not be aware of is that both behaviors can have significant effects on your health.

Bright Side wants to talk to you about a study that claims raising the volume of your voice is not always a bad idea.

Auto silence

Auto silence is a behavior people engage in when they’re afraid to express their real emotions. If properly externalized, they worry their feelings may affect their relationships with people close to them in some way, like family members, friends, or employers. They choose auto silence because they dread having to start a disagreement, being the cause of an argument, or even breaking up a relationship.

More than 300 women participated in the study.

The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) conducted a study where they evaluated 304 married women who were near or post menopause. They reported experiencing certain feelings about putting someone else’s needs before their own, such as self-silencing, to avoid damaging a relationship. This type of behavior was met with bouts of constipation, and an increase in cholesterol levels, depression, and obesity.

More yelling, less stressing

One of the points that researchers measured was the frequency at which these women experienced anger or euphoria outbursts. They addressed these as moments when they were able to let their emotions out by raising the volume of their voice and verbally stating what made them feel frustrated. Those who showed this behavior more often registered as having better health than those who didn’t. They also experienced the psychological benefits of preventing the repression of these emotional states.

Hiding your emotions has physical consequences.

Maintaining a facade of joy and calm doesn’t mean that this state is real. It’s a behavior that’s related to a greater sensitivity to rejection. A permanent state of alert that triggers levels of stress are closely associated with a decrease in life expectancy in both men and women worldwide. During these episodes, blood pressure and glucose levels rise, so the chance of developing a cardiovascular condition increases.

There’s a healthy way to express yourself.

Although raising our voices from time to time to let go of negative emotions can be liberating, we must also consider that it enables us to say things that don’t help our relationships. In another experiment carried out with cancer patients, women showed some improvements by openly expressing their emotions. On the contrary, progress slowed when negative feelings were prevalent. For this reason, it’s good to keep in mind that showing respect for you and those around you is essential to maintain a healthier body and relationships.

Do you communicate your feelings in some other ways? How would you change the way you express yourself to improve your relationships? Tell us what you think in the comments!