We all know that "time makes people old", but you may not know that negative emotions can also make people old. Loneliness, despair, depression, sadness...... These negative emotions tend to inevitably occur, however, we may not be aware of how much of an impact they have on aging.
Research has shown that:
8 Negative Emotions Accelerate Aging
Scientists from the University of Chinese of Hong Kong, Stanford University and other research institutions published a research paper in the journal Aging-US in 2022. This study proves that aging is not only determined by physiological factors, but also by psychological states.
The researchers found that a lower level of psychological variables accelerated aging by 1.65 years, taking all eight psychological variables together. Moreover, negative emotions are 32% more harmful than smoking. ①
The 8 psychological variables are:
烦恼
Lack of concentration
Depression
despair
Harm
Difficulty sleeping
sad
aloneness
Health Times photo by Cao Zihao
Long-term negative emotions not only age quickly,
It hurts the body even more!
1. Hurts the heart
Gao Hong, director of the Department of Cardiology of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, Guangdong, once said in an article published on the hospital's official account that anger and excitement are a potential trigger for myocardial infarction, which can increase the risk of angina, acute myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death. If the emotion is in a high-spirited and stressful mood for a long time, it can damage the blood vessels and heart. ②
2. Hurt digestion
Shi Hui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology of the First Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, once said in an article in the Health Times that when emotional problems occur, some substances secreted by the brain will affect the normal function of the gastrointestinal tract and cause gastrointestinal discomfort. ③
3. Injury to the mammary glands
Zhang Yanan, chief physician of the Breast Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, once said in an article in the Health Times that when women are always in a bad emotional state such as anger, sorrow, worry, and worry, it will inhibit the ovulation function of the ovaries, and progesterone will decrease, which will increase estrogen relatively, resulting in breast hyperplasia. ④
4. Injury to the thyroid gland
Jin Hui, chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, once said in an article in the Health Times that stress will have a huge impact on various endocrine glands through the central nervous system, such as causing hyperthyroidism. ④
5. Hurt the skin
Sun Bangmei, an attending physician in the Department of Dermatology of the Hanyang Branch of Wuhan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hubei Province, once said in an article in the Health Times that women who are often anxious have stagnation of liver qi, poor flow of qi and blood, and blood stasis on the face, which is more likely to induce melasma. ⑤
6. Liver damage
Chen Luquan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Traditional Therapy of Beijing Tongren Hospital, once said in an article in the Health Times that traditional Chinese medicine talks about the main anger of the liver, and the qi and blood of people who love to be excited and angry surge upward, which is easy to hurt the liver qi and will also induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. And liver stagnation will stimulate people's bad temper. ⑥
7. Increased risk of cancer
Song Shaojun, chief physician of the neurosurgery department of Hainan Provincial Cancer Hospital, once said in an article in the Health Times that negative emotions are a cancer-inducing factor. Stomach cancer, liver cancer, and even intracranial malignant tumors are related to irritability and excessive suppression of emotions. ⑦
8. Susceptibility to gynecological diseases
Ruan Xiangyan, chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology of Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, once said in an article in the Health Times that gynecological diseases such as breast hyperplasia, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, urinary tract infections, gynecological chronic inflammation, and breast cancer are closely related to emotions. ⑧
In the face of negative emotions,
How to self-adjust?
It's inevitable to encounter all kinds of bad emotions in life – stress, anxiety, depression, or other upsetting things that can affect work, school, and relationships. Therefore, learning how to alleviate bad emotions is very important for health.
Wang Xue, attending physician of the Fifth Therapy Area (Psychosomatic Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center) of the Department of Psychology of the Sixth Hospital of Changchun City, Jilin Province, shared the following 12 ways to alleviate bad mood. ⑨
1. Learn to transfer
When the heat is rising, consciously changing the topic or doing something else to distract you can relieve your emotions, such as watching movies, listening to music, going for a walk, and other relaxing activities to relax your tension.
2. Learn to vent
It is inevitable that all kinds of bad emotions will arise in life, and all the unhappiness and grievances should not be suppressed in your heart, but you should say it to your close friends or relatives or cry a lot, so as to release the depression accumulated in your heart.
3. Learn to soothe yourself
When you pursue something but can't get it, in order to reduce your inner disappointment, you can find a high-sounding reason for failure to comfort yourself, such as "sour grapes psychology".
4. Consciousness Regulation
Use the knowledge of the pursuit of goals in life, ideals, careers, etc., as well as the knowledge of ethics and laws, to remind yourself not to be distracted by trivial things in order to achieve big goals and overall tasks.
5. Verbal moderation
When you are emotional, you can silently recite or whisper warnings such as "calm down" and "don't get angry", or you can target your weaknesses by placing banners such as "controlling anger" and "calming down" on your desk or hanging on the wall.
6. Autosuggestion
Expect to be nervous on certain occasions, so find a few strong reasons why you shouldn't be nervous.
7. Pleasant memory
Recall happy events from past experiences, or pleasant experiences when you achieved success, and recall those past pleasant experiences related to the unpleasant experiences in front of you.
8. Environmental Conversion Act
When you are in a violent emotional state, you temporarily leave the environment and related people and objects that arouse your emotions.
9. Humorous solution
Develop a sense of humor, use meaningful language, expressions or actions, and express one's emotions wittily and skillfully in a sarcastic way.
10. Reasoning Comparison Method
Dissect all aspects of difficulties, compare your own experience with the experience of others, find the secret of success in comparison, strengthen your confidence in success, and eliminate the fear of difficulties.
11. Repression sublimation
When you are not valued, in adversity, looked down upon, or feel depressed, you can put your energy into the subjects you are interested in, and change your situation and improve your mood through success.
12. Raise the level of cognition
Cultivated people are better at controlling their emotions and consciously improving their own awareness and cultivation level, which is very helpful for maintaining a happy mood and self-regulating emotions.
In a person's life, emotions are like the undulating waves in the sea, and there are always inevitable ups and downs. However, no one is born to manage emotions, and I hope that these experiences and methods can help everyone, and I hope that we can all be emotional masters.
This article is synthesized from:
①Galkin, Fedor, et al. "Psychological factors substantially contribute to biological aging: evidence from the aging rate in Chinese older adults." Aging 14.18 (2022): 7206-7222.
(2)2020-09-29Shenzhen Third People's Hospital "It's not a joke! Shenzhen's 45-year-old dad was angry with the baby to heart attack and was admitted to the hospital for rescue!"
(3)2017-10-17Health Times
(4)2016-07-05Health Times "It's all angry and to blame!"
(5)2020-07-24Health Times "Anger Summons Melasma"
(6)2020-07-14Health Times "Bad mood, all health is in vain"
(7)2019-11-22Health Times "Bad mood is also a cancer-inducing factor"
(8)2018-03-27Health Times "Be a Woman Who Doesn't Get Angry"
(9)2023-11-24Changchun Sixth Hospital "12 Ways to Manage "Negative Emotions" and Achieve a Better Self
Source | Health Times