One of the outdated societal perceptions of women is that they’re “overly emotional.” It’s a ridiculous viewpoint that should be squashed. And besides, science advises against women bottling up their feelings because they’re putting themselves in an early grave.
According to a scientific study by the University of Pittsburgh, scientists looked at 304 “perimenopausal and postmenopausal” women in relationships and found that those who kept things bottled up or had “self-silencing” behaviours reported greater arterial plaque buildup, which leads to greater risk of stroke or “other cardiovascular problems.”
Beyond the increased risk of having their heart explode, self-silencing behaviour also resulted in worse mental health because it turns out keeping things bottled up isn’t particularly good for you.
It should be noted that self-silencing behaviour spans a wide spectrum of cases ranging from domestic abuse to very simple instances such as not telling your partner you don’t like that nickname they call you or the way they sometimes talk about you to their friends.
This University of Pittsburgh study is the latest in a number of similar scientific studies trying to establish a link between bottling up emotions and the impact it has on women’s health.
Perhaps to the surprise of no one, previous studies have linked women’s self-silencing to negative things like depression and other mental health issues, physical health problems and even increased risk of death.
So when people complain about women being “overly emotional,” they’re just trying to literally not die.
While the University of Pittsburgh study was conducted using a small sample size and more research needs to be done, the results do highlight the need for respectful and honest communication while prioritising self-care when in a relationship.
It also doesn’t mean you should go around and blab about people without a filter because “science says so.” You’re just an arsehole if you do that.
So in conclusion, be the “overly emotional” person society tries to shame women into being and don’t keep those feelings stuffed down because that’ll lead to an earlier-than-expected visit from the grim reaper.