Gossiping is good for you

When you think about a secret, you use up motivational
resources which can drain your energy and make simple tasks
appear difficult. Telling a secret to someone you trust can
help restore motivation.
Researchers say a secret can preoccupy your mind and the
more you think about it, the more you use personal,
intellectual and motivational resources.
'Being preoccupied by a secret at work can be
demotivating,' said Michael Slepian, an adjunct
assistant professor of negotiations at Columbia
Business School and co-author of the study. 'The
burden of secrecy can make things around you appear
more challenging and if you're less motivated to tackle
these challenges, your performance can suffer.'
As part of the study, scientists performed a series of
experiments to assess the effect secrets had on a subject's
ability to judge the steepness of a hill.
Those that dubbed their secrets as preoccupying judged the
hill to be steeper than it actually was.
'This is the same kind of outcome we see when people are
carrying physical burdens, seeing the world as more
challenging, forbidding and extreme,' added Slepian.
The defined a preoccupying secret as one that causes daily
concern and may be related to more serious life-altering
issues like money, sexual orientation or a health concern, the
researchers said.
According to the study, one of the best ways to gain back
your productivity is to simply get the burden off of your chest.
But, Slepian said, that doesn't mean you should star
immediately airing your dirty laundry.
He said it's important to remember that revealing the secret
to the wrong person could do more harm than good.
For those without a confidant, anonymous hotlines provide a
way to reveal the secret, while keeping your identity a secret.
Another option if you cannot state the secret out loud is to
simply write it down.
For example, posting the secret on an online message board
or a website that shares submissions confidentially, or hand
writing the secret in a personal journal can help, the
researchers added.
Either way, Slepian argues there may be both physical and
psychological benefits to getting a secret off your chest.
MEN ARE THE BIGGEST GOSSIPS
Modern men cannot keep a secret - and are now worse
gossips than women, according to a study last year.
Researchers found that, contrary to the assumption that
women can't wait to spill the beans, it is men who are first to
pass on confidential information.
Thanks to social media, men no longer wait to see their mates
in the pub and typically share a secret within three hours, the
study found.
And almost half of men admit to blabbing about a secret
within minutes of first being told about it.
In comparison, women will keep it to themselves for at least
three and a half hours before passing it on.
The study by The Fifth Estate found that the average man will
keep a secret to themselves for around two hours and 47
minutes - almost 40 minutes less than women.
More than one in ten guys even admitted to blabbing
someone's private secret within 10 minutes or less of first
finding out about it.
Despite this, 92 per cent of men consider themselves to be
good at keeping secrets
Culled from UK Daily Mail.