Women cogitate each other down
When female friends talk with each other about their personal problems, the height of the stress hormone cortisol increases in their saliva, especially if women keep hovering over their negative feelings. Psychologists of the university of Missouri-Colombia have demonstrated this.
This research is the first with results that indicate what many females will recognize: not only can female friends support each other with any problems, but also cogitate each other down.
Women do that by having lengthy conversations, encourage each other for having lengthy conversations, summarizing details every so often, speculate about situations and spend a lot of thoughts to how bad they feel. Psychologists call this ‘co-rumination’, ‘cogitate together’. Six years ago this subject appeared for the scientific literature for the first time. Girls and young women do this more often than boys and men. It indicates a strong friendship, but as women worry more often together they run more chance on depression and fears.
For the new research 24 women were invited to come with their best friend; the 48 women were 20 years old on average. Half of the couples were asked to talk about their problems like they would normally do. The other half, the control group, had to devise a new recreation centre together. The women in the problem group, who were (according to the psychologists) co-ruminating, had an increase of cortisol-levels in the saliva within 15 minutes, especially if they were talking about negative feelings. The control group did not have this increase.
Though the psychologists find it not clear what this means for female friendships in which a lot of cogitating is going on, because on the other hand, friendships become stronger by doing this.
My opinion
Cortisol. I have heard that word too many times when I was at college, knowing that whenever that hits the body, it causes stress. I also know that every person deals differently with that feeling, so it is not like every time a person has cortisol in the body, that person will experience sudden fears and depression, but I will not elaborate more about that.
I talk a lot about my problems with other people, because I feel the need to vend my feelings. I am guessing that the creation of cortisol is caused by empathic and feelings of sympathy during the conversation. Women are also supposed to be more empathic than men.
Honestly, if I share my problems with another woman, I tend to do that for a period of a time, let’s say a week, and after that I will stop rambling about it.
I think it would be best if a new research would be set up to research if it matters if they are talking to someone else or just to themselves. Would there also be more cortisol in their saliva if they were writing in their diary for example?
The main question remains: what has more effect, building the friendship, or the risks for anxieties and depressions during cogitating with each other. What if it is fifty-fifty, what would you choose?
Sources:
NRC Handelsblad, 5th of March 2008. Originally written by Ellen de Bruin
Tags: psychology, women
