We have all been in situations where people get tense, tempers may flair, and negativity is overwhelming.  This tension created by the negative social interaction is not something that most people want to deal with, and new studies are showing that it is not just uncomfortable to be around, but it could be affecting people’s health too.  That’s right, confrontations and negativity could literally make you sick.  

A recent study that was evaluated and carried out at the University of California in Los Angeles, similar to one done in Oklahoma linked these social interactions that are negative to an increase of inflammation in the body.  Not all inflammation is bad of course, but when inflammation is chronic and ongoing it is known to increase the risk of a variety of health concerns.  Normal and occasional inflammation is usually a response from your immune system that happens to aid in fighting off infections and healing injuries.  The health issues that could potentially be more likely to occur with chronic inflammation are things like coronary heart disease, depression, diabetes, hypertension, and cancers.

Stresses and confrontations can mentally drain people and make them feel negative and downright bad, but internally they might also be creating issues that are not good for people.  The fact is that while we cannot avoid all of the negativity in our lives it is important to find peace with those in your life that may tend to cause frustrations.

Some ways for you to reduce stress and negativity so that you can help in preventing chronic inflammation would be:

• Write in a journal.  Record your thoughts and feelings and get it all out.  That way you are not holding in any negativity and you can let it go without creating tension and confrontation.
• Meditate or pray.  Relieving stress can be as simple as shutting down your mind and relaxing your body through meditation.  Prayer is also another way that you can deal with stress and negativity that you may be facing in your life.
• Scream into a pillow.  This one might seem silly, but sometimes all you need to just let it go is to get out a good scream.  So, go ahead and yell.

If you have any people in your life that seem to bring on the negativity and stress, maybe it is time for you to reevaluate your relationship.  You cannot spend all of your life possibly making yourself sick due to the stress it might be causing.