Sharing in sorrow might make us happier, study shows

[The Straight Story]

Sharing in sorrow might make us happier, study shows

The researchers found that negative emotions were nearly twice as likely to occur in private compared to positive emotions and were three times more likely to be intentionally hidden from others. Image: Alon Othnay

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scrolling through Facebook or mingling at a party, you might get the impression that other people's lives are full of job promotions, exotic travel and successful relationships. We don't often hear about the sad times they're going through, and that can make our own emotional struggles seem worse.

But recognizing that our peers hit rough patches more often than we realize might mitigate our melancholy, according to a new study by Stanford researchers.

Before their work, "no one had shown that people systematically underestimate how often others feel sad or upset," said Benoît Monin, an associate professor of organizational behavior and of psychology and a co-author of the study published Dec. 22 in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

This misconception is linked to loneliness and unhappiness, according to the researchers.

"When you think everyone else is having fun, you think your life is not that great," Monin said. "So perceptions – even erroneous ones – matter a great deal."

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-sorrow-happier.html

[dhill926]

1. just ask any Cubs fan...........n/t

[applegrove]

2. I remember when I was going through hell I had a friend that made me laugh at myself

for all the pain I was going through. It helped. This is so true.