Trauma, Silence, Disclosure & Health

"Upheavals that were kept secret were more likely to result in health problems than those that could be spoken about more openly."

"Individuals who were victims of violence and who had kept this experience silent were significantly more likely to have adverse health effects than those who openly talked with others."

"Having any type of traumatic experience is associated with elevated illness rates; having any trauma and not talking about it further elevates the risk."

"Keeping a trauma secret from an intact social network is more unhealthy than not having a social network to begin with."

Pennebaker & Chung, 2007