Complaining Is Bad For Your Brain and Body, Research Shows

Venting sessions can increase blood pressure and weaken your immune system.

Humans are creatures of habit, and that's true not only for our day-to-day routines, but also for our thoughts. Constantly complaining, for example,
can send us into a spiral of negativity that's tough to break. 

Indulging in such negative emotions weakens our immune systems and triggers physical symptoms like increased blood pressure, Inc.com reports. It rewires our brains, making it easier for us to have similar thoughts in the future, at random. 

It works like this: Information within the brain flows from one brain neuron to another via synapses. As Steve Parton of Psych Pedia explains, these synapses are separated by a gap called the synaptic cleft. When you have a thought, an electric pulse signals the synapse to shoots a chemical across the cleft to another synapse, effectively making a bridge over for the electric signal to cross over. 

"Every time this electrical charge is triggered, the synapses grow closer together [and] decrease the distance the electrical charge has to cross," Parton said. "The brain is rewiring its own circuitry, physically changing itself, to make it easier and more likely that the proper synapses will share the chemical link and thus spark together — in essence, making it easier for the thought to trigger."  

In other words, venting about how much you hate your job to anyone who will listen makes those thoughts nearly effortless for your brain to repeat. Frequently whining also makes it more likely for you to have negative thoughts about other, unrelated aspects of your life, too. 

"Through repetition of thought, you've brought the pair of synapses that represent your [negative] proclivities closer and closer together, and when the moment arises for you to form a thought...the thought that wins is the one that has less distance to travel, the one that will create a bridge between synapses fastest," Parton explained. 

Experiencing anger and frustration cause the body to release the stress hormone cortisol. Increased cortisol contributes to higher blood pressure and cholesterol, a weakened immune system, and learning and memory problems, according to Parton. The effects of cortisol can increase one's risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. 

Even being around bad-mouthing pals can have an effect, solidifying our own negative thoughts. Because of our tendency towards empathy, we subconsciously "try out" the emotions we see our friends experiencing, according to Parton, causing similar synapses to fire in our own brains. If you want to turn your negative tendencies around, seek the company of happy, positive people. 

There's more hope, too: As one writer recently found out, a "complaining detox" can help you cut back on the bitching and moaning and possibly change your mood for the better.