How to stop your secrets from hurting your mental health

How many secrets are you holding right now? If the answer is around 13, you’re about average, according to research on the nature of secrets.

Secrets aren’t all bad. Some are rather trivial. But sometimes, keeping secrets can weigh us down and cause psychological distress.

Michael Slepian, an associate professor at Columbia Business School, has spent years studying the nature of secrets, why we hold them, and which kinds of secrets people tend to deem the most serious.

As Slepian explains his research has revealed that secrets can generally be sorted into three domains. Gaining a better understanding of your secrets can help you find a better way forward.