He was feeling some shame for not having dealt with this sooner. But for all the others, he’d usher in a new world order, which would be more empowering and positive. Our client was feeling guilty about having to let the executive go, as he knew he’d disappoint some of the staff. Find out which of these is trapping your secret. Often we hold our secrets close because we have some guilt, shame, or blame tangled up with them.

and last your pre-frontal cortex is likely offline a great deal since you’re in Critter State so your ability to communicate, collaborate, innovate - basically b e your personal best - is down the tubes.

your hippocampus is compromised due to the stress of excessive cortisol which then cause excessive cytokines, so learning, memory, and immune system a re compromised,.

your amygdala is on overdrive (irritability, quick to drop into fight/flight/freeze),.

Since you’re experiencing the opposite of being mindful, here’s what’s happening in your brain: To make matters worse, you’re out of rapport with yourself, too. Y ou may be telling yourself scary stories instead of being able to reframe what’s happening and how you feel. Then your cognitive biases will likely take over and you’ll have less behavioral choice. Damages your focus and decision-making – when you’re distracted by a secret you aren’t fully present.He wasn’t sleeping as well, so he was experiencing what we call REM rip-off, which negatively impacted his behavior further. His emotional resilience was reduced significantly and he noticed he was more irritable. The energy it took to resist, to self-censor, the rumination ( the repetitive thinking about it ), the anxiety and depression in anticipating what would happen when the secret would be revealed, all took an enormous toll on him. Damages your well-being – think back to my client above.

So what does keeping a secret do to your brain? Here are the 2 biggest problems I see (and notice the research backs them too): And secrets have different categories, includ ing simple preferences (maybe you really don’t like your mother-in-law’s casserole but pretend you do) to full-out breaches of trust, like infidelity or even embezzlement.

But most common is 13 secrets per person… whoa! Secrets included workplace secrets like pending terminations or promotions, personal life secrets like surprise parties, dark or controversial family secrets, you name it. First, 97% of people have one or more secret s at any given time. New research now reveals the truth behind secrets-and it’s not what you’d expect. The True Cost of Keeping A Secret-it’s Not What You Think

Keeping you a secret