<p>   u00a0</p>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   According to the research conducted at Tufts University, the emotional burden of a secret actually takes a physical toll on its carrier and those who harbour such undisclosed truths perceive everyday tasks as far more strenuous.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2012/mar/secret0.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 333px; " /></div>  <div>   u00a0</div>  <div>   Tests were carried out, according to the report, to see if there existed a relationship between metaphor and reality, the Daily Mail reported.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   &quot;Language used to describe secrets, such as &#39;being weighed down&#39; or &#39;being burdened&#39;, suggests that carrying a secret is conceptualized metaphorically as a physical burden,&quot; the report read.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   &quot;If so, sensorimotor states associated with physical burdens could be activated or simulated when carrying a secret.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   &quot;We examined whether secrets would thus be experienced as physical burdens, influencing how people perceive and act in the world,&quot; it added.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   Everyday Health broke down the study, explaining that some participants were asked to remember a life-altering secret and others a small, slightly less significant, personal secret.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   Both groups were then invited to estimate how steep a hill was or how far a distance seemed.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   The findings revealed that those with the meaningful secret saw the hill and distance as higher and further respectively, thus suggesting that the weight of the secret manifested itself physically.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   Likewise, a group of candidates who were keeping the uncomfortable knowledge of their infidelity under wraps were more likely to perceive tasks like carrying groceries upstairs or walking the dog as requiring more of an effort.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   &quot;The more burdensome the secret and the more thought devoted to it, the more perception and action were influenced in a manner similar to carrying physical weight,&quot; the study concluded.</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   &quot;Thus, as with physical burdens, secrets weigh people down,&quot; it said.</div>  

The emotional weight of carrying a secret can manifest itself in such a way that it becomes a physical burden, says a new study

How secrets can literally 'weigh you down'

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How secrets can literally 'weigh you down'

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