La prossima volta che ti viene in difficoltà. Un nuovo studio pubblicato online sulla rivista Scienze psicologiche, suggerisce che le nostre risposte emotive e reazioni allo stress coinvolto nella vita quotidiana, potrebbero fornire una previsione allo stato della nostra salute mentale a lungo termine. Susan Charles, professore di psicologia e comportamento sociale e colleghi dell'Università della California, voleva costruire uno studio che potesse aiutare a dare risposte a una domanda di vecchia data: le irritazioni quotidiane si sommano per fare la paglia che rompe le spalle del cammello o ci rendono più forte e "inoculati" contro le laterali?In order to try and obtain some answers to this intriguing question, the researchers extracted information from two national surveys (Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) and National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE)), analysing the possible connection between a person’s daily negative emotions and their mental health ten years later. The study subject’s overall levels of negative emotions were able to be used to determine psychological distress; feeling worthless, hopeless, nervous, and/or restless. After ten years, researchers looked at whether a diagnosis of an emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression was made for each person. Participants’ negative emotional responses to daily stressors — such as problems at work or home — predicted psychological distress and self-reported emotional disorder ten years later. The results were based on data from 711 participants - both men and women – ranging from 25 to 74 in age. Charles and her colleagues argue that their findings show that mental health outcomes are not merely restricted to major life events that happen to us, they are formed by apparently trivial/minor emotional experiences that come our way. “It`s important not to let everyday problems ruin your moments,” Prof Charles said. “After all, moments add up to days, and days add up to years. Unfortunately, people don`t see mental health problems as such until they become so severe that they require professional attention.”