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Ancient Indian mythology considers gossip as a form of mental sickness. Nindya, it says, is negative criticism for someone you target with malice and aim at maligning his or her actions, character, integrity, lifestyle, or behavior. People enjoy gossip and find it very pleasurable least knowing how dearly it costs them in terms of their health and time. You have a negative circulation of mind-body energies when you indulge in gossip. Religion doesn’t allow gossip, and a few religious schools consider it as a serious mansik rog or mental sickness. Gossip inflicts an irreparable damage on your spirituality (if you are a God-fearing, devout and spiritually inclined person), and to your inner self as a whole if you are living a simple, common man’s life. People who indulge in too much of gossip – office type, home type, street type, or casual type – tend to develop suspicious thought processes which, say psychoanalysts, can land them up in a host of problems ranging from depression to Alzheimer’s. Gossip of this sort is toxic, is often destructive, and wrecks credibility, friendships and relationships. “Gossip is essentially vocal grooming,” says says Robin Dunbar, a University of Liverpool psychology professor and the author of Grooming, Gossip, and the Evolution of Language. But that doesn’t always mean, adds Dunbar, that it should form the mainstay of human bonding. Contrary to what we think, gossip doesn't always result in reduced stress, comradely feelings, and increased odds for thriving in society. “Some types of scuttlebutt actually injure the tattler,” Dunbar adds. Gossip has been as old as civilizations, but when its adaptation gets out of hand, it has a toxic effect. Nature simply grants us survival strategies; it doesn't dictate how we use them. "Once you have these social skills in place, it's a very short step to going from positive to negative," says Dunbar. Psychologist James Lynch says: "Human dialogue can be a great healer or a great destroyer," Lynch, author of The Broken Heart adds. "Gossip might temporarily bind people and relieve isolation, but it can lead to more isolation later on." This coincides with the mental illness part. When you have a mate or a group of them, you can be part of the gossip, but when you have none of them around, what would you do? In his book, first published in 1977, Lynch pioneered the notion that loneliness contributes to many causes of premature death, especially heart disease. His new book, The Cry Unheard, says that much loneliness is caused by dysfunctional patterns of communication – including the tendency to trash friends and colleagues behind their backs. The antidote according to Lynch is learning to talk to each other in heartfelt ways, and unlearning styles of communicating that hurt or distance others. These are skills Lynch and staff teach at Lynch's Life Care Health Center in Baltimore. "Good gossip is another way of keeping the future prospects of your health brighter. When you are lonely, you can live on the sweet memories of good gossip. Negative gossip has just bitter, contemptuous memories. "Gossip gives us information on how to better interact with other people," says Frank McAndrew, professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg. So if you have been on a meal of bad gossip lately, best would be to turn your back on it and reduce its toxicity. Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has a few recipes that would help you do so. Here is a quick list: – Prune your list of gossip friends – Pick confidants of generous spirit who will help you go easy on others – Consider intentions more than actions – Hear no evil – Go on a gossip fast when you tempt most for it – Listen to your gut on what is good and what is bad – Imagine how would you feel when your are talked about ‘negatively’ Try to have a healthy mind, body and soul. This way you will be in better control of yourself and your actions. Wellness Wisdom Archive Author Interactive : Write to Sanjay Get Connected Promotional Support All Wellness Wisdom articles are copyrighted and reprint or distribution, electronic or otherwise, may please be done only after seeking the author's permission through the Reprint Request form below. |
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The world of ayurveda:
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| the origin of ayurveda |
| The ayurvedic concept of life |
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