Revealing personal secrets

Both the health benefits and the potential drawbacks of revealing personal secrets (i.e., those that directly involve the secret keeper) are reviewed. Making the decision to reveal personal secrets to others involves a trade- off. On the one hand, secret keepers can feel better by revealing their sec rets and gaining new insights into them. On the other hand, secret keepers can avoid looking bad before important audiences (such as their bosses or t herapists) by not revealing their secrets. Making a wise decision to reveal a personal secret hinges on finding an appropriate confidant-someone who i s discreet, who is perceived by the secret keeper to be nonjudgmental, and who is able to offer new insights into the secret.