PEOPLE with allergies may suffer worse reactions when they are sad.
To study the effect of mood on allergic reaction, a team at Aarhus University
in Denmark hypnotised 15 volunteers and asked them to recall a situation in
which they had felt anger, happiness or sadness. The researchers then pricked
the subjects鈥� skin with a needle laced with histamine. Those hypnotised to feel
sad showed more swelling and redness at the site of the pinprick than angry or
happy subjects did (Allergy, vol 56, p 734).
鈥淚t lends support to the notion that negative emotions will have a negative
influence on health state,鈥� says team member Robert Zachariae.
Advertisement