Health Digest Survey: Who Do People Seek Out When They Need To Talk To Someone?

Confiding in those we trust not only enhances our sense of connectedness, but there are also real mental and physiological health benefits to doing so. For example, talking to someone about how we're feeling can help reduce the body's stress response. In a 2007 study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that verbalizing our emotions had a direct effect on brain activity — a process known as affect labeling. Using MRI technology, researchers observed a decrease in activity in various areas of the brain, including the amygdala — the region responsible for our fear response (via Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America). Researchers concluded that articulating how we're feeling to others may help reduce emotional reactivity.

Talking to someone when we're in need can also serve more practical purposes. According to experts at Better Health Channel, talking through our problems with another person can help us gain clarity around a particular situation, release stifled emotions, feel less alone, identify new solutions to a problem, or see circumstances from a different point of view. Many of us may feel more comfortable talking to certain people than others. For this reason, we asked 610 readers of Health Digest who they prefer to talk to most when they're in need of support.