You’ve experienced that awkward sensation of embarrassment and shame after saying or doing something you wish you hadn’t. Your face turns red, you get a sick feeling in your stomach, and you might even feel like running away. But, unfortunately, the feeling doesn’t just disappear after the initial event. It lingers, sometimes for days or weeks. How can you recover more quickly and save yourself from dwelling on these negative emotions for longer than necessary?
It may come as a surprise, but one answer may lie in a simple glass of cold water.
That’s right. The key to reducing the distress of regret could be as easy as a cold drink, whether that’s water, iced tea, or any other chilled beverage. As long as it lowers your body temperature, it may have the desired effect of easing your emotional turmoil.
The Effect of Body Temperature on Emotions
This idea that a cold drink may help to cool overheated emotions isn’t just conjecture. There’s scientific research to support the connection.
In previous studies, it has been observed that people experiencing emotions which cause them to feel hot, such as embarrassment or guilt, would choose to drink cold beverages over hot ones. This prompted researchers to question whether consuming a cold drink might actually make people feel less regret, and what role body temperature played in the connection between the two.
In order to explore this relationship further, a new study was conducted in which participants were asked to make hypothetical investments in pharmaceutical stock. As expected, some participants’ investments went up in value, while others’ investments turned sour.
Following their choices, the participants were shown two different advertisements: one for a warm Caribbean summer cruise and the other for chilly Alaskan cruise. The results were intriguing. Those who had made poor stock choices and viewed the Alaskan cruise ad reported feeling less remorse about their decision compared to those who saw the Caribbean cruise ad. It appeared that feeling physically cool genuinely did help them recover from their sense of regret more quickly.
How to Apply This Research in Everyday Life
What does this tell us about how to handle those awkward feelings of guilt and embarrassment that sometimes come up in life? Studies suggest that cooling down in any way can help to alleviate the sting of regret. Drinking a cold beverage may be the simplest and most convenient method to achieve this, but it’s not the only option.
Other possible suggestions for cooling down your body temperature include looking at pictures of cold locations, taking a swim, running cool water over your wrists, or using an ice pack. While not as transformative as a time machine, these methods could save you hours, even days, of unnecessary emotional anguish.
In conclusion, embracing these findings about how physical temperature is linked to our emotional well-being can help you recover from feelings of regret much more swiftly. Whether you use a cold drink or any other method to cool yourself down, just remember that easy-to-implement solutions are within reach, ready to help you regain your emotional equilibrium and move forward from an unsettling experience.
