Why People Who 'Overshare' Personal Health Information Are Actually Doing Us All A Service

Apr 23, 2018 by apost team

Unless you’re a social hermit, you’ve likely met the oversharer. It’s that person who doesn’t seem to have a verbal filter or any difficulty at all telling you all their business, including their health issues. Oversharers even have a fancy name, “informal boundary spanners.”

Hey, if this is describing you, no shame. You’re actually doing your listeners a favor. 

Granted, not every situation, setting, and ear is intended for describing every poke, prod, symptom, and struggle of IBS or a diatribe concerning the ins and outs of a yeast infection. If you’re at a job interview, for example, bringing up your battle with ingrown hairs might be a topic best left for a later date and audience. That being said, openly discussing your health issues is actually providing those around you with an invaluable service - information and normalcy. 

Nature Sustainability recently published a study that looked at oversharers within organizations. The study found that they’re not only more receptive to new ideas and info, but they’re also more likely to share said info with various other coworkers in other areas and other projects. This can serve as a bridge to the communication gaps within an organization that limit productivity and inclusion. 

While the above study focused on work-related information spreading, the same principles apply to health information sharing. Most people tend not to talk about topics like mental health, bladder and bowel issues, and feminine issues in the name of being polite.

However, treating the issues like they don’t exist only creates a beacon of shame around the topics, further stigmatizing them from being normal occurrences anyone can experience. 

Oversharing people talking about such topics serve to normalize the topics and those experiencing them in silence. It also serves to spread information as oversharers discuss symptoms, treatment options, professional help, and other resources of information. Who knows... the listener may have suffered silently themselves or have a loved one with the same problem and now has been given the gift of information that can help their situation. 

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Chrissy Teigen was considered by some as oversharing when she openly and publicly discussed her battles against body-shaming, mental health, and infertility. Many other celebrities, too. But, by openly discussing such issues, these brave oversharers have helped to remove the burden of embarrassment, shame, guilt, and isolation from so many everyday lives. 

Instead of worrying about comfort levels and polite conversation, think about these facets before you dismiss an oversharer or fight the urge to share your own health issues. 

Have your own story about oversharing or an oversharer? Tell it to us here.