When Giving Up is Good for You

We admire those who never give up and teach our children to "try, try again." And with good reason: Reaching one's goals is a key to mental health. However, when it comes to physical health, new biological evidence suggests that giving up may sometimes be best.

University of British Columbia psychologist Greg Miller and Concordia University psychologist Carsten Wrosch studied two groups of teenagers for a year: those that persisted at reaching extremely difficult goals and those that let them go. Blood samples were collected at the beginning of the study and at 6 and 12 months. Analyzing these samples, researchers found increased concentrations of C-Reactive Protein (CRP), correlating to the difficulty each subject had letting go of his or her goal. CRP is an indicator of inflammation linked to ailments such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer and believed to play a role in defending against infections.

The results suggest tenacity can be detrimental to physical health. The better strategy when faced with an out-of-reach goal, say researchers, is to disengage from it and set a new ones. The study found that teens who were able to do this spent less time ruminating on the past and felt a greater sense of control over their lives.

ABSTRACT: You've Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em: Goal Disengagement and Systemic Inflammation in Adolescence