I learned recently that due to the structure of their stingers, honey bees die when they sting a person or animal. When inserted into the skin, the dual blades on the stingers cannot be retracted.

The stinger becomes like an anchored screw designed to stay put. The bee can only disconnect from its victim by bursting open its own abdomen.

When this happens, poisonous fluids flow from the bee’s body into the entry point on the victim’s skin. While this may cause acute pain for a day or two for the victim, the honey bee receives the death penalty as all of its bodily fluids drain out.

Please excuse the graphic imagery. It serves as an apt metaphor for the stinging words spoken between humans. Sometimes we cause acute or lasting harm to others around us, and like the honey bee, we also do damage to ourselves.

Our words reflect our thoughts and emotions. Neuroscientific research indicates that negative feelings and thoughts that are unleashed in harsh words toward others or towards oneself (referred to as self-talk) are likely to increase levels of acute stress and long-term anxiety for both the speaker and receiver.

Twentieth-century talking cures........

© Psychology Today