Here’s something to remember the next time you don’t know whether or not to fess up to something embarrassing or unbecoming, or maybe flat-out evil that you did: if you hold too many of those secrets inside, you increase your chances of becoming depressed. A 2005 study published in the Journals of the British Psychological Society found that feeling ashamed of personal qualities and behaviors … and especially secret shame … contributes to chronic depression.

For this reason I was intrigued by the movement PostSecret, started by a fellow Marylander, Frank Warren, in which he collects everyone’s secrets. On postcards. The latest collection of cards, just published in a gift book entitled “PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God” is fascinating. As I read through it, I felt like I was peaking inside the lives of people I didn’t know–learning something about them that I shouldn’t know–and yet comforted in some odd way by their confessions. Among them:

• I am a Christian who is falling is love with someone who doesn’t believe in God. I think it’s a beautiful love story.
• You are the only person I have never faked it with.
• I can’t kill myself because I’m worried the kids with Autism I work with will wonder where I am.
• My daughter hates women who have had abortions. I had one.
• I miss the wonder and excitement I used to feel for the random, everyday crap. So tomorrow, I’m going to rehab.
• A stranger accidentally text messaged me the other day. I didn’t delete it. I look at it before I go to bed at night and sometimes during the day. I know it wasn’t meant for me … but it’s so nice to pretend it was. 
• The only reason I didn’t kill myself in high-school was because my art teacher cared.
• Even though I feel like I’m losing my faith in Christianity, I still hate the smug attitude of most atheists; that not believing in God is something only for smart people.

I guess I’m not the only one who found this odd collection of secrets in some way consoling. Because 1.5 million people visit Frank’s website every WEEK. He has received over 250,000,000 hits. That wasn’t a typo. He has 400,000 Facebook friends (and to think I felt so popular at 700!), and 200,00 Twitter followers. Forbes named Frank number four on their list of the 25 biggest, brightest, and most influential people on the Internet. He has been dubbed “the most trusted stranger in America.”

So if you’re feeling pretty bad about something and wondering if there is a soul in the world you could tell? Go ahead and send Frank a postcard. It will help your mood!

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