A new study shows that sharing about your health on social media may actually be really good for you

It turns out, there could be some real health benefit to sharing about your feelings and experiences on social media. According to a new study published by JAMA Oncology, women who used online forums to research share about their health after having been diagnosed with breast cancer actually felt better about what to expect in the future.

In fact, sharing and interacting with other women who had been diagnosed with the disease showed to greatly improve and empower each woman’s decision making process.

The study showed that only 41% of the 2,460 women diagnosed used online social tools (that includes emails, texting, and general social media) to share their diagnosis with others. While younger generations tend to rely more on social media sharing in all forms, this study followed women with a median age of 61.9 years old, so they didn’t typically use online tools as much as younger women.

But for those women who did use online forums to educate themselves and share their health diagnosis with others, researchers found that they felt, “increased satisfaction and decision deliberation during the breast cancer treatment decision process.”

Of course, women who do use these online forums and social media as research need to be careful about exactly what they’re reading. Despite the fact that there is a wealth of good information online, there is also a lot of misinformation that could potentially make decisions both more difficult and more confusing.

But if you’re careful about your research and diligent about using legitimate scientific sources while having the patience to recognize that every case is different, you can approach your own diagnosis and treatment with a lot more confidence.

h/t Brit + Co