Do you find yourself dealing with “difficult people”? A recent study has looked at the health impacts caused by “hasslers,” people
the researchers defined as those “who create problems or make life more difficult.”
Let’s face it. We all have people like that in our lives. But the results of this study tell us that we need to avoid them as much as we
can if we want to avoid the detrimental effect they have on our physical health.
Information about this study, reported by Kathleen Felton, appeared in The Washington Post on March 8, 2026.
The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused
on social relationships and how they relate to one’s health. Felton noted that while positive relationships have long been linked to
happier, longer lives, relationships with hasslers seem to have the opposite effect. Spending time with hasslers increases chronic
stress and elevates “epigenetic biomarkers” associated with aging.
One intriguing finding: Those people who are more likely to report knowing hasslers are women and those in poorer health.
NYU Professor Byungkyu Lee, lead author of the study, states that a strong social network offers protective benefits as you age,
including lowering the risk of cognitive impairment and mortality. Friendships may even help slow aging on a cellular level. But,
Lee adds, “not all social ties are supportive.”
According to the co-author of the study, Indiana University Professor Brea Perry, some friendships may be “ambivalent,” causing
problems or stress but also providing positive things like support and companionship. Others are “pretty much exclusively
stressful.”
The study notes that any relationship can go bad. But some people are more likely to be hasslers–family members, people you
can’t escape, like parents and children. Others are often co-workers, roommates, and neighbors.
There are real consequences. The study’s participants answered questions about their social relationships and self-rated their
overall health. They also gave saliva samples analyzed for DNA changes that signify biological aging. For every additional hassler
a participant interacted with, the pace of aging increased by 1.5%. When accumulated year after year, this can lead to earlier onset
of chronic disease.
The obvious advice, according to Lee: Avoid hasslers whenever possible and cut ties if someone is adding lots of negativity and
stress to your life. Extracting yourself from every hassler relationship may not be realistic. You may be obligated, for
example, to maintain those with family members.
But when you’re around a hassler, try to limit the amount of time you spend with that person. As Perry states, “As soon as you
recognize that…a hassler has…negative biological consequences for you, set limits” on the time you’re putting into that
relationship.”
At the same time, keep investing in relationships that provide support. If you have enough non-hasslers in your world, that may
help you avoid the problems created by those darned hasslers.
susanjustwrites
Susan Just Writes 