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| Wednesday, August 19, 2009 |
| One more reason to be an optimist |
We all know we need to eat well, maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly to reduce our risk of chronic disease. But an interesting study just came out looking at the incidence of coronary heart disease and cancer associated with optimism and cynical hostility among women.
Tindle et al looked at 97,253 post menopausal women free of cancer and cardiovascular disease and gave them tests to assess their optimism (Life Orientation test) and their cynical hostility (Cook Medley Questionnaire cynicism subscale). This was meant to evaluate their attitude towards life; like if they expect the best out of situations or if they tend to not trust anyone.
Results showed that the most pessimistic women had 63 deaths per 10,000, whereas the most optimistic had only 43 deaths per 10,000. The same results were observed for the most and least cynical and hostile to others. It was also noted that women who were more optimistic were also richer, better educated, exercised more, were less likely to smoke or be overweight, which makes sense to me because one has fewer things to worry about. But on the other hand…what came first, the chicken or the egg? Even after adjusting for these major differences, the effect of pessimism was smaller, but still obvious. The most optimistic women were still 14 percent less likely to die of any cause over the 8 year study duration compared to the most pessimistic women. Women with a high degree of hostility were 16% more likely to die, but even after taking into account lifestyle and income, the risk of heart disease remained high.
I find stuff like this very interesting because it proves that a good attitude is “really healthy”. Anyone working in the health industry close to sick people can see it. We don’t need a study to provide evidence for our speculations. It’s purely bad energy and it “eats” people from the inside, just like rust. You’ve been around people that make your skin crawl just from hearing their voice, or people that have nothing nice to say and all they see is gray. I just want to give them pink tinted glasses.
I’m older and wiser now and know simply to walk away from those people, but I still find myself trying to help them out. Although they must meet me somewhere in the middle, so I am not contaminating myself. Some people may say that optimistic people are “just lucky” to be like that. Let me tell you, it’s not innate. It takes work and effort to stay in that good zone because everyday something or someone will attempt to make you lose balance. It’s important to find something or someone to keep us positive or optimistic. Some people exercise, others meditate or pray or read or listen to music, or for some it’s simply their children’s smile. The good news is we can change our star (like in “A knight’s tale” with Heath Ledger) and it’s contagious. The more optimistic you are the more people appreciate your presence and want some of “that”. Unless of course, you are so positive that you make everybody nauseated about it (do you know people like that?).
Tell us and fellow readers what helps you to stay in a good zone. Lately for me it’s transcendental meditation and the book “Ask and It Is Given” by Jerry and Esther Hicks.
Peace and love.
- Josée
Labels: food for thought, healthy tips, Josee, Positive Thinking
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posted by My Sensei @ Wednesday, August 19, 2009   |
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I always struggle with this & stress. Working out helps me! Especially the weights. I love weight lifting!
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I always struggle with this & stress. Working out helps me! Especially the weights. I love weight lifting!