For Good Health, Be More Optimistic in 2004

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For Good Health, Be More Optimistic in 2004

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Happy New Year!! Perhaps the most important personal New Year's

resolution to make is to be more optimistic in 2004. One of the

important foundational elements of good health is a positive mental

attitude.

 

This axiom has been contemplated by philosophers and physicians

since

the time of Plato and Hippocrates. In addition, to simple

conventional

wisdom, modern research has also verified the importance of that

attitude - the collection of our habitual thoughts and emotions -

plays

in determining the length and quality of our life. Specifically,

studies

using various scales to assess attitude including the Optimism-

Pessimism

(PSM) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

(MMPI)

have shown that individuals with a pessimistic attitude have poorer

health, are prone to depression, are more frequent users of medical

and

mental health care delivery systems, exhibit more cognitive decline

with

aging and impaired immune function, and have a shorter survival rate

compared to optimists.

 

This research highlights the fact that while life is full of events

that

are beyond our control, we do have control over our response to

these

events. Our attitude goes a long way in determining how we view and

respond to stress and all of the challenges of life.

 

Attitude, Personality, Emotions, and Immune Function

 

The importance of attitude to human health has been examined in the

link

between the brain, emotions, and the immune system. Research in the

field of psychoneuroimmunology indicates that every part of our

immune

system is connected to the brain in some way, be it via a direct

nervous

tissue connection, or by the complex chemical language of chemical

messengers and hormones.

 

What scientists are discovering is that every thought, emotion, and

experience sends a message to the immune system that will either

enhance

or impair its ability to function. A simplistic view is that

positive

emotions such as joy, happiness, and optimism tend to boost immune

system function while negative emotions such as depression, sadness,

and

pessimism tend to suppress immune function.

 

Studies examining immune function in optimists vs. pessimists have

demonstrated significantly better immune function in the optimists.

Specifically, studies have shown optimists have increased overall

immune

function, natural killer cell activity, cell-mediated immunity than

pessimists.

 

Since the immune system is so critical to preventing cancer, if

emotions

and attitude were risk factors for cancer we would expect to see an

increased risk of cancer in people with longstanding depression or a

pessimistic attitude. Research supports these associations, for

example,

smokers who are depressed have a much greater risk of lung cancer

than

smokers who are not depressed.

 

Attitude and Cardiovascular Health

 

In addition to the brain and immune system, another body system

intricately tied to emotions and attitude is the cardiovascular

system.

 

The relationship of an optimistic or pessimistic explanatory style

with

coronary heart disease incidence was examined as part of the

Veterans

Affairs Normative Aging Study, an ongoing study of older men.

 

These men were assessed by the MMPI PSM Scale. During an average of

10

years of follow-up, 162 cases of incident coronary heart disease

occurred: 71 cases of incident nonfatal myocardial infarction, 31

cases

of fatal coronary heart disease, and 60 cases of angina pectoris.

 

Compared with men with high levels of pessimism, those reporting

high

levels of optimism had a 45% reduced risk for angina pectoris,

nonfatal

heart attack, and coronary heart disease death. Interestingly, a

clear

dose-response relation was found between levels of pessimism and

each

outcome.

 

To illustrate how closely the cardiovascular system is linked to

attitude, one study showed that measures of optimism and pessimism

even

affected blood pressure. Pessimistic adults had higher blood

pressure

levels and felt more negative and less positive than did optimistic

adults. These results suggest that pessimism has broad physiological

consequences.

 

Excessive anger, worrying, and other negative emotions have also

been

shown to be associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular

disease, but these emotions may simply be a reflection of a

pessimistic

explanatory style.

 

Attitude and Self-Actualization

 

As humans, one of our indwelling goals is the achievement of

self-actualization - a concept developed by Abraham Maslow, the

founding

father of humanistic psychology. His work and theories were the

result

of intense research on psychologically healthy people over a period

of

more than thirty years. Maslow was essentially the first

psychologist to

study healthy people. He strongly believed the study of healthy

people

would create a firm foundation for the theories and values of a new

psychotherapy.

 

Maslow discovered that healthy individuals are motivated toward

self-actualization, a process of " ongoing actualization of

potentials,

capacities, talents, as fulfillment of a mission (or call, fate,

destiny, or vocation), as a fuller knowledge of, and acceptance of,

the

person's own intrinsic nature, as an increasing trend toward unity,

integration, or synergy within the person. "

 

Maslow developed a five-step pyramid of human needs, in which

personality development progresses from one step to the next. The

needs

of the lower levels must be satisfied before the next level can be

achieved. When needs are met, the individual moves toward well-being

and

health.

 

Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

 

The primary needs that form the base of the pyramid are basic

survival

or physiological needs: the satisfaction of hunger, thirst,

sexuality,

and shelter. These are essential biological needs.

 

The next step consists of needs for safety: security, order, and

stability. These feelings are essential in dealing with the world.

If

these needs are satisfied, the individual can progress to the next

step:

belonging. This level refers to the ability to love and be loved.

The

next step involves self-esteem: approval, recognition, and

acceptance.

 

These elements contribute strongly to high self-esteem and

self-respect. The final step is self-actualization: the utilization

of

one's creative potential for self-fulfillment.

 

Maslow studied and noted self-actualized people had strikingly

similar

characteristics. Here, in an abbreviated form, are some of Maslow's

key

findings:

 

Self-actualized people possess an ability to be objective about

their

own strengths, possibilities, and limitations. This self-awareness

enables them to clearly define values, goals, desires, and feelings.

 

Self-actualized people have an acceptance of self, others, and

nature.

They can accept their own human shortcomings without condemnation.

They

do not have an absolute lack of guilt, shame, sadness, anxiety, and

defensiveness, but they do not experience these feelings to

unnecessary

or unrealistic degrees.

 

Self-actualized people are relatively spontaneous in their behavior,

and

even more spontaneous in their inner life, thoughts, and impulses.

 

Self-actualized people have a problem-solving orientation toward

life

instead of an orientation centered on self. They commonly have a

mission

in life-some problem outside themselves that enlists much of their

energies. In general, this mission is unselfish and is involved with

the

philosophical and the ethical.

 

Self-actualized people have a quality of detachment and a need for

privacy. It is often possible for them to remain above the battle,

to be

undisturbed by that which upsets others. They are self-governing

people

who find meaning in being active, responsible, self-disciplined, and

decisive rather than being a pawn or a person helplessly ruled by

others.

 

Self-actualized people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again

and

again the basic pleasures of life, such as nature, children, music,

and

sexual experience. They approach these basic experiences with awe,

pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy.

 

Self-actualized people commonly have " peak " experiences-times of

intense

emotions in which they transcend the self. During a peak experience,

they experience feelings of limitless horizons and unlimited power

while

simultaneously feeling more helpless than ever before.

 

Self-actualized people have deep feelings of identification,

sympathy,

and affection for other people in spite of occasional anger,

impatience,

or disgust.

 

Self-actualized people have deeper and more profound interpersonal

relationships than most other adults, but not necessarily deeper

than

children's. They are capable of more closeness, greater love, more

perfect identification, and more erasing of ego boundaries.

Self-actualized people are democratic in the deepest possible sense.

They are friendly toward everyone, regardless of class, education,

political beliefs, race, or color.

 

Self-actualized people are strongly ethical and moral.

Self-actualized people have a keen, unhostile sense of humor. They

don't

laugh at jokes that hurt other people or are aimed at others'

inferiority.

 

How many of these traits apply to you? What are some traits that you

have admired in others? What is interesting to consider is that

these

sorts of traits are developed and not inherited per se. If there is

a

particular trait that you want to display more in your life, that

_expression is entirely up to you. You are in control of your

attitude

and what traits you display to the world.

 

Developing Optimism and Taking Steps to Self-Actualization

 

With all of the stresses of modern life it is easy for us to fall

into

an attitude of pessimism. Fortunately, according to Martin Seligman,

Ph.D., the world's leading authority on attitude and explanatory

style,

we are optimists by nature. Optimism is not only a necessary step

toward

achieving optimal health, it is critical to happiness, a higher

quality

of life, and the achievement of self-actualization.

 

In many instances, it is not what happens in our lives that

determines

our direction; it is our response to those challenges that shapes

the

quality of our life and determines to a very large degree our level

of

health.

 

Surprisingly, it is often true that hardship, heartbreak,

disappointment, and failure serve as the spark for joy, ecstasy,

compassion, and success. In other words, the determining factor in

whether these challenges are viewed as stepping stones or stumbling

blocks is our response to them.

 

Our attitude is like our physical body, in order for it to be strong

and

positive it must be conditioned. Conditioning an attitude to be

positive

and optimistic requires adopting specific healthy habits. Here are

three

key areas of focus for helping to develop a positive mental attitude:

 

Become aware of your self-talk. We all conduct a constant running

dialogue in our heads. In time the things we say to ourselves (and

others) percolate down into our subconscious mind. Those inner

thoughts,

in turn, affect the way we think and feel. Naturally, if you feed

yourself a steady stream of negative thoughts it will definitely

have a

negative impact on your mood, immune system, and quality of life.

The

cure is to become aware of your self-talk, and then consciously work

to

feed positive self-talk messages to your subconscious mind.

 

 

Ask better questions - I believe that the quality of a person's life

is

equal to the quality of the questions they habitually ask

themselves.

For example, if you experience a setback, do you think, " Why am I so

stupid? Why do bad things always happen to me? "

 

Or do you think, " Okay, what can be learned from this situation so

that

it never happens again? What can I do to make the situation better? "

Clearly, the latter response is healthier. Regardless of the

situation,

asking better questions is bound to improve your attitude. Here are

some

examples of some questions that when asked regularly can improve

attitude and self-esteem:

 

 

What am I most happy about in my life right now?

What am I most excited about in my life right now?

What am I most grateful about in my life right now?

What am I enjoying most in my life right now?

What am I committed to in my life right now?

Who do I love? Who loves me?

What must I do today to achieve my long-term goal?

 

 

Set positive goals. Learning to set achievable goals is a powerful

method for building a positive attitude and raising self-esteem.

Achieving goals creates a success cycle: you feel better about

yourself,

and the better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to

succeed. Here are some guidelines for helping patients set health

goals:

 

 

 

State the goal in positive terms and in the present tense; avoid

negative words. It's better to say, " I enjoy eating healthy,

low-calorie, nutritious foods " than to say " I will not eat sugar,

candy,

ice cream, and other fattening foods. "

 

 

Make the goal attainable and realistic. Start out with goals that

are

easily attainable, like drinking six glasses of water a day or

switching

from white bread to whole grain. By initially choosing easily

attainable

goals, you create a success cycle that helps build a positive

self-image. Little things add up to make a major difference in the

way

you feel about yourself.

 

 

Be specific. The more clearly the goal is defined, the more likely

it is

achieved. For example, if you want to lose weight, what is the

weight

you desire? What body fat percentage or measurements do you want to

achieve?

Final Comments

 

I believe that one of the most critical times of the day is the time

that we ready ourselves for a good night sleep. It is at this time

that

it is important to pay particular attention to your self talk and

develop a ritual that that nourish your mind and attitude with good,

positive, and inspirational thoughts. This year one of my goals is

to

get back into the habit of taking a few minutes to read something

that

fills my mind with positive thoughts every night before going to bed

and

end my conscious night reciting all of the wonderful blessings in my

life.

 

 

 

Key references:

 

Maruta T, Colligan RC, Malinchoc M, Offord KP. Optimism-pessimism

assessed in the 1960s and self-reported health status 30 years

later.

Mayo Clin Proc 2002;77:748-53.

Taylor SE, Kemeny ME, Reed GM, Bower JE, Gruenewald TL.

Psychological

resources, positive illusions, and health. Am Psychol 2000;55:99-

109.

Schweizer K, Beck-Seyffer A, Schneider R. Cognitive bias of optimism

and

its influence on psychological well-being. Psychol Rep 1999;84:627-

36.

Chang EC, Sanna LJ. Optimism, pessimism, and positive and negative

affectivity in middle-aged adults: a test of a cognitive-affective

model

of psychological adjustment. Psychol Aging 2001;16:524-31.

Segerstrom SC. Optimism, goal conflict, and stressor-related immune

change. J Behav Med 2001;24:441-67.

Maruta T, Colligan RC, Malichoc M, Offord KP. Optimists vs

pessimists:

Survival rate among medical patients over a 30-year period. Mayo

Clin

Proc 2000;75:140-3.

Kubzansky LD, Sparrow D, Vokonas P, Kawachi I. Is the glass half

empty

or half full? A prospective study of optimism and coronary heart

disease

in the normative aging study. Psychosom Med 2001;63:910-6.

Peterson C, Seligman M, Valliant G. Pessimistic explanatory style as

a

risk factor for physical illness: A thirty-five year longitudinal

study.

J Person Soc Psych 1988;55:23-27.

Segerstrom SC. Personality and the immune system: models, methods,

and

mechanisms. Ann Behav Med 2000;22:180-90.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, McGuire L, Robles TF, Glaser R. Emotions,

morbidity,

and mortality: New perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology. Annu Rev

Psychol 2002;53:83-107.

Raikkonen K, Matthews KA, Flory JD, Owens JF, Gump BB. Effects of

optimism, pessimism, and trait anxiety on ambulatory blood pressure

and

mood during everyday life. J Pers Soc Psychol 1999;76:104-13.

 

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