AttractAnything! (The Blog)

We’ve all heard about the power of positive thinking, but new research indicates that positive thinking is not only powerful, but important to our physical and emotional well-being. An article from USnews.com outlines the case for positive thinking, reporting the results of a new study by the American Psychosomatic Society.

The study demonstrates that women who consider themselves optimistic about life live longer on average than their more pessimistic counterparts. Additionally, the optimistic women tended to be healthier, both physically and emotionally. The study, which was financed by The Women’s Health Initiative, looked at approximately 97,000 females over the course of eight years, and found that those who describe themselves as optimistic lived longer, and were 14% less likely to die by any cause than more pessimistic women.

Additionally, women who described themselves as trusting had similar benefits to their well-being; while those describing themselves as cynical had a 16% greater risk of death from any cause than those who consider themselves trusting. The study was one of the largest ever constructed on the affects of a positive attitude, and while it does not conclusively prove that optimism makes you live longer and have less illness, the correlation is certainly significant, to say the least.

Other studies have also linked positive thinking to longer life. Among the most notable recent studies is one that found that people who consider themselves happy are less likely to have a heart attack, and report less discomfort from conditions such as arthritis.

So could staying healthy and living longer be as simple as looking on the bright side of things? Researchers are not prepared to go that far — yet. But there is beginning to be a significant amount of data which suggests that attitude and physical health are inextricably correlated.

And as if the scientific research wasn’t convincing enough, there is also plenty of everyday “common sense” evidence that optimistic and happy people are generally healthier than others. The old expression of “dying of a broken heart” could actually turn out to be true. Older adults who had recently lost a spouse were found to have an elevated risk of dying by any cause, suggesting that the unhappiness and stress involved in losing a life partner seriously impacts an individual’s health.

Likewise, in a study by the Pittsburgh School of Medicine, African-American women who considered themselves optimists had a 44% reduced risk of dying from cancer, while those who consider themselves cynical or hostile had a jaw-dropping 142% greater risk of dying from the disease.

Studies such as these give validation to the concept that your physical body and your state of mind are not two separate entities at all, but simply two different “states” of the same thing–you!

Be well and be happy!
Jon
www.attractanything.com

Filed under: Positive Thinking