{"id":488,"date":"2022-12-13T10:34:18","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T10:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=488"},"modified":"2022-12-13T10:34:24","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T10:34:24","slug":"are-you-an-optimist-could-you-learn-to-be-your-health-may-depend-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=488","title":{"rendered":"Are You an Optimist? Could You Learn to Be? Your Health May Depend on It."},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you think about the future, do you expect good or bad things to happen?<\/p>\n

If you weigh in on the \u201cgood\u201d side, you\u2019re an optimist. And that has positive implications for your health in later life.<\/p>\n

Multiple studies show a strong association between higher levels of optimism and a reduced risk of conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and cognitive impairment. Several studies have also linked optimism with greater longevity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the latest<\/a>, published this year, comes from researchers at Harvard\u2019s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with colleagues at other universities. It found that older women who scored highest on measures of optimism lived 4.4 years longer, on average, than those with the lowest scores. Results held true across races and ethnicities.<\/p>\n

Why would optimism make such a difference?<\/p>\n

Experts advance various explanations<\/a>: People who are optimistic cope better with the challenges of daily life and are less likely to experience stress than people with less positive attitudes. They\u2019re more likely to eat well and exercise, and they often have stronger networks of family and friends who can provide assistance.<\/p>\n

Also, people who are optimistic tend to engage more effectively in problem-solving strategies and to be better at regulating their emotions.<\/p>\n

Of course, a feedback loop is at play here: People may be more likely to experience optimism if they enjoy good health and a good quality of life. But optimism isn\u2019t confined to those who are doing well. Studies suggest that it is a genetically heritable trait and that it can be cultivated through concerted interventions.<\/p>\n

What does optimism look like in practice? For answers, I talked to several older adults who identify as optimists but who don\u2019t take this characteristic for granted. Instead, it\u2019s a choice they make every day.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou can see the good in each situation, or you can see the negative,\u201d says Patricia Reeves, of Oklahoma City. \u201cWhen something isn\u2019t going the way I wish, I prefer to ask myself, \u2018What am I learning from this? What part did I play in this, and am I repeating patterns of behavior?\u2019\u201d (Patricia Reeves)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Patricia Reeves, 73, Oklahoma City.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ve had a fairly good life, but I\u2019ve had my share of traumas, like everyone,\u201d said Reeves, a widow of seven years who lives alone. \u201cI think it\u2019s my faith and my optimism that\u2019s pulled me through.\u201d<\/p>\n

A longtime teacher and school principal, Reeves retired to care for her parents and her second husband, a Baptist minister, before they died. During the covid-19 pandemic, she said, \u201cI\u2019ve been developing my spirituality.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I asked what optimism meant to her, Reeves said: \u201cYou can see the good in each situation, or you can see the negative. When something isn\u2019t going the way I wish, I prefer to ask myself, \u2018What am I learning from this? What part did I play in this, and am I repeating patterns of behavior? How can I change?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the challenges that come with aging \u2014 the loss of friends and family, health issues \u2014 Reeves spoke of optimism as a \u201ccan-do\u201d attitude that keeps her going. \u201cYou don\u2019t spend your time concentrating on your health or thinking about your aches and pains. You take them in as a fact, and then you let them go,\u201d she said. \u201cOr if you\u2019ve got a problem you can solve, you figure out how to solve it, and you move on to tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always something to be grateful for, and you focus on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot having my own family, I was able to touch the lives of many others,\u201d says Grace Harvey, of LaGrange, Georgia, who turned 100 this year. \u201cI feel grateful for God letting me live this long: I still want to be around to help somebody.\u201d (Jacqueline Bunn)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Grace Harvey, 100, LaGrange, Georgia.<\/strong> \u201cI look for the best to happen under any circumstances,\u201d said Harvey, a retired teacher and a devoted Baptist. \u201cYou can work through any situation with the help of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her parents, a farmer and a teacher in Georgia, barely earned enough to get by. \u201cEven though you would classify us as poor, I didn\u2019t think of myself as poor,\u201d she said. \u201cI just thought of myself as blessed to have parents doing the best they could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Harvey lives in a mobile home and teaches Sunday school. She never married or had children, but she was surrounded by loving family members and former students at her 100th birthday party in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot having my own family, I was able to touch the lives of many others,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel grateful for God letting me live this long: I still want to be around to help somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m positive about the future because I think in the long run things keep getting better,\u201d says Ron Fegley, a retired physicist in Placer County, California. \u201cScience is a very important part of my life, and science is always on the upwards path.\u201d (Ronald Fegley)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ron Fegley, 82, Placer County, California.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m positive about the future because I think in the long run things keep getting better,\u201d said Fegley, a retired physicist who lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills with his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cScience is a very important part of my life, and science is always on the upwards path,\u201d he continued. \u201cPeople may have the wrong ideas for a while, but eventually new experiments and data come along and correct things.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fegley tends a small orchard where he grows peaches, cherries, and pears. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen; no one does,\u201d he told me. \u201cBut we enjoy our life currently, and we\u2019re just going to go on enjoying it as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anita Lerek<\/strong><\/a>, over 65, Toronto.<\/strong> \u201cI was a very troubled younger person,\u201d said Lerek, who declined to give her exact age. \u201cSome of that had to do with the fact my parents were Holocaust survivors and joy was not a major part of their menu. They struggled a lot, and I was full of resentment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m grateful for every moment, every experience, because I know it could end any moment,\u201d says Anita Lerek, a Toronto lawyer and entrepreneur. \u201cIt boils down to, \u2018Is the glass half-empty or half-full?\u2019 I choose the fullness.\u201d (David Chang)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When I asked her about optimism, Lerek described exploring Buddhism and learning to take responsibility for her thoughts and actions. \u201cMine is a cultivated optimism,\u201d she told me. \u201cI go to my books \u2014 Buddhist teachings, the Talmud \u2014 they\u2019ve taught me a lot. You face all your demons, and you cultivate a garden of wisdom and projects and emotional connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point in life, \u201cI\u2019m grateful for every moment, every experience, because I know it could end any moment,\u201d said Lerek, a lawyer and entrepreneur who writes poetry and still works part time. \u201cIt boils down to, \u2018Is the glass half-empty or half-full?\u2019 I choose the fullness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katharine Esty<\/strong><\/a>, 88, Concord, Massachusetts.<\/strong> When Esty fell into a funk after turning 80, she looked for a guide to what to expect in the decade ahead. One didn\u2019t exist, so she wrote \u201cEightysomethings<\/a>: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the project, Esty, a social psychologist and psychotherapist, interviewed 128 people in their 80s. \u201cThe more people I talked with, the happier I became,\u201d she told me. \u201cPeople were doing interesting things, leading interesting lives, even though they were coping with a lot of losses.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNow that I\u2019m 88, my task is to live in the present and believe that things will be better, maybe not in my lifetime but decades from now,\u201d says Katharine Esty, a social psychologist in Concord, Massachusetts. \u201cLife will prevail, the world will go on \u2014 it\u2019s a sort of trust, I think.\u201d (Maile Hulihan)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cNot only was I learning stuff, having this purpose and focus brought me a tremendous amount of joy. My vision of what was possible in old age was greatly expanded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of what Esty learned is the importance of \u201cletting go of our inner vision of what our life should be and being open to what\u2019s really happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, after stomach surgery last year, Esty needed physical therapy and had to use a walker. \u201cI had always prided myself on being a very active person, and I had to accept my vulnerability,\u201d she said. Similarly, although her 87-year-old boyfriend thought he\u2019d spend his retirement fishing in Maine, he can\u2019t walk well now, and that\u2019s not possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have come to think that you choose your attitude, and optimism is an attitude,\u201d said Esty, who lives in a retirement community. \u201cNow that I\u2019m 88, my task is to live in the present and believe that things will be better, maybe not in my lifetime but decades from now. Life will prevail, the world will go on \u2014 it\u2019s a sort of trust, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re eager to hear from readers about questions you\u2019d like answered, problems you\u2019ve been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit\u00a0khn.org\/columnists<\/a>\u00a0to submit your requests or tips.<\/em><\/p>\n