WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE OPTIMISTIC AND POSITIVE ABOUT LIFE

I came across this article today about research suggests being optimistic and having a sense of purpose helps you live longer, made me laugh really for us in holistic medicine and mediums have known this for decades.

THESE ARTICLES BELOW ARE EXCERPTS OF WHAT I'VE WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY

Hopefully these will give you some insight as to why being optimistic and positive about life will benefit your health

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Let's  start at the beginning. What is Stress?  a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances : he's obviously under a lot of stress | [in combination ] stress-related illnesses.
• something that causes such a state : the stresses and strains of public life. The trouble with stress is that it's not a universal level, everyone has their own threshold i.e. what is stressful to one is positively fine and stimulating to another.
We need stress for without it we'd have no motivation to do anything. Imagine this scenario: you've suddenly acquired a vast amount of money on the lottery, riches beyond your wildest dreams. So what's the first thing you do? likelihood you give up your job, people often find their jobs as stressful. You've got enough money so you don't need to work. That makes you feel less stressed, or so you think. Of course you buy the big house, the cars, the boat, designer wardrobe and you party. You really think you have it made. There comes a point though when you can have anything you want, you don't have to work for it, there's no sense of achievement, no goal in sight. You don't have to cook or clean what do you do all day? eventually you will run out of ideas and you will become bored, you will have no motivation to do or achieve anything. Stress is a catch 22 situation if you have no motivation, you become depressed and bored, the days are long that equals stress. So a certain amount of stress is necessary to motivate us and stimulate us and give us a reason to be here and a sense of accomplishment this can be seen simply as this:
Stress = Motivation > Stimulation > Accomplishment = Satisfaction

CORTISOL OFTEN KNOWN AS THE 'STRESS HORMONE'

Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced within the adrenal cortex in the adrenal glands, these are cone shaped organs sitting on top of the kidneys. It's a very important hormone and responsible for proper glucose metabolism, helping regulate blood pressure, has a part to play in insulin and blood sugar levels and is part of the inflammatory response. It's often known as the stress hormone but as you can see that's only part of its functions, and this is because it's secreted in higher levels as part of the 'Fight or Flight response'. When secreted in short bursts its beneficial to the body as due to it's actions, it helps mobilise energy reserves, heightens memory and lowers response to pain. This is how and why it's beneficial in the 'Fight and Flight response', it acts quickly and helps survival, however today's stresses are not the same as yesteryear and therein lies the problem.
When there is prolonged secretion of this hormone, when stress is on going, it causes blood sugar imbalances, affects bone density, causing it to decrease and also causes a decrease in muscle tissue. It raises blood pressure affects the body's immune system making us more susceptible to infection and leads to poor healing. It also causes shifts in body fat by increasing more fat around the abdominal areas and leads to higher levels of cholesterol.

POSITIVE THINKING AND AFFIRMINATIONS

POSITIVE THINKING AND AFFIRMATIONS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The benefit of positive thinking has been proven through much research. What Affirmations do are to consciously harness the power of positive thinking and direct it to specific areas of your life that need attention or where you want to bring about change. 

Affirmations work and can really transform your life!

Affirmations and positive thinking are very powerful tools that can bring about healing and change. However negative thoughts are just as powerful and can be very self-destructive. Although we have no control over all what goes on in the world and certain aspects of our lives, we do have control over the way we interpret and how we deal to it.

"The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences"
You experience your interpretation as an internal dialogue. Thoughts, judgements and feelings are ceaselessly swirling through your mind. Thoughts like: I like this; I don't like that; I am afraid of this; I am unsure about him/her. This internal dialogue is not random, it is generated from a deep level by your beliefs and assumptions which have been formed and accumulated from the time you were born. It is worth remembering that a lot of these assumptions and beliefs were formulated as a child and have never been re-examined and therefore may be highly inappropriate to you as an adult or just simply wrong. When someone's interpretation changes, a change subsequently takes place in their reality. Thus we can make big changes in our lives by changing our thinking. We can start simply with positive thinking and Affirmations and then go further with Neuro Linguistic Programming.

The first step is being aware, being aware of how we are thinking, it is then we can change old patterns and mind set.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is  therapy  which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication, and to change their patterns of mental and emotional behaviour".

The co-founders, Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder, believed that NLP would be useful in "finding ways to help people have better, fuller and richer lives".They coined the term "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" to emphasize their belief in a connection between the neurological processes ("neuro"), language ("linguistic") and behavioral patterns that have been learned through experience ("programming") and can be organized to achieve specific goals in life.

It is often noted as a "science of excellence", derived from the study or "modeling" of how successful or outstanding people in different fields obtain their results. Bandler and Grinder claimed that if the effective patterns of behaviour of outstanding therapists (and other exceptional communicators) could be modeled then these patterns could be acquired by others.

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ARTICLE BELOW FROM THE DAILY MAIL

Thumbs up: Why optimism may help you live longer

• Optimistic people less likely to suffer a stroke

We all like to feel needed. But new research suggests having a sense of purpose is good for our health, too.


In a study of 7,000 people, those with the strongest sense of direction in life were over 70 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke.

The researchers accounted for other aggravating factors such as blood pressure and alcohol use and believe the effect comes through regulating the immune system.



Happy days: Those with a strong sense of purpose in their lives are less likely to suffer a stroke 


‘Maintaining a purpose in life not only increases quality of life but may improve physical health and increase longevity,’ says clinical psychologist Eric Kim, who led the study at the University of Michigan.

More than 150,000 people have a stroke each year in the UK.


It has long been thought that pursuing meaningful activity after retirement is important for physical and mental health – which often declines dramatically soon after retirement.



Thumbs up: A positive outlook on life can improve your health 


But while past research focused on the detrimental effects of negative psychological traits, such as depression and anxiety, new research is investigating how positive traits, such as optimism, protect against illness.

In the recent study, men and women aged 50 and over were tracked for four to five years and completed psychological tests while researchers recorded strokes.


The results show that the higher someone’s sense of purpose, the lower their risk of a stroke.

Those with the greatest sense of purpose were 73 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke compared to those with the lowest.


Other research has shown that positive mood can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, also implicated in stroke.

‘This is significant as we have an ageing population and it helps show what behaviours inoculate people from getting ill,’ says Cary Cooper, professor of health psychology at Lancaster University.


‘Maybe retirement is not good for some.’

WORRYING CAN MAKE YOU ILL

This article below mine comes from the 'Daily Mail' and I have been saying this for years. The article talks about levels of C-reactive protein rising in the blood, but that's not all that happens in the body. Worrying and stress was nature's way of keeping us alert and reacting to danger quickly, however we don't have the same stresses today as way back in our ancestory.

 

Well this goes way back to the times when we were developing as humans and in early periods in history. The body's chemistry was designed to protect us with "The fight or flight response". For example man sees a big bear approach what does he do? he either tackles it or he runs off. Nature is very clever and gives us the capacity to do this. However in 2011 we no longer have the bears, wolves, etc. (ok some of you may) like of yesteryear we have different stresses. Your work colleagues or your neighbours may annoy you but you can't fight them, nor can you run away, but you can learn to deal and dissipate your stress levels so that it doesn't impinge on your health.

But firstly we need to deal with the science bit for if we understand the physiology of stress we're half way there to solving the impact stress has on our lives.

THE SCIENCE BIT

Deep within the brain we have an area known as the Hypothalamus (1), its the home of our moods and emotions and a very primitive part of the brain. The Hypothalamus is also the area that maintains equilibrium in our bodies and it maintains and regulates every bit of our body's chemistry. It is the area that controls the Endocrine system, it forms part of the Autonomic Nervous System and part of the Limbic System. It is Hypothalmus that is the key to managing stress and all its detrimental effects on our mind and body. It is directly through this area that the holistic therapy Aromatherapy works and is managed by other holistic therapies.

Since the Hypothalamus is the home of moods and emotions anything that affects these will influence the Hypothalamus, thus will have an effect on the body's equilibrium.

Now if we are stressed and modern stressors are not the same as those stressors we had as we were evolving as humans, they still have the same effect resulting in "the fight or flight response"

(1)The Role of the Hypothalamus

The Hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the endocrine system.

The Pituitary gland lies beneath the Hypothalamus and it is this that controls the other endocrine glands.

The Hypothalamus receives information about the Homeostasis (balance) of the body, this is achieved by two means:

The blood circulation i.e. temperature, blood glucose levels and hormone levels

The nervous system i.e. The Autonomic Nervous system i.e. the part of the nervous system that regulates automatic functions e.g. breathing, heart rate etc. and mental and emotional states, our feelings: these influence ‘automatic responses’ e.g. ‘The fear, flight response’

The Hypothalamus responds to these changes by:

Secreting Hormones (chemical messengers) that regulate hormones to be released by the anterior lobe of the pituitary

The hypothalamus also directly releases hormones via the Posterior Lobe of the Pituitary , Vasopressin (ADH) and Oxytocin

And by stimulating a nerve response to the ‘Central Nervous System’ (Brain & spinal Cord)

SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE?

Moods/emotions affect the hypothalamus, the hypothalamus evokes a reaction on the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces Adrenocorticotropic hormone this in turn targets the adrenal glands causing them to secrete Cortisone, Cortisone in turn effects the kidneys causing a rise in blood pressure by causing changes in the amount of salt secreted, this hormone causes the body to retain salt. Now remember the Hypothalamus one of its jobs is to maintain the body's equilibrium, it detects a rise in salt levels in the blood so to keep balance it causes the body to retain fluid, it is this retained fluid that increases blood pressure. At the same time, the Hypothalamus being part of the Central Nervous System evokes what is known as the Sympathetic Nervous System this diverts blood away from the digestive system and to lesser important body structures such as the skin and concentrates the blood to the heart, lungs and muscles. Simultaneously this nervous response influences the adrenal glands to produce Adrenalin and Noradrenalin, it is these hormones that induces vasoconstriction (reduces the blood supply) to the skin and peripheral tissues, thus also raising blood pressure.

Now this is putting it simply there are a few other processes also going on to increase blood sugar to give the body fuel to either run off or fight, Corticotrophic hormones influence the pancreas to secrete glucagon this has the opposite effect as insulin.

When the stress is over the Parasympathetic Nervous reverses the process again it is the Hyptholamus that instigates this.

Obviously its much more complex than this and I have focused on a few key hormones as it the action of these hormones that affects our well-being, the ageing process and blood pressure.

The fight or flight response was not designed to last forever it was meant ti instigate an action to deal with an aggressor, be it a wild animal or in a fight with an attacker therein lies the problem modern stressors tends to be work, work colleagues etc. the stress becomes long acting, this kind of reaction is fine in the short term but very detrimental to the body in the long term.

Take Cortisone, it has a damaging effect on specialised cells within the dermis (the skin), fibroblasts, these cells produce collagen and elastin, it is collagen and elastin that gives our skin elasticity and support. Adrenalin reduces blood supply to the peripheral tissues, such as the skin and hair, therefore, these structures do not receive adequate nourishment from the blood. So the effect of long term stress affects the skin resulting in ageing of the skin. However the skin is the least of our problems, those same hormones are responsible for raising the blood pressure, (fine if its short term) long term it put's strain on the heart having to pump harder, this in turn puts stress on the arteries and the tiny arteries (arterioles) within the kidneys and can cause damage to them. The raised blood pressure can lead to strokes and the circulating Cortisone as well as damaging the fibroblasts in the skin damages specialised white blood cells the T-lymphocytes which are instrumental in keeping our immune system healthy and enabling us to fight infection. The immune system is also responsible for destroying rogue mutant cells that can induce cancer. 

This stress response was only designed to be for the short term and it works very well in this way to protect us from danger. But you need to ask yourself what are you worrying about? what will it achieve? My personal philosophy is this: if I can do something to alleviate my worry, I will strive to do this or seek help if I can't do so myself, if however no one can help what is the point of worrying, what will it achieve? as we can see ill health and we don't need this as well. The other part of my philosophy is this: thoughts are energy and like attracts 'like' in the universe, so negative thinking will attract negative energy and situations to us and likewise positive thoughts attract positive energy and situations to us. So it is true dwelling on stressful events can weaken your immune system and make you ill. However 'Daily Mail' and researchers us in Holistic Medicine have known this for decades

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Article below from the 'Daily Mail'

Are you a born worrier? Just dwelling on stressful events can weaken your immune system and make you ill

• Researchers at Ohio University studied 34 healthy young women
• They were asked to give a speech about her candidacy for a job
• Half of the group was asked to contemplate their performance
• For this half of the group levels of an inflammatory marker rose

Worrying too much about stressful events can trigger inflammation, according to a new study.

Researchers found dwelling on negative events can increase levels of inflammation in the body.

They discovered that when study participants were asked to ruminate on a stressful incident, their levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of tissue inflammation, rose.

The study is the first time to directly measure this effect in the body.

Worrying too much? Researchers found dwelling on negative events can increase levels of inflammation in the body

Study lead author Peggy Zoccola, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio University in the United States, said: 'Much of the past work has looked at this in non-experimental designs.

'Researchers have asked people to report their tendency to ruminate, and then looked to see if it connected to physiological issues. It's been correlational for the most part.'

The research team recruited 34 healthy young women to participate in the project. 

 

Each woman was asked to give a speech about her candidacy for a job to two interviewers in white laboratory coats, who listened with 'stone-faced' expressions.

Half of the group was asked to contemplate their performance in the public speaking task, while the other half was asked to think about neutral images and activities, such as sailing ships or grocery store trips.

The researchers drew blood samples that showed that the levels of C-reactive protein were significantly higher in the subjects who were asked to dwell on the speech.

The study found that when study participants were asked to ruminate on a stressful incident, their levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of tissue inflammation, rose

For these participants, the levels of the inflammatory marker continued to rise for at least one hour after the speech.

During the same time period, the marker returned to starting levels in the subjects who had been asked to focus on other thoughts.

The C-reactive protein is primarily produced by the liver as part of the immune system's initial inflammatory response.

It rises in response to traumas, injuries or infections in the body.

C-reactive protein is widely used as a clinical marker to determine if a patient has an infection, but also if he or she may be at risk for disease later in life.

Doctor Zoccola said: 'More and more, chronic inflammation is being associated with various disorders and conditions.

'The immune system plays an important role in various cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases.'

Now Dr Zoccola is working with Fabian Benencia in Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Lauren Mente, a registered nurse and graduate student in the School of Nursing, to investigate the effect of rumination on additional inflammation markers.

She also hopes to study the issue in other populations, such as older adults, who might be vulnerable to rumination and health problems.

She was due to present the findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Miami.

ARE YOU A SCOFFAHOLIC?

Since we are fast approaching the festive season, it will soon be new year and time to make resolutions for 2013, so it might be a good idea to read the article below especially if you are a person who regularly makes a resolution to eat healthily and aim for a healthy weight.

ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY MAIL BELOW

Rise of the scoffaholics: Are you one of 2.5 million Britons who gorge on too much food? Find out with out experts' guide to the five types of overeater

An incredible 2.5 million Britons gorge on too much food. Are you one of them? Find out with our experts’ guide to the five types of overeater . . . and be warned: if you tick three boxes in any category, you might need help

Can't say no: Millions of Britons struggle to turn down food, snack too much or binge in secret

Maggie Brown (Author)

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STRESS AND THE EFFECT IT HAS ON OUR HEALTH (STRESS PART ONE)

STRESS AND OUR HEALTH

The human body is very clever and nature has really thought of everything. One of the reason's why I loved teaching anatomy and physiology was how amazing and wonderful,l how cleverly crafted and designed it is. Anyone can remember anatomy by rote but it is understanding the physiology that brings anatomy to life and it makes the anatomy easier to remember. When you begin to understand the body's physiology you will become hooked and want to know more. It is all the more amazing when you realise what happens in our bodies during stress.

As we evolved as humans like most animals we had predators but nature being clever it gave us a mechanism to enable to deal with predators and danger for when we lived a simple life, it was this that caused us stress, this is known as "The Fight or Flight Response".

What this fight or flight response did was to make us super human for a short space of time, it gave us an extra boost of energy, it raised our heart rate, boosted blood flow to the muscles, so we could run away fast or give us the strength to fight off our predators and increased our oxygen levels so our muscle cells, both in the heart and skeletal muscles could function properly, like so.

The most primitive part of our brains is known as the 'Hypothalamus' it is this part of our brain that maintains homeostasis in the body, in other words regulates everything, it is the home of our moods and emotions and our drive and an important part of its job is to regulate our hormones, these are chemical messengers that target various organs in our bodies to achieve an effect. We can influence our hypothalamus via holistic therapies more about this later.

When we are frightened this evokes a reaction within the hypothalamus, now its a long time since we've had to cope with being a victim of predators and the stress that caused but we do have other stressors, as far as the body is concerned the stress of work, not having enough money or an argument with a partner, its all stress and we can expect the body to react in the same way as we evolved as humans. Therein lies the problem, life was simpler all these years ago, we hunted for food, we didn't have the society as we do now, we didn't have to keep up with 'The Jones's' as we do now coveting the latest gadgets and cars and not having the money to pay for them. As a result we are switched on to 'The fight or flight syndrome' for longer than nature really intended and this mechanism was only designed to be in use for a set period not the length of time it is today. The trouble is, how can you compare being chased by a hungry tiger to that of your work colleagues annoying you? In my opinion I would say the stress of having a tiger chasing me was the real stress and not the latter. I feel as humans we have somehow allowed ourselves to become more easily stressed for longer and we don't know how to switch this stress mechanism off.

To understand how stress affects the body you need to understand the physiology of what actually goes on in the body. Now anxiety, fear etc is felt in the hypothalamus it has a two fold reaction.

HYPOTHALAMUS

has two actions

1 Hypothalamus releases a hormone to the anterior lobe of the Pituitary gland to stimulate it to produce Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone (ACTH)	2 Fight or flight response Sympathetic Nervous Response
ACTH targets the Adrenal cortex (Adrenal glands) to produce Mineralcorticoids and Glucocorticoids and this can also trigger the release of more Androgens	Activates Adrenal Medulla to release Adrenaline and Noradrenaline
It is the Mineralcorticoids and the Glucocorticoids which sustain the effects of stress by keeping the blood pressure raised. Glucocorticoids also release more sugar into the blood to give the bodies cells more energy to deal with the stress	These hormones increase the heart rate and blood pressure by constriction of the very small arteries (arterioles) in the body diverting blood flow away from the less important organs in the body i.e. The skin and hair and keeps the blood to the core important organs such as the heart, lungs and brain. Adrenaline also keeps the brain alert to enable a fast response to danger
However if this stress continues for a long period the increased blood pressure which is sustained due to the effects of the release of mineralcorticoids impairs the body's immune system, it has an effect of decreasing the body's inflammatory response as this hormone affects the body's electrolyte balance (salts) Glucocorticoids whilst initially releasing more sugar into the blood as fuel can instigate type 2 Diabetes and thus poor healing if this continues for a long time. These corticoid hormones damage Fibrocytes, it is these cells which produce collagen and elastin so skin is damaged, losing its elasticity and firmness Increased Androgens (a knock on effect of the other adrenal hormones being produced) can stimulate masculine hair growth patterns and stimulate the oil glands in the skin causing spots	Adrenaline increases the blood pressure, increases the heart rate Sympathetic nervous system diverts blood from the less important organs such as the skin and hair and the digestive system to the muscles, lungs and heart and makes the mind very alert

Now nature never designed this system to go on indefinately it was only meant for short term use to protect us from danger, so can you now see how stress can affect our health, by impairing our immune system (the corticoid hormones damage T-lymphocytes and important part of our immune system) and how long term stress raises the blood pressure, straining the heart and can lead to kidney damage and strokes. It also has a detrimental effect on our skin and hair by reducing blood flow and damaging collagen and elastin, and impairs our digestion. The adrenaline prevents us from switching off and relaxing and impairs sleep. 

However all is not lost there are effective ways in reducing stress and alleviating all these effects and I shall write about this soon.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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