Do you believe in the mind body connection? As Deepak Chopra said to one of his colleagues, If you don't believe in the mind-body connection, how do you think that you move your finger?
There have been numerous studies that have shown a mind-body connection and one particularly has shown a link between heart disease and pessimism. A study from the Netherlands found that people that are pessimistic are more likely to die of heart disease and other causes than those who are by nature optimistic.
People with the highest level of optimism were 45 percent less likely than those with the highest level of pessimism to die of all causes during the study. For the most optimistic, the death rate was 30.4 percent; the most pessimistic had a death rate of 56.5 percent. There were 397 deaths in the study, and prevention of cardiovascular mortality accounted for nearly half of the protective effects of optimism.
According to a 2002 study by Johns Hopkins researchers, angry young men are far more likely to suffer from heart attacks and cardiovascular disease before the age of 55 than their calmer counterparts. Guys who were angry in their youth were six times more likely to have a heart attack before age 55 and three times more likely to develop premature cardiovascular disease.
Up to this point there has been evidence that mental states, like depression, are linked with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular death, but the relationship between normal personality traits like optimism and health have not been as well documented.
One of the major reasons for this link is the neurological effect of positive and negative thoughts. Every negative thought fires nerve endings in your brain that stimulate the "stress response". The stress response causes the release of adrenalin and cortisol which has a number of effects on the body and increases the risk of stroke, cancer, diabetes and heart attacks. Conversely, every positive thought has the opposite effect, helping to switch off the stress response and reduce that risk.
Dr Brett Hill's top 5 tips for creating positive thoughts:
1. Make time for doing things that you enjoy, and that make you feel positive.
2. Utilise positive affirmations, thus stimulating your brain's positive pathways, and reducing stress.
3. Focus on creating solutions rather than focusing on the problem.
4. Regular exercise helps to switch off the stress response.
5.Eating well also helps to switch off the stress response.
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