In this column:
When you're stressed, your body releases chemicals that make you sweat. Your heart rate speeds up, and your stomach churns. Prolonged stress is harmful to your health.
But what happens when you're happy? Is the opposite true? If you replace the stress in your life with positive energy, will you be healthier?
A growing body of scientific evidence says yes. Having a positive attitude does promote good health.
The biochemical hormones that link our emotions to our physical responses work both ways. Negative, stress-related emotions cause disease, whereas positive emotions suppress the release of stress hormones and help us fight disease. Potent Medicine: Love and Trust
Romantic love increases our immunity to colds. So concluded reserachers at the Menninger Clinic in a study cited in the book "Coping With Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression." A Harvard psychologist found that when people love and care significantly about others, their antibody production increases, making it easier for them to fight off upper respiratory viruses. And in a study of people who had eye surgery, patients who trusted their eye surgeons had a smoother recovery than patients who didn't.
PET (positron emission tomography) scans show our brains in action. When a patient experiences an emotion, or a series of thoughts, the PET scan takes images of those mental changes. PET measures the patient's cerebral blood flow, and documents the brain's changing hormonal balance. During chronic stress and pessimism, the brain appears abnormally different than it does in a cheerful person. PET scans are proving what psychologists have been saying for years. Attitude counts.
You're less likely to suffer from chronic stress if you have moderate to high self-esteem. Find out how happy you are with yourself and the world by taking this online happiness test: Click here. But what if you have been a browbeater, or have felt semi-miserable, all your life? Is it possible to become a cheerful person? Can you actually change the way you perceive yourself? It's not easy, but it can be done. Even if you aren't really feeling happy, sometimes just pretending you are can make a big difference. Let's say one morning you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It's raining, the dog vomited on the rug, you can't find your favorite robe and you're grouchy. You look in the mirror and hate what you see. Instead of growling, try something different. Try saying, "It's going to be a terrific day. It's going to be a terrific day," over and over. Studies prove that repeating short, positive phrases actually help trick the mind into being more upbeat and less uptight (even when you're grumpy). And when your mind is relaxed, your body doesn't secrete stress-response chemicals, so you'll enjoy better physical and mental health all around.
How's Your Self-Esteem?
If you don't like yourself very much, if you spend a lot of time trying to change yourself from a sow's ear to a silk purse, you will probably suffer with chronic stress. Berating yourself and the decisions you make, always thinking you'd be happier if you had more money, a bigger house, or a better car, emotions like these wear down your mind and body, triggering stress-response chemicals.Other Tricks To Happiness
Develop a deep, loving relationship. An intimate, secure marriage reduces stress and increases a sense of well-being.
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