At this point, multiple researchers have uncovered quite a bit of evidence that negative emotions can damage your health. This damage can take a number of forms. In particular, experiencing stress during your earliest years can permanently change how your body responds to stimuli. When neglected or abused as children, people often develop "hair trigger" responses that exacerbate the stresses of ordinary life. These effects can manifest as unhealthy spikes in heart rate and blood pressure. Over the years, prolonged stress or fear can speed up the natural processes that lead to disease.
So we can clearly see that negative emotions are clearly bad for your health. However, happiness is more than simply a lack of negative emotions. Researchers are still working to understand how active positivity could benefit your health. These processes appear fairly subtle and studying them is difficult. For one thing, it is simply easier to see the physical effects of negative emotions at work. Anxiety and anger cause immediate effects in your body, from raised cortisol levels to increased heart rate. On the other hand, it isn't so easy to clinically differentiate between a person with a neutral mood and a person who is genuinely happy. Researchers have worked around this problem by conducting long-term studies which monitor subjects' self-reported moods and health outcomes.
Laura Kubzansky is one of recognized leaders in this field of study. In a 20-year study that ended in 2007, Kubzansky found positive health results for adults with enthusiasm, hope and personal engagement with life. Subjects who reported more of these positive qualities were significantly less prone to coronary heart disease. This particular study only looked at the health outcomes of people between the age of 25 and 74. However, it is safe to assume that maintaining these healthy attitudes can prove physically beneficial for people of all ages.
Having a positive attitude can indirectly improve your life by helping you build and maintain a network of family and friends. Older adults and senior citizens with stronger social networks are prone to live longer lives. Thus we see that besides subjectively improving your life quality, maintaining a happy state may actually lengthen your life. While longevity is largely influenced by heredity, clinging to positive attitudes can certainly make a difference.
Although researchers have certainly made some headway in exploring this issue, they will need to do a lot more work before the connections between positive emotions and health are fully clear. The research in this area remains controversial and fraught in some respects. During a time when the birthrate is low and our population is rapidly aging, society has a vested interest in improving the health of older adults. To further this goal, responsible stakeholders should work together to fully explore the positive effects health effects of positive thinking.
So we can clearly see that negative emotions are clearly bad for your health. However, happiness is more than simply a lack of negative emotions. Researchers are still working to understand how active positivity could benefit your health. These processes appear fairly subtle and studying them is difficult. For one thing, it is simply easier to see the physical effects of negative emotions at work. Anxiety and anger cause immediate effects in your body, from raised cortisol levels to increased heart rate. On the other hand, it isn't so easy to clinically differentiate between a person with a neutral mood and a person who is genuinely happy. Researchers have worked around this problem by conducting long-term studies which monitor subjects' self-reported moods and health outcomes.
Laura Kubzansky is one of recognized leaders in this field of study. In a 20-year study that ended in 2007, Kubzansky found positive health results for adults with enthusiasm, hope and personal engagement with life. Subjects who reported more of these positive qualities were significantly less prone to coronary heart disease. This particular study only looked at the health outcomes of people between the age of 25 and 74. However, it is safe to assume that maintaining these healthy attitudes can prove physically beneficial for people of all ages.
Having a positive attitude can indirectly improve your life by helping you build and maintain a network of family and friends. Older adults and senior citizens with stronger social networks are prone to live longer lives. Thus we see that besides subjectively improving your life quality, maintaining a happy state may actually lengthen your life. While longevity is largely influenced by heredity, clinging to positive attitudes can certainly make a difference.
Although researchers have certainly made some headway in exploring this issue, they will need to do a lot more work before the connections between positive emotions and health are fully clear. The research in this area remains controversial and fraught in some respects. During a time when the birthrate is low and our population is rapidly aging, society has a vested interest in improving the health of older adults. To further this goal, responsible stakeholders should work together to fully explore the positive effects health effects of positive thinking.
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