![]() ![]() Being forced to give up a high-powered job because of a disabling illness has given other people the time they always wished they had to pursue sculpting, chamber music, gardening, or other passions. As a result, they discover other interests and talents, such as French literature, tutoring, or race walking. Losing a breast to cancer, for example, has led some women to stop pouring all their energies into cultivating perfect bodies. Sometimes they discover that they have the power to do things they never knew that they could. ![]() Many people who have suffered from life-threatening and incapacitating illnesses - including cancer, heart attack, and the like - say that they consider their illness to be “a gift.” The illness taught them to value each day, appreciate the moment, and get their priorities straight. Try to recognize that your grief and pain, however real and deep, are only part of a larger picture - and that this picture includes many elements of pleasure, success, and meaning.Īnother approach is to try to “use your pain” for good. Concluding that you personally have been singled out for suffering, refusing to see any silver lining, and abandoning all hope may not only be a recipe for illness: Such attitudes are also not such great ways to go through life. But when calamity does strike, try not to give in to despair or fatalism. We’re not saying that you should deny life’s darker side or interpret every calamity as a blessing. And you’re more likely to attract people into your life (and keep them there) - which in and of itself may boost your health (see How Our Social Network Helps Us Thrive). Of course, it’s also possible that having a positive attitude toward life makes you more likely to take better care of yourself. Some researchers think that pessimism may stress you out, too, boosting levels of destructive stress hormones in your bloodstream. Segerstrom, Ph.D., et al., “Optimism is Associated With Mood, Coping, and Immune Change in Response to Stress,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Volume 74, Number 6, June 1998.) By the middle of the first semester, the students who had been confident that they would do well had more and better functioning immune cells than the worried students. One recent study, for example, polled healthy first-year law students at the beginning of the school year to find out how optimistic they felt about the upcoming year. But mounting evidence suggests that these effects may have something to do with the mind’s power over the immune system. No one really understands how or why a positive attitude helps people recover faster from surgery or cope better with serious diseases - diseases as serious as cancer, heart disease, and AIDS. ![]()
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