Tracy1 Samantha Tracy Ms.

Rand Honors English 1103 11 November 2013 The Power of Positive Thinking Positivity is powerful. As individuals we all have different outlooks on life; we have various views based on our culture, religion and experiences. Personally I take an optimistic view in most situations; I try to look at each day as a new beginning and work to make the best of each problem. We view outlook as a personality trait, and my personality tends to be positive and outgoing, directly correlating with my optimistic outlook, so how does our perspective affect us? A critical part of our everyday life is our health; when under illness or injury we are consumed with finding treatment, attempting to recover as quickly as possible. Potentially optimism is the best medicine; the way we think about our situation has been shown to affect the way our bodies respond to treatment. Thinking positively increases the production of endorphins; we feel less pain and are able to maintain a better outlook. Optimism creates a stronger defense against disease, are immunes system is more apt to fight against infection, giving us a better chance against illness. So, when does our outlook begin to affect us medically? Can a positive attitude really lead to positive health? The link of mind and body has been a point of debate for centuries. Throughout the twelfth century many religious groups were divided into dualistic and monotheistic religions. Dualists believed there was no link between the mind and body; the two separate entities have little or no correlation with each other. Descartes was the first to suggest the idea of dualism; he held that the mind and body functioned separately without interchange (McLeod). Monotheists

Tracy2 believed that forces interchangeably operate on a mental and physical level; they feel that the mind and body operate as one entity to create a healthy human life. Monism suggests that the mind and body are one in the same (McLeod). Skeptics commonly side with the dualistic theory attempting to prove that mental functions have little influence on the physical body. As time has past many religions have adopted a dualistic view. They believe the concept of spirituality in the mental realm of life influences their success in physical life. The struggle between monism and dualism has largely been forgotten as a society most people accept the dualist view. Their have been studies proving optimisms effects in education, relationship well being and success in the working world, but it has just recently been introduced as a component of medicine. Many doctors and researchers discredit the possible benefits of optimism due to the fact that these findings link psychological principles with physical results. Many medical professionals think that patient perspective has no effect on the patients ability to fight against a disease. The effects of optimism have been shown throughout case studies all over the world. Living in a media crazy world, we are often bombarded with stories of medical miracles. People waking up after twenty years in a coma or cancer just miraculously vanishing are stories that catch our attention and pose questions about modern medical treatment. We often see these stories as coincidences, the doctors and patients just had the right about of luck to solve a problem, but does the way a patient perceives their situation influence their response to treatment? Does our psychology have any influence on our physicality? Recently researchers have been studying the way optimistic patients respond to treatment and cope with pain. Patients have then been compared with their pessimistic counterparts, to see if outlook has any influence on health. Generally research has pointed to yes, patients with a fighting spirit, who have faith in their doctors and construct a positive self-image live longer,

Tracy3 healthier lives than patients who give up on their doctors and themselves; the effects of hope on the brain actually can produce longevity (Seligman 200). One major reason optimists tend to be healthier is due to their reactivity, optimistic people tend to notice signs of declining health and are more likely to take an active role in finding treatment. Pessimist take on the why me attitude and tend to passively wait out the illness instead of seeking a cure. Thinking positively has been shown to improve quality of life and ability to cope in patients with severe illnesses. Optimism has also been shown to slow the advance of a variety of diseases. Thinking positively affects our brain and bodily responses increasing the amount of pleasure hormones in our brain while also strengthening our immune system. Patients who develop the correct attitude and have a positive spirit are more likely to overcome their illness and successfully return to normal life. Optimism in medicine shows that when we think we will succeed, we generally do. Winston Churchill once said, A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty(qtd in Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). A major reason optimists have a slight medical advantage over pessimists is due to their ability to cope with adversity (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). Optimists see negative events as temporary allowing them to see past pain or illness to a time when they will be healthy; optimists start with the end in mind. Not surprisingly optimistic patients are less prone to depression experienced during illness (Optimism and Health). Being optimistic normally leads to a happier life surrounded by a larger and more supportive group of family and friends. Throughout disease and illness optimistic patients experience less pain, more energy and a greater ease in social activities than their pessimistic counterparts (Optimism and Health). In his book Walk in Balance, Sun Bear suggests, attitude is everything, and facing a situation with a positive

Tracy4 perspective and dealing with problems head on is the key to success in both life and medicine (Bear 21). Martin Seligman, the author of Learned Optimism, dedicates an entire chapter discussing the advantages of viewing life with a positive perspective. He discusses an experiment where thirty rats were each implanted with a tumor; one group of rats experienced electric shocks with no ability to escape, the second group experienced the same shocks but was able to press a button to disable them, and a third group was the control group and experienced no shocks (Seligman 169-170). In a normal rat population approximately fifty percent of the population should die when implanted with a cancerous tumor. In the control group exactly half of the rats died after an established time period, representing a normal population. In the first group more than 70% percent of the rats died, these rats had become accustomed to the shocks, developing a characteristic of learned helplessness; the rats could in no way fight their pain and gave up on fighting their tumor (Seligman 170). In the second group 70% percent of the rats survived: these rats had the opportunity to fight against the shock, providing them an opportunity to develop a positive outlook and have more motivation in combating the cancer (Seligman 170). Through this experiment we see the effects of pessimism and optimism. Learned helpless was developed in the second group of rats; they knew they were unable to fight against the shock and started to behave in a helpless manner. Many of rats in the second group gave up and succumb to the disease more quickly than the others. This state of learned helplessness created a more passive immune system within the rats and allowed the cancer to expand, eventually killing them. This experiment and other similar ones created a new branch of psychological and biological study, Psychoneuroimmunology which is the study of how psychological events influence health and

Tracy5 the immune system (Seligman 182). Due to hormone growth optimistic people develop stronger immune systems leading to greater success in medical treatment. Studies show living life in control, while enjoying our occupation and personal life tend to create not only a longer, but also healthier life. Optimists hold positive views about the future; therefore they develop a more directed goal of recovery than pessimists. Optimistic patients anticipate success; this influences their behavior and encourages them to take action to assist recovery (Garofalo 204). As researched by Seligman optimism has a profound effect on the immune system. Antibody production is greater in optimistic patients, while also leading to superior cell mediated immunity, a part of the immune systems response to infectious agents, creating a defense against disease progression and infection (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). The depression encouraged by illness leads to a decrease of antibody production and allows disease to overtake our immune system. Having confidence and high self-esteem is a key component of living an optimistic lifestyle; when we doubt ourselves and lose our locus of control we begin to lose our positive perspective. Illness puts us out of control and takes a toll on our self-esteem, we feel worthless as our sense of self-pride decreases. Individuals who let this lack of self-esteem perpetuate tend to have more health complications than those who maintain a positive self-image. Optimistic patients were also less likely to let illness disrupt their personal lives and are more inclined to try and keep control. Their participation in social activities while being constantly surrounded by a supportive, healthy group of family and friends often contributes to a quicker recovery and more stable return to normal life (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking).

Tracy6 The effects of optimism have also been studied in correlation with pain. Positive thinking can act as a mediator of stress against pain in the body (Garofalo 204). While limited research has been conducted on personality characteristics and their relationship to pain levels, Garofalo has compared optimistic and pessimistic patients, measuring their responses to pain and surgical procedures. In his section of the book Characteristics of Patients with Pain Garofalo discusses the different types of optimism and how they each relate to the health of patients. Functional optimists develop adaptive effects attributed to optimism, allowing them to adjust to a state of recovery and benefit most from their rehabilitation (Garofalo 204). Learned optimism is a selfserving way of viewing the world; these patients develop an attitude that they will succeed no matter the setbacks, they take a headstrong approach to illness and often succeed in treatment (Garofalo 204). The last and most effective form of optimism is dispositional optimism, these patients have generalized positive expectations for the future and tend to have a relatively stable state of mind, they develop a model of self-regulation and are most proactive in seeking treatment to control their pain and illness (Garofalo 204). Pessimists and optimists are generally different in the three explanatory styles. Pessimists attribute failure to internal causes, believe disappointment is a constant state and see letdown as something that influences all other parts of their life. Optimists are more likely to attribute failure to external causes, believe disappointment is a temporary state and see defeat as a solitary occurrence (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). The optimistic explanatory style has been shown to foster longevity. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is a popular personality test that measures optimism within an individual. Researchers discovered that for every ten-point increase on the MMPIs optimism scale risk of early death decreased by 19% (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). Changing the way we think and looking at our situations through a positive life can increase our chance at

Tracy7 living a healthier, longer life. Throughout research and experimentation, medical professionals and scientists have confirmed the idea that optimism not only plays a role in mental health, but also contributes to positive physical health. The mind- body connection is no longer subjective to disbelief; the correlation between a positive mind and a healthy body has been researched and proven in patients throughout the medical world. The evidence showing optimisms positive effect on bodily health, leads researchers to ask another question, can optimism be learned? Can we teach people to look at life optimistically in order to improve their physical health? Groups such as the Penn Resiliency Program have started to instill students with optimism and teach them to improve their positive thinking skills (Mindfulness and Positive Thinking). The hope of this effort is that students will be able to lead healthier lives due to their optimist outlook. As a society we are constantly trying to find ways to improve our quality of life and extend our longevity, instilling the values of optimism along with the values of good health can improve the health of the next generation. Confirming that positive thinking leads to positive health is a start, but teaching individuals to embrace optimism could lead to a healthier population, less affected by disease and depression. Research has shown that optimism is derived from past and current experiences and is also influenced by upbringing; providing an optimistic childhood experience could greatly improve a childs worldview later in life. The key is that attitude is changeable; looking for the good in life, being grateful, appreciating the little things, and practicing random acts of kindness are ways we can develop an optimistic pattern of thinking (Optimism and Health). Teaching parents and educators how to express optimism and encourage students to embrace optimistic life values could influence the thinking patterns of children. Instilling optimistic values while simultaneously teaching adults

Tracy8 the importance of positive thinking would lead to not only a happier world, but also a healthier one.

Tracy9 Works Cited Bear, Sun., Crysalis, Mulligan, Peter, Nufer, and Wabun. "Happiness Is the Best Medicine." Walk in Balance: The Path to Healthy, Happy, Harmonious Living. New York: Prentice Hall, 1989. 16-25. Print. Garofalo, John P. "Chapter 9: Perceived Optimism and Chronic Pain." Personality Characteristics of Patients with Pain. Washington, DC: Gatchel, Robert J., and James N. Weisberg. American Psychological Association, 2000. 203-217. Print. Mayo Health Clinic Letter. Optimism and Health. Consumer Health Complete 27.7 (2009): 45. EBSCOhost Web. 8 Nov 2013 McLeod, Sam. Mind Body Debate. Simply Psychology. 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2013 "Mindfulness and Positive Thinking." Pursuit of Happiness. Pursuit of Happiness Inc., 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Seligman, Martin E. P. "Part II: Health." Learned Optimism. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1991. 16784. Print.

Tracy10 Reflection The most interesting thing I learned during my inquiry project is how the immune system is affected by optimistic thinking. Positive thinking is shown to increase the antibody production within the body. Optimists produce more T-cells and more NK-cells helping to fight disease and increase immune system response. I struggled mostly with compiling my research. I had a large amount of research and trying to find a way to put in all together in a cohesive essay seemed to be the most challenging part of the process. I solved the problem by highlighting the most important parts of each chapter or article and by discussing each authors main points and how they supported the other authors points. My inquiry question started out as: How does optimism influence success? This topic was really broad and it was hard to narrow down specific research pertaining to success since its such a broad term. I then changed the question to: How does optimism influence medical success? This made my topic more concrete and allowed me to find more specific research. Its important to look at history to see how the topic has changed over time. We need to know the topics historical background in order to accurately assess our research. Throughout history a variety of experiments and research has been conducted and its necessary to understand the historical debate behind a topic before conducting new research. I think Ive been able to focus my analytical skills and have become more effective at narrowing in on specific details and comparing sources from a variety of time periods, authors and publishers. Through this inquiry project, Ive learned how to do complete and thorough research at a college level. Im most proud of the way I combine my historical component with my research to develop an action plan to implement my research into a real world situation. I would like to look into more experiments and take more time comparing a variety of research to see a

Tracy11 greater influence of optimism in medicine. Id also like to read the rest of Seligmans book to see the way optimism influences non-medical portions of our lives.