Optimism can not only make life more satisfying–it also can also improve your health and your relationships, according to many studies and experts on women’s well being.

“Basically, women are much more capable of positive thought and action than they realize,” said New Jersey-based Barbara Becker Holstein, Ed.D., an author and private practice psychologist for more than 30 years.

Herself a woman over 50, Dr. Holstein has found in her studies how to tap into that “positive zone.” She has developed a system to find what’s positive in a woman’s life and have her build on that feeling for better well-being.

“When you are thinking positive, you are feeling positive,” said Donald Dossey, Ph.D., of the Stress Management and Phobia Institute in Asheville, NC. “When you are thinking good thoughts, then your immune system is more highly activated,” he added.

In addition, relationships improve and you have better interactions with your family and coworkers, Dr. Dossey explained. Conversely, he noted, when you are entertaining negative feelings, or are experiencing a stressor, such as fear, “The immune system shuts down. When you are in fear, under stress, or thinking negatively, it’s the same thing.  Your memory is poor, you are irritable, your relationships suffer.”

A March 2009 study authored by a team led by Hilary Tindle, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, followed nearly 100,000 post-menopausal women as part of the Women’s Health Initiative  research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research found that optimists had lower rates of death and fewer cases of some chronic conditions, such as heart disease, compared to pessimists.

 In addition, Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Ph.D., professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kentucky, was part of a team that authored a 1998 study of optimism and the immune system, which appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Optimists cope better

“Optimists cope differently with stressors, experience less negative mood, and may have more adaptive health behaviors– all of which could lead to better immune status,” Dr. Segerstrom’s study concluded. “Optimism has been shown to mitigate the effects of stressors on psychological functioning.”

Optimists have higher T-cell counts, which protect the body from infection, and have delayed “flight or fight” responses to stress, which can tax the body, the research determined. That study cited past research which provided the groundwork for the Segerstrom team’s work.  In 1989, a group led by Michael F. Scheier, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, found optimism was tied to better physical health. 

In addition, two more studies found optimism induced successful coping with health challenges. Among them, research by Charles S. Carver, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Miami, and colleagues established in a 1993 study that optimists adjusted better to health challenges.

The Segerstrom study “contributes to a growing body of evidence that elucidates the relation of optimism and other psychosocial factors to biological processes associated with physical health,” the study said. “The investigation thus indicates that beliefs about events, appraisals about events, and associated affective changes are important.”

Effects of stress

There also is research that ascertains that prolonged and intense stress, even among optimists, can tread on the immune system. Aside from immunity, negative feelings also may cause relationship problems.

David Gilbert, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Southern Illinois University, said negative feelings and attitude could translate into relationship problems and breakups. In addition, stress causes the release of a hormone called cortisol, which suppresses the immune system and leaves the body vulnerable to viruses and infections, he explained.

Optimism and positive thinking may be hard to come by these days, but Dr. Holstein said women can reach a plateau of positive thinking, and she developed a way to do it. She formulated the positive psychology method called “The Enchanted Self,” designed to promote happiness. She developed what she called “gateways to happiness” as stepping stones to emotional health. They include the following recommendations:

●Discover and honor your talents, strengths, coping skills, and potential.

●Love the story of your life and find ways to fall in love with who you are.

●Learn how to get your needs met.

●Take time to replenish, to enjoy life, and to find meaning and purpose every day.

●Belong and don’t isolate.

●Be a mentor and find mentors.

●Live generously. Do positive actions and good deeds.

“If a woman practices the first gateway, whether 23 or 83, she is going to get better in touch in what she has to offer society,” Dr. Holstein said.

The second gateway is important in finding your unique accomplishments, and giving yourself credit for what you have done. For example, were you the first person in your family to graduate from college? Respect that accomplishment, Dr. Holstein suggested.

The third gateway is designed to help women achieve what they need. Even women over 50 may require training or learn a new skill, Dr. Holstein added.

The fourth step is focused on renewing.  “We need to recognize we tend to run on empty because we are helping others,” she said. “It’s very important to replenish ourselves.”

The last three points are directed at staying connected and sharing with friends, family, colleagues, and people you come in contact with during your life’s journey, she said.

“All the research shows, when we give, we feel better,” she pointed out.

Pamela Johnson of Texas, founder of the Secret Society of Happy People, a decade-old organization dedicated to spreading good feeling, said, “When happiness is a part of your life, you express it. It’s kind of a ripple effect.”

“There are numerous studies that show you have physical health benefits from happiness,” Johnson said.

Although she advocates optimism and good cheer, Johnson doesn’t dismiss the fact that we all will confront disappointment, sadness, and even tragedy in our lives. Don’t ignore the pain, she advocates, but try to coexist with it.

“They quickest way to be happy is feel the pain,” she said. “There are still positive things in an unhappy moment.  You don’t need to be consumed by it. You can start coming up with ideas.  You can move into a more creative zone instead of hitting a wall.”

Unfortunately, if you tend towards sarcasm and criticism, you will tend to surround yourself with people who share the same negative feelings, and it becomes harder and harder to break free from the grip of despair, Johnson explained.

Women over 50, who may be confronted with career and life changes, can face these issues with confidence, Johnson added.

“I think women are resilient,” she asserted. “They trend and move with the times. Embrace the attitude of what’s next.  Don’t get stuck on what was.  There are a lot of people who have been empowered at 50 plus.”

She cited Martha Stewart and Georgia O’Keefe as role models who came into their own later in life.

“Instead of an end, it is a beginning,” she concluded.

—    Mary Voelker

Resources:

• Dr. Charles S. Carver: http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/ccarver/
• Dr. Donald Dossey: http://www.drdossey.com/
• Dr. David Gilbert: http://www.psychology.siu.edu/faculty/david_gilbert.htm
• Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein: http://www.enchantedself.com/
• The Secret Society of Happy People: http://www.sohp.com/
• Dr. Michael F. Scheier: http://www.psy.cmu.edu/people/scheier_vita.pdf
• Dr.  Suzanne Segerstrom:
• http://www.as.uky.edu/academics/departments_programs/Psychology/Psychology/faculty_research/ faculty/suzannesegerstrom/Pages/default.aspx
• Dr. Hilary Tindle: http://pmbcii.psy.cmu.edu/tindle/index.html
• Women’s Health Initiative: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/

The studies:

Scheier, M. F.; Matthews, K. A.; Owens, J. F.; Magovern, G. J.; Lefebvre, R. C. Sr.; Abbott, R. A.; and Carver, C. S. (1989). “Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1024–104.

Stanton, A. L.; and Snider, P. R. (1993). “Coping with a breast cancer diagnosis: A prospective study.” Health Psychology, 12, 16–23.

Carver, C. S.; Pozo, C.; Harris, S. D.; Noriega, V.; Scheier, M. F.; Robinson, D. S.; Ketcham, A. S.; Moffat, F. L. Jr.; and Clark, K. C. (1993). “How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: A study of women with early stage breast cancer.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 375–390.

Tindle, H.A.; Chang, Y.F.; Kuller, L.H.; et al (2009). “Optimism, Cynical Hostility, and Incident Coronary Heart Disease and Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative.” Published online 10 August 2009.