Be Positive, Live Long

A positive attitude, optimism, hope, or faith could influence the course of disease and promote health. We hear this, probably rightly as scientists and physicians are likely to recognize that the mind exercises a decisive influence on our body.

20 years ago, the psychologist Professor Oakley Ray of Vanderbilt University was diagnosed with cancer of lymphoid tissue, called lymphoma. It operated to deprive him of the spleen and he survived, unlike many others suffering from the same condition who themselves died. Professor Ray who chaired the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry then asks why some people manage to overcome this cancer while others succumb to it. He then peels the scientific literature and points to a growing body of evidence suggesting the power of mind over body. Clearly, these points highlight the impact of psychological, social, cultural and even the biochemistry and physiology of the human body and, thereby, the causes, development and outcome of disease. "Our thoughts, our feelings, our beliefs and our hopes are nothing more than chemical and electrical activity in nerve cells of our brain. Thus, by changing our thoughts, we change our brain and, thus our biology, even our bodies, "says Professor Ray. He also believes that the brain is the first line of body's defense against any disease.

"A positive attitude can help people become more optimistic. However, studies have shown, people hopefully tend to present lower levels of stress and a stronger immune system, says Dr. Christina Puchalski, Professor, School of Medicine at The George Washington University. "Better understanding of withstand stress, hope and optimism have a beneficial effect on health. Renewed hope and erasure of feelings of helplessness and hopelessness appear to be important factors that could improve health and prolong life, for its part Oakley Ray, whose studies have shown that older men who lived with optimism are more likely to see the glass half full - rather than half empty - ran less risk of suffering coronary heart disease.

"When we are depressed, the immune system disappears and we become exposed to cancers and infections," said Dr. Patrick Vinay, former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at University of Montreal. It explains why as we advance in age, our cells may become cancerous but if the immune system is in good shape we'll succeed in destroying. "Take the example of a person who is imprisoned for three years at Auschwitz. He is only skin and bones but he fights and lives. The day he does not want to fight, lies on bed, stares at the wall and the next day, dies of pneumonia because his immune system faltered.

Conversely, recent scientific studies show "positive affect and antibody production of immunoglobulin in saliva form the first line of defense against respiratory infections. Dr. Keith Norman from Cambridge says; 'Anything that makes someone serene and happy in his skin has an extremely important effect on health. And I would even say that the best medicine is happiness. If you're happy, you'll heal a lot of things. "

Over the past ten years, Dr. Francois Lesperance, director of the psychiatry department at the CHUM collects and publishes results of research showing that symptoms of depression and anxiety increase the risk of developing heart disease or that it recurs. Notably, patients during hospitalization for myocardial infarction and with symptoms of depression are more likely to die or at least, to see their heart disease get worse, he says. Moreover, these same symptoms detected in apparently healthy people without history of heart disease, predict the development of coronary heart disease within five to ten years of depression. He also counts the same relationship, though on a minor scale, also exists between anxiety and coronary heart disease.

To explain this phenomenon, researchers suspect the existence of biological mechanisms involving interactions between the brain and heart. "Depression is a state of intense stress which occurs during biological disturbances that affect the heart," says Dr. Lesperance. However, these disturbances will result in an increased risk of arrhythmias, an increased tendency of blood to clot and the activation of the inflammatory response that induces atherosclerosis, which ultimately manifested by a myocardial infarction.

Many studies have clearly shown that chronic stress is harmful. "In the U.S., 60-90% of diseases are stress related," says Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind / Body Medical Institute in Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. "Stress can cause or exacerbate diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, infertility, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome."

But how stress makes us sick? When a person is stressed, different regions of the brain are activated and release hormones and chemical mediators that affect the immune system and decrease its strike force against the invaders, "says Dr. Esther Sternberg. The researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) cites as an example a study by Janice Kiecolt-Glaser from University of Ohio, who noted in particular that persons suffering constant stress, such as those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease, does not produce enough antibodies for the protection afforded by the vaccine was administered to them.

"If you are chronically stressed and you do operate, your wounds will take longer to heal," said Dr. Sternberg, who is also the author of The Balance Within, a book that very well documented biological links between health and emotions. When stressed, the command center of the stress response in the brain (hypothalamus) released into the bloodstream a hormone called CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) which triggers the cascade release of other hormones and neurotransmitters which will signal the adrenal glands to secrete cortisol. This latter hormone inhibits the ability of immune cells to promote inflammation - which is an immune reaction - and produce more cytokines, the chemical signals that stimulate other immune cells to grow, divide or mature . "So if you're constantly stressed, you constantly pour into the bloodstream that anti-inflammatory hormone that keeps silent about the immune system, which, suddenly, becomes less able to fight infections and heal wounds," explains Esther Sternberg.

Furthermore, when we face a sudden and dramatic incident for instance narrowly avoiding an accident on the road, our nervous system releases Norepinephrine and the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline for their part which, together with Norepinephrine, accelerates the heartbeat and respiration, increased blood pressure, induces a rush of blood to muscles, and prepare the skin and hair done sweat. These two neurotransmitters stimulate and strengthen the immune system, which keeps us from falling ill. The day after the due date by cons, we contract an infection as it has lost the little protective effect provided by the adrenaline, the rate returned to normal. The cortisol that the body, still under the effect of chronic stress continues for it to discharge into the bloodstream then takes the upper hand and weakens the immune system.

"We can therefore say that the mind can heal the body through neurotransmitters and hormones that it releases and, ultimately, affect the immune system. It is therefore understandable that most people have an optimistic and determined the immune system more effective than pessimistic people because they are more successful in reducing their stress response, "says Esther Sternberg.

Based on work by John Cacioppo of the University of Chicago, and Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, it appeared that some humans are better able to cope with adversity and disease. "The cerebral cortex of the right hemisphere of these people say resilience is more active than those who get sick or fall into depression when they have experiences that may even be less dramatic," says Esther Sternberg. The immune system of these resilient people is also different, and this is probably due to release in the brain hormones and neurotransmitters involved in the mobilization of the immune system. "But if it turns out you do not belong to this category of people, researchers do not know if, in trying to adopt a positive attitude, you'll be able to become stronger, said Dr. Sternberg. And you really do not feel guilty if you do not succeed and if you get sick.

According to Dr. Sternberg, behavioral therapies and meditation may be able to change the attitude of a person. But the fact remains that the stress response is partly determined by genes and it therefore varies from one individual to another. In addition, traumatic experiences that occurred in early life can also modify the response to stress in adulthood and amplify.

"These approaches that reduce the stress do not cure cancer or infection themselves and cancer drugs and antibiotics are always needed. But they can help the body heal better when these treatments are administered to him, "warns Esther Sternberg.