I recently spent several days beside my grandmother at Valley Hospital. She was in the surgical ICU and the doctors could not keep her blood pressure up. She was delirious through most of the stay and had to be strapped in bed. Trips to the hospital are nothing new for my grandmother. She has always been heavily medicated and in and out of serious care. Like many other times this was no different and the doctors had no idea what was medically wrong with her.
To me it seems to be the same problem, one that seems to be more and more common across the country.It is sadness, chronic unhappiness, and lack of will power. Some studies refer to this as depression, but I tend to agree with others that it is bigger than that.
Many new studies are beginning to show that happiness is a key factor in health. You mental attitude directly affects the way your body functions. A major portion of the new healthier life is tied directly to your attitude. For decades we have been aware of the effects of stress on our bodies, but most of us have tied the fact that a smile every day can lower our cholesterol, increase circulation, and improve both our heart and nervous system.
Though a smile is no replacement for a healthy diet, regular exercise, and regular medical checks it can lead to a lifestyle change that may make you happier, help you live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.
It also means it is important that we watch for our family and friends, especially as they age and loose desire to do anything with there life.
For any one concerned about my grandmother she is doing much better and will return to her assisted living home is a couple of weeks.
I am glad to hear of your grandmother getting better Jonathan, and I totally agree with your post. I have struggled with depression in the past (I personally believe it's tied to genetics), and forcing myself to consciously change my outlook and way of thinking and viewing things has worked and "stuck" with me. Maybe it has a little to do with getting older, finally "growing up", I don't know, but I definitely sense a difference not only mentally, but physically.
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting. I'm very glad that your grandmother is better as well, its always frightening when things like this happen. I've been seeing the idea that attitude is tied to health more and more. I didn't know about the smile once a day bit though. I know that in a study where elderly people were given kittens and puppies to raise, they saw a dramatic increase in their moods and lifespans over those that did not. That and I've read in various places that stress can be collaborated with over 90% of disease in humans. Our bodies apparently reflect our minds, which reflect us. Pretty amazing stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you could end the post on the good note of your grandmother getting better. I agree with all of you about health and mental attitude being intertwined. But I think I would tend to say that it is health that affects disposition. As long a health is good, people seem able to cope and enjoy life. We are stuck with the genes we were given at birth, but we can make a conscience decision to eat and drink moderately of wholesome foods, engage in activities that promote balanced exercise, stay away from chemicals and tobacco - and in similar ways to enhance what we started with.
ReplyDeleteLaurie im glad to hear you have been able to change your life and force your self to be positive and that effects have all been good. The part about genetics is an unfortunate factor that many of us face and many symptoms like bipolar and chronic depression can be inherited in our genes. I think the best we can to is to keep these things in the front of our minds and continually remind ourselves that our lives are our own and regardless of how the deck is stacked in the end we make the decisions about how we will both enjoy life and live.
ReplyDeleteJudy in response to your comment about heath controlling happiness and not vise versa I would encourage you to think of someone you may have know in your life who passed. Think about what happened to their otherwise healthy spouse, where they healthy when there partner passed? Did there health start to take a turn for the worst afterwards? Did they eventually meet the same fate? I have often hear the statistic that 85 percent of men die within two years of there spouse passing away. Luckily for females there stats are drastically better than those of males in the same situation. It might also be worth pondering those around you that you know suffer from depression. Do they get sick more often than others? Does it often seem like they just don't feel well, frequent head aches, irritable bowels, are they often just down and out? I would encourage you to look into these cases a little more over a short period of time and see if you still feel the same way. That said your point has strong validity, how ever its definitely a two way street.
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