SPIRITOPTIMIS

WANT SOME GOOD MEDICINE?

Try Optimism

WRITER: RICHARD BOSSHARDT, M.D., FACS

Awhile back, I read the best definition of optimism I’ve ever seen. A little boy from a poor home woke up on Christmas morning and ran out of his room to discover his present was a large mound of fresh, steaming horse manure. He screamed in delight and began to dig through the pile enthusiastically. His mystified siblings asked how he could be so happy.

“With this much manure,” he exclaimed happily, “I know there has to be a pony in there somewhere!”

As 2014 winds down, it seems a good time to reflect on the past 12 months. To begin with, we started the year in the plus column because any number of predicted catastrophes did not happen in 2013, from worldwide financial meltdown to ecological Armageddon to nuclear conflict in the Middle East. Score one for the optimists.

Optimism is good medicine and good for you. Studies have consistently shown cancer patients who approach their treatment with optimism do measurably better than those who don’t. Much the same can be said for almost any medical condition. As a physician, I have seen it countless times. Pessimism is often a selffulfilling prophecy.

Optimism is more than just wishful thinking or whistling in the dark. It is a conscious choice everyone is free to make. It does not ignore unpleasant facts, but simply refuses to allow those facts to dictate how one feels and/ or responds to life’s inevitable challenges. Anyone can practice optimism. Just as physical exercise strengthens muscles and improves health, practiced optimism strengthens us emotionally to better deal with the vicissitudes of life.

Constant themes at the end of each year are change, renewal, living life differently, taking charge, etc. All seem to be represented in that annual exercise in frustration, the New Year’s resolution. Ever wonder why that tradition is counterbalanced by the tradition of breaking them? I’d submit one big reason is a lack of optimism. Optimism proclaims change is not only good, but possible. The next 12 months are not predestined. Every Jan. 1, we are handed a blank book representing those months and only we can write those pages.

I’ve said before, a year from Jan. 1 is a wonderful time frame because it sits so nicely on the calendar, is short enough that you are not looking into some distant, nebulous future, but long enough that even small changes in your life can add up to major differences 12 months later.

Just set a goal, preferably one that is challenging but achievable and measurable, then do something positive every day to draw you closer to it. The results can be amazing.

A recent story regarding optimism came to my attention. Anthony Hopkins, 76, of Hannibal Lecter (“The Silence of the Lambs”) fame, was a musician before turning to acting. Fifty years ago, he wrote a waltz. He never showed it to anyone and it had never been played publicly because he feared it was not good enough. Recently he offered it to Andre Rieu, who performed it for the first time with the Johann Strauss Orchestra in Vienna.

The image of a beaming Anthony Hopkins hearing his work for the first time was a strong reminder: We are never too old to reinvent ourselves or to resurrect a passion of our youth.

TRICKS TO STAYING OPTIMISTIC:

Deal with negative self-talk. People can be their own worst critics. I see patients every day who are much more critical of themselves than anyone around them, more than they should be. I encourage them to see more positives. Self-talk runs through our heads when we are not otherwise focused on a task. We can use it to build ourselves up or tear ourselves down. The choice is ours.

Visualization. Athletes use it all the time. They visualize winning a race or event, or successfully completing a difficult physical challenge. It’s not a magical, mystical route to success. By visualizing what you wish to accomplish, you focus on the goal rather than obstacles. It works; I can attest to that.

If there is such a thing as a magic bullet in the pursuit of optimism, it’s exercise. There are those who accuse me of sounding like a broken record as I repeatedly expound on that theme. I will happily own that, and I believe I am in excellent company in so doing. Exercise stimulates our brains to produce endorphins, those “feel-good” chemicals that lift our mood and help us feel all is well in our world. But it does so much more. Studies have shown real structural change in the brain associated with exercise. That includes improved circulation to the brain, which brings more oxygen and nutrients to our brain cells to power them. It also lessens age-related shrinkage of gray matter. One very intriguing and exciting finding is regular exercise helps our brains to clear away toxic metabolic byproducts that can accumulate in the brain and interrupt communication between brain cells. This is being increasingly linked to the early onset and increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s dementia in our population.