The Benefits of Exercise in Old Age

A study conducted with 5,700 elderly men in Norway revealed compelling results: those who exercised just three hours per week lived around five years longer than their sedentary counterparts. This demonstrates the significant impact that regular physical activity can have on longevity, even in the later stages of life. Moreover, the study found that even small amounts of exercise, such as six 30-minute sessions per week, were associated with a 40% lower risk of mortality over an 11-year period.

Encouraging Fitness in Older Adults

In light of these findings, there is a growing call for campaigns to encourage fitness among older individuals, especially for those over 65 but it’s never too early to start! The benefits of exercise are clear, it’s as beneficial as quitting smoking in terms of reducing mortality rates. Not only will you live longer but you may enjoy these extra years by staying active as you age.

The All-in-One Challenge

If you’re looking for a fun and effective way to kickstart your fitness journey, consider joining The Challenge Hub’s All in One Challenge. This innovative platform offers a variety of challenges designed to inspire and motivate the over over-55s to lead a healthier lifestyle. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned fitness enthusiast, there’s a challenge for everyone.

Take the First Step

It’s never too late to start prioritising your health. Regular, physical activity, regardless of age, is crucial for heart health and overall well-being. With every 10 minutes of exercise counting towards a healthier future, making small, active changes to your daily routine can set you on a path to improved heart health and a longer, more fulfilling life. Join The All in One Challenge today and take the first step towards a healthier you!

Reference

Holme, I., & Anderssen, S. A. (2015). Increases in physical activity is as important as smoking cessation for reduction in total mortality in elderly men: 12 years of follow-up of the Oslo II study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(11), 743–748. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094522

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In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, a paradigm shift has occurred, moving beyond the traditional focus on treating illness to a more holistic approach that emphasizes overall well-being. Positive Psychology, a field that emerged in the late 20th century, has played a pivotal role in reshaping the healthcare landscape. By concentrating on the positive aspects of human experience, Positive Psychology has introduced a refreshing perspective that not only complements traditional medical approaches but also enhances the overall quality of healthcare.

Listen to the audio version of this article

Understanding Positive Psychology in Healthcare:

Positive Psychology in healthcare is founded on the belief that health is not merely the absence of disease but also the presence of positive emotions, resilience, and a sense of purpose [Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000]. This field explores the factors that contribute to a fulfilling life and aims to integrate them into healthcare practices to promote better patient outcomes.

Role of Positive Psychology in Healthcare:

1. Enhancing Patient-Cantered Care:

Positive Psychology places a strong emphasis on understanding the individual patient’s needs, preferences, and values. By incorporating patient-centred care principles, healthcare providers can foster a more collaborative and empathetic relationship with their patients. This approach not only improves patient satisfaction but also contributes to better treatment adherence and outcomes.

2. Preventive Healthcare:

Positive Psychology promotes a proactive approach to healthcare by focusing on preventive measures. Encouraging individuals to adopt positive lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management, helps prevent the onset of various health issues. This approach aligns with the adage “prevention is better than cure” and has been proven effective in reducing the burden on healthcare systems.

3. Promoting Resilience and Coping Strategies:

Illnesses and medical treatments can take a toll on an individual’s mental well-being. Positive Psychology interventions help patients develop resilience and coping strategies to navigate through challenging times. Techniques such as mindfulness, gratitude exercises, and positive affirmations have been integrated into healthcare settings to alleviate stress and anxiety [Seligman et al., 2005].

Positive Psychological Interventions in Healthcare:

1. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR):

Mindfulness, a key component of Positive Psychology, has gained widespread recognition for its effectiveness in healthcare. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs, pioneered by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, have been implemented in various healthcare settings to help patients manage chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. Research indicates that MBSR can lead to improvements in both mental and physical health [Kabat-Zinn, 1990].

2. Positive Psychotherapy:

Positive Psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on enhancing positive emotions, strengths, and overall psychological well-being. It has been successfully used in the treatment of various mental health conditions, including depression. By emphasizing clients’ strengths and encouraging positive emotions, this intervention contributes to a more comprehensive and sustainable recovery [Seligman et al., 2005].

3. Gratitude Practices:

Gratitude interventions involve cultivating a sense of appreciation for the positive aspects of life. In healthcare, expressing gratitude has been associated with improved mental health and increased resilience. Simple practices, such as keeping a gratitude journal or expressing thanks to healthcare providers, can contribute to a positive mindset during challenging health situations [Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009].

Real-Life Examples:

1. Cleveland Clinic’s Centre for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine:

The Cleveland Clinic has embraced Positive Psychology by establishing a Centre for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine. This centre incorporates various positive interventions, such as mindfulness and stress reduction programs, into patient care. By integrating these practices, the clinic aims to enhance overall well-being and improve patient outcomes.

2. Penn Medicine Positive Psychology Program:

The Positive Psychology Program at Penn Medicine focuses on incorporating positive psychology principles into patient care. Through workshops and interventions, patients are equipped with skills to enhance their psychological resilience and improve their ability to cope with medical challenges. The program has shown promising results in improving patient satisfaction and engagement.

Conclusion:

Positive Psychology has emerged as a transformative force in healthcare, offering a holistic approach that extends beyond the traditional medical model. By emphasizing positive emotions, strengths, and individual well-being, Positive Psychology interventions contribute to a more patient-centred, preventive, and resilient healthcare system. Real-life examples from institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and Penn Medicine demonstrate the tangible benefits of incorporating Positive Psychology into healthcare practices. As the field continues to evolve, the integration of Positive Psychology holds the promise of creating a healthcare landscape that not only treats illnesses but also nurtures the flourishing of individuals, paving the way for a healthier and more fulfilling tomorrow.

Read more about Roland Majla and his other articles HERE

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

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It is a time in life that often involves considerable external pressures so it may not be obvious that hormones are playing a part in how you are feeling. Caring for aging parents, dealing with children, work, relationships; there are so many reasons to be sleepless, tired and overwhelmed. We don’t always stop to consider ‘oh, this could be a menopause symptom.’

For me, I was left questioning my identity, not just because I was aging but because mood swings could leave me wondering who I really was. Something I took in my stride one day could cause a melt down on another, so which was the real me?

It isn’t always comfortable to realise that our reactions are dictated by the presence or absence of hormones, we believe in our stories – my manager made me cross, a late train made me anxious. Cognitive dissonance doesn’t sit well with our minds. When the outside world doesn’t match up with how we feel on the inside, it searches for explanations, and we invest a lot of effort into finding things to blame for our difficult feelings.

But all women go through menopause, what’s the big deal?

It’s true, menopause will happen, and some sail through with few complaints. Some find it a difficult time without ever realising why and many simply put up and shut up because our health has never been that high on anyone’s agenda – including our own!

But the fact is menopause is a time of considerable change which impacts the individual physically and mentally, with knock on effects for the family, workplace and communities. A recent parliamentary report[i] found 3 in 5 women in the UK were negatively affected at work by menopause symptoms and over 900,000 left their jobs as a result.

Physically the reduction in oestrogen can impact our bones, brain, skin and muscle. We are at risk of osteoporosis and there are links to cardiovascular disease and stroke. Psychologically there can be memory and concentration difficulties, anxiety and depression. Other symptoms include hot flushes, vaginal dryness, reduced libido and increased UTIs, problems sleeping, headaches, palpitations and stiff joints. So, yes, this is important.

Recognise what’s happening

It is important to inform yourself. Talk to peers and professionals who can support you. There are over 30 recognised symptoms of menopause and knowing more can allow pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. Go to the internet, social media, friends, professionals; there is a lot of knowledge out there.

Don’t let shame keep you suffering in silence, openness and awareness genuinely help. In societies where there is a more positive view of aging, women register fewer or less severe menopausal complaints[ii] so a problem shared and acknowledged is truly a problem halved. Keep sharing what you know with others because what’s helped you could help a friend.

I found speaking openly about my brain fog reduced its impact. I would be embarrassed at work when I couldn’t think of a colleague’s name or find the word I needed but now I am comfortable saying ‘sorry, brain fog’ and by taking that pressure off myself it actually makes it easier to find the words in the moment.

If HRT is an option for you then talk to friends to see what their experience has been. Make a list of your concerns and symptoms before going to your GP because these are easy to forget in an appointment. Importantly, some anti-depressants have been found to increase anxiety in menopause[iii] so if your mental health is suffering and you think menopause may be a factor then be sure to raise that with your GP so they can prescribe appropriately.

Tools to support your wellbeing

Positive Psychology is about taking care of your whole self, so no surprises that many positive psychology techniques are also seen to minimise the negative impact of menopause.

Getting information and taking action increase the feelings of control you have over a situation and this self-efficacy is important to thriving.

Being physically active, eating well and practicing mindful activities like yoga and meditation have all been found to be beneficial.

Figuring out what works for you is part of this mindfulness. Interoception is listening to what your body is telling you. Try paying attention to what it needs, what foods it no longer likes, when it’s starting to get too warm or when it’s tired, and learn to prioritise your self-care by acting on these messages.

Learn about your own internal resources and use these to deal with the challenges menopause brings. Add to this your external resources like friends, family and community so you feel supported with people you can trust and rely on. Take stock, practice gratitude, spend time in nature, explore what brings you purpose and joy.

Like all transitions, menopause is a time for reflection and review. Connecting with your strengths and values reignites meaning so you can look to your third age as a time of renewed potential. I retrained and started a new career, and now while some friends are counting down to retirement I am excited about a new path in life. Before this ‘re-purposing’ I had been floundering in ‘what’s it all about’ thoughts. Now I wear my grey hair with pride.

[i] Menopause and the workplace – Women and Equalities Committee (parliament.uk)

[ii] Sayakhot, P., Vincent, A., & Teede, H. (2012). Cross-cultural study: experience, understanding of menopause, and related therapies in Australian and Laotian women. Menopause, 19(12), 1300-1308.

[iii] Kulkarni, J. (2018). Perimenopausal depression–an under-recognised entity. Australian prescriber, 41(6), 183.

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

Podcast Version

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Whilst we are capable of assimilating new information at a fantastic pace, the area of our brain that was used to dealing with ‘that shadow looks like a bear’ can find it hard to interpret messages. The input becomes conflated and distorted, from ‘nice headphones’ to ‘everyone else has those headphones’ to ’if I don’t get those new headphones I’m in trouble’. We are left on high alert, our senses primed for danger, watching for the threat our brain tells us is out there.

Stress Is Normal

We don’t always notice the daily stressors we encounter because they are a constant low buzz in the background but coming out of lockdown offered me occasional moments of clarity. I noticed the discomfort created by motorway rush hour traffic or being back in an office. These things generate a strain on the nervous system and require some effort, heightening our stress response system.

Let me be clear, these are not bad things. We were born for stress, effort and challenge, they fire us up and teach us skills. The problem comes when we stop acknowledging stress and forget to do the things that help us come back down again afterwards. Without the self-awareness it also gets harder to connect the resulting anxiety with its origin.

Balancing The Sympathetic and the Parasympathetic Nervous Systems

The sympathetic nervous system gets us ready to act. It increases our heart rate, diverts energy from digestion and other less pressing tasks so that we are all set to do whatever is required.

The parasympathetic nervous system is our reset button, it calms us down afterwards, reassures us we are safe, that everything is OK again and we can relax.

A healthy nervous system needs this action/recovery, our yin and yang, in balance.

The Fight, Flight or Freeze Response

Fight, flight or freeze are all useful, valid reactions to threats. But if our modern brain forgets to send the memo that the stressful event has passed in a way our primitive brain can understand then we can get stuck in these action modes. Fighting, running or being curled in a protective ball are not meant to be long-term solutions. They are not the most rational or creative places from which to live.

And the negative cycle deepens because the communication works both ways. Our head tells our body there is trouble afoot and our body dutifully gears up to respond, the danger passes but our bodies carry on acting out – not digesting, tense muscles, blood pounding, senses strained – and our brains think, ‘well there must be something bad out there because my body is tense’ and starts looking for things to hang the worry on. So it continues.

We become hyper-alert, always on the lookout for the next threat, wary of everyday activities. We are left feeling jumpy, anxious, over-vigilant, impulsive, depressed, defensive. We stop living our lives.

Re-Learning to Self-Sooth

We regulate the threat response by letting the nervous system know it’s safe. If we are out of kilter, then some conscious approaches can support this resettling and reassuring of our bodies. Try giving some of these suggestions a go…

• Learn to re-engage with your body so there is communication flowing both ways. The body is a sensory system so things that involve sight, touch, taste, sound and smell are all good ways to connect. Use breathing exercises, sound exercises like consciously bringing your voice into a low calm state, use movement to change up your energy, give yourself a cuddle.
• Reframe everyday stresses and anxieties as just that; challenges for us to tackle and then come back down from. They are not life threatening and we don’t want to eliminate them.
• Agree some physical actions or activities with yourself that help your mind and body recognise a change in state. Close off a task with an acknowledgement or a thank you as a prompt that it is over and any effort it required can be put down. It doesn’t need to bleed into the next part of your day. A thank you for the tube that got you to work, a fast jog on the spot after a difficult customer (maybe somewhere private), some slow breathing after a disagreement, a mental pat on the back after a deadline.
• Look for assurance in your environment. These are cues that things are safe. You can do this by connecting with a colleague, share a joke or a cup of tea. Make eye contact. We are social animals and nothing reassures us as much as someone else looking relaxed. (Remember to dodge a bear you only need to be able to run faster than they can!)
• Is there anything in your environment that makes you feel anxious? Work on noticing when and what makes you uncomfortable and see if you can figure out what the association is. Simply making this conscious might be all you need to do about it.
• Practice frightening yourself and then calming down, moving in and out of difficult states. This is what babies are learning when they play peek-a-boo. I do this by looking in the mirror in the morning but if you are younger or better looking try a rollercoaster.

Remember these won’t necessarily work if things have gone too far. Like a coiled spring, there is a point where we don’t just bounce back into shape after the pressure is off. Sometimes we need the time to recover, to grieve or talk through our pain first.

And that’s ok too.

Audio Version

Read more about Tracy Bevan and her other articles HERE

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“How are you today?”

“I’m fine”

Except, you’re not fine.

“Let’s go for a drink tonight”

“OK”

But you don’t want to go for a drink tonight.

“Can you lead this new project?”

“Sure”

But you’re already overwhelmed and overloaded.

When we keep hiding how we feel, saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’, building whole careers and lifestyles around things that don’t really fulfil us, this causes a great deal of inner pain. In an attempt to avoid conflict outside of ourselves, we end up causing a war inside ourselves.

Dr Gabor Maté’s book ‘When The Body Says No’ is full of case studies of people who were never honest about how they really felt or what they really wanted in life. And sadly, this led to much mental and physical illness for them. The distress caused by not being honest, by holding things in, by living a façade really does take its toll. It creates dis-ease. One of the top regrets on the death bed is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me”.

We also need to understand that what you suppress will express itself in perverse ways. Suppressed sadness can turn into a deep depression, suppressed anger can turn into harmful rage, and suppressed words turn into physical violence – against oneself or others. None of this is going to lead to health or happiness for us or the people around us. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings” was also the third top regret on the deathbed.

If we want health and happiness, we must be more honest and express and live our truth.

It can be scary to be honest

What will people think of you? Will they reject or ridicule you? Will you feel ashamed, guilty or scared when you speak and live your truth? Well, in the spirit of practising what I preach – the honest answer is yes. These things may happen.

BUT, if you can just hold the line and have the courage to remain honest, a brighter, stronger, more whole, happy and healthy version of you awaits on the other side. You might notice that your whole life starts to open up.

So, here are six tips on being honest and living with more truth

1. Your intention must never be to harm another

If you want to use honesty as a way of hurting or ‘getting at’ someone else, please don’t! Maybe they hurt you and you want to hurt them back by speaking some ‘home truths’. Maybe they’re making your work life difficult and you want to tell them all the things they’re doing wrong. This won’t improve things for you or others because the underlying intention is polluted. It will just create more pain and dysfunction, push people away and you won’t truly feel better afterwards. You won’t have gained or changed.

Instead, be honest because you want to honour yourself. Be honest because you want to be at peace with yourself. You want to care for yourself. Honesty is about you nourishing yourself, not about you intentionally hurting others.

2. Be honest with yourself first

You must admit to yourself how you really feel, who you really are, what you’re really going through, how it’s affecting you, what you want, what would make you happy – and know that there’s nothing wrong with any of it. Accept yourself fully, there’s nothing wrong with you or your truth – the good, the bad and the ugly.

This self-acceptance can take time. Practise it each day, treat yourself like a child you love – with a heart-warming, unconditional, loving embrace.

3. Choose wisely who you’re honest with

Remember, not everyone needs to hear your truth. Not everyone can handle the truth! Be discerning, choose trusted others and those who may be implicated by your honesty and thus, need to hear it. E.g., you may speak up to a boss about your struggles at work, but you don’t need to tell all your colleagues about it. You may tell close friends about your dreams and what you really want in life, but you don’t need to tell that relative who always belittles you.

Your truth is sacred. Treat it as such.

4. Speak your truth even if your voice shakes

When you feel the need to express yourself and be honest, be courageous and speak the best you can. You may not feel good about it but feel the fear and do it anyway. The way out is through.

Know that the weight that lifts once you speak your truth will be replaced by a strength and resilience you didn’t know you had. And this will help you deal with whatever happens outside of you, after you speak your truth.

Also know this is a journey of growth and learning. It’s not about getting it ‘right’ or ‘perfect’. As you learn to become more honest with yourself and others, you will gain insights about yourself, about how best to communicate honestly and how others react. This will all help you on your journey towards more authenticity, health and happiness.

5. Remember that you can’t control other people

Let’s say you want a career path that your parents don’t approve of and you know that telling them the truth will likely be met with some level of disdain. Well, we must learn to let their opinions go. We must create healthy boundaries between our truth and other people’s opinions. We cannot control what others think, nor should we try to.

You wake up each day and experience your life, not them. It’s you who deals with the full consequences of your choices, not them. So, you must live your truth, for your own health, wellbeing and happiness.

6. Take it in small steps

If you hold your truth in for a long time, if for too long you’ve not been able to be honest, it may eventually erupt out of you in a damaging and unsavoury way. It’s much safer to start practising the skill of honesty now.

Just start by being a little more honest, just say one sentence to a trusted person, just kindly refuse one social outing, just spark one conversation about what’s really going on for you. As you feel the inner burden lift, you’ll feel stronger and more able to do it again when you take the next little baby step. Go easy on yourself, especially if you’ve lived a lifetime of hiding.

The truth shall set you free

Being who you truly are, following your inner wisdom, being honest, truthful and self-accepting is a truly heightened state to live in. I hope you’ll start practising it today.

To close, I’ll leave you with one of my favourite Rumi quotes that really depicts how I feel about being honest, truthful and authentic in life and it’s this:

“Take off your mask, your face is beautiful.”

Read more about Pinky Jangra and her other articles HERE

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

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I recently attended the International Meaning Conference (IMeC) in London (July 2019), which held many inspiring talks by inspiring people. It led me to reflect on the journey of positive psychology and how it has come a long way from being all about finding happiness to a place that also values having a meaningful life. This blog reflects on a statement, inspired by Viktor Frankl, which is: Ask not ‘what makes me feel good?’ instead ask ‘what am I good for?’

Origins of positive psychology

Most people with an interest in positive psychology will be aware that the seeds were planted by the thought that we should be studying the outliers of data that seemed to buck the trend of what most people experienced in life. These outliers were individuals who, despite difficulties and challenges, still flourished and thrived. Usually psychologists would ignore these oddities (they upset their charts!), but in the late 1990s Seligman, Peterson and Csikszentmihalyi decided to explore them further.

What makes me feel good?

Most of the researchers under the umbrella field of positive psychology wanted to understand what made people happy and satisfied in life. This was important to create better well-being in society. However over time this first wave of positive psychology was challenged by researchers and critics who thought this was far too superficial and limited. Many studies began to emerge that demonstrated that chasing happiness as a means to an end in itself led to more unhappiness. It seemed that happiness was always out of reach, like the end of a rainbow. Positive psychology had attracted many critics who saw it as a ‘positive thinking’ field that sold empty dreams.

A shift towards meaning

To counteract the emphasis on happiness, a number of researchers began to promote the concept of meaning. This is not new, and the most famous academic who advocated meaning over happiness was Viktor Frankl who developed a therapy called logotherapy. Here Frankl helped his clients to find meaning in every day living, in the small things as well as big things. He recognised that it is not a healthy life to be always happy, as being in a state of happiness and expecting that life will always be a great experience brings misery. Researchers such as Paul Wong argued for a second wave of positive psychology, one that also recognised the value and necessity of the dark side that complimented the light side.
Soon positive psychology was looking for its dark side, such as through our emotions and post traumatic growth. Many books have since been written that advocate the value of so-called ‘negative emotions’ as well as positive emotions. This shift opened up research into other topics that recognised that life will always have some suffering, but it’s not the fact that we suffer it’s how we respond that makes us resilient. In fact, many commentators began to ask whether it is right to find happiness when there is so much suffering around us. This question was posed to the audience of the IMeC conference by Alexander Batthyany, a leading expert of logotherapy today.
Batthyany pointed out research results where people who focus on positive thinking will very quickly not only loose the sense of optimism, but their well-being will dip lower than previous. Instead those that build compassion into their experiences retain a higher sense of well-being due to the balance of hope with reality.
The hallmark of neuroticism, according to Frankl, are i) enforced pleasure and avoidance of pain, ii) dependence on external validation, and iii) avoidance of responsibility for one’s own living. In other words, looking away from unhappiness and responsibility doesn’t create happiness but exacerbates the unhappiness.

What am I good for?

Life has meaning when we choose to accept what we cannot control, and do the best that we can with what we have. An inspiring story told by Batthyany was of a man who had had a bad childhood. Rather than be bitter about it he chose to use his experiences to break the cycle of misery and do what he could to prevent others from suffering the same way. Rather than giving out what he had received, he sent out to the world compassion. And for his efforts he received the happiness everyone wants. Not because he looked for happiness, but because he found meaning and that meaning brought with it a sense of achievement, which in turn made him happy.
So if you want happiness, don’t go looking for it because it won’t be there. Instead do something that gives back to the world, and in return it will offer the gift of a meaningful and satisfying life.

Lisa Jones has a professional background in strategic human resources, organisational change and development. She has just completed the MAPP at Bucks New University. As an organisational change and development practitioner, researcher and coach she uses her knowledge and learning in her client work to facilitate conversations and storytelling for creating meaningful change. She also intends to undertake a PhD … very soon.

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Cancer Research UK has recently decided to lead an awareness campaign highlighting the risk of obesity to certain types of cancer.

They have in fact, plastered amongst other places, London Underground with their message, written to look like a cigarette packet. And, this is sponsored by Slimming World.  If writing health warnings on cigarette packets worked then, well, most people would not smoke.  If commercial diets worked, then there would be no campaign needed.

Will it work?

I wish, that all we had to do to change our behaviour was to read a risk message and stop. We all know that this is not how it works, for most people, most of the time.

I am not going to get into whether this campaign is fat shaming or not… however, it will, if we are to believe the plethora of previous research, increase the feelings of shame in those who identify as being obese, resulting in more of what the campaign is trying to have less of.

Causes

We know that the causes of obesity are multi-factorial.  We know that for most people, diets don’t result in long term behavioural change and in fact, tend to make the situation worse.

And, when we explore the many underlying reasons for obesity, very few of them have anything to do with poor nutritional knowledge or the need for someone to tell you what to eat.  So, surely, we need to be asking ourselves, why, with all our knowledge, research and understanding of human behaviour,are we still looking at obesity through the wrong end of the lens?

The research clearly shows that regardless of the reasons many became obese in the first place, ultimately the continued shame and low self-worth fuelled by chronic dieting, fat shaming and poor behaviour change interventions actually become part of the problem not the solution.

Health Awareness

This suggests that the present health awareness message is unlikely to do anything other than make the present situation worse. What is even more frustrating, is that if someone was to read the poster and be motivated to change, the very best they will get offered is a diet and exercise programme.  It will be same old, same old.

Time for change

Surely, we need to stop spending time and money on interventions that are not working and instead, become more innovative and creative in our response.

I always get a little confused when we talk about obesity as a “disease” instead of a change in body weight resulting from our behaviours around food.  Some of those behaviours and outcomes, may be genetic, some as a result of living in an obesogenic society and our environment.  However much of the behaviour is a response to chronic stress, trauma and shame. Some of the reason for these responses are learnt and some are neuro-biological.

Stop dieting & start nourishing

What is needed are programmes that stop making it all about the food…no one needs a better relationship with food… what is needed are more nurturing and nourishing relationships with self.  We need to address stress, shame and trauma. Apart from the behaviours attached to the feeling of shame, Brene Brown’s research clearly demonstrates that “it corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.

Moving forward

Positive Psychology has at its core, the motivation to research and provide interventions that enable more people to live their good life, to flourish and thrive.  So many wonderful learnings are being gleamed and shared about our health and well-being, psychological wealth and how to live a purposeful and fulfilling life.

The world doesn’t need another diet, it needs to dip into the very best of what we know and create interventions that address the real issues.   Interventions which are focused on practices that reduce stress and create calm, change self-criticism to kindness and teach people that being fat does not equal being unworthy.

Stop shaming and be thankful instead

For instance, what would it be like, if when you look at yourself in the mirror you offered each part of your uniquely extraordinary body, gratitude and acceptance?  A simple, yet powerful thank you, especially to the parts of your body you have been most mean to. And what if you said sorry for being mean, and began to treat your body with care?

Being Resilient

What if, instead of beating yourself up for all the food you wish you hadn’t eaten and the normal internal shaming that goes on, you thanked the part of you that has used food in all the ways it has… and begun to see how resilient that is.  You may wish to explore how to nourish yourself with more kindness and at the same time acknowledging that all our behaviour comes with a positive intention.  It may be counter intuitive…just say thank you.

What actually does work

We know that the practices of self-compassion and shame resilience stand down the stress response, weaken the pathway between body shame and fat talk as well as increase motivation for self-care and health promoting behaviours.   There is evidence that the practices enable feelings of contentment, safety and connection.

For starters

What if you decided, right now, that enough was enough and you began for instance to:

·      awaken with the intention of nourishing yourself with kindness

·      to pay attention to how you are feeling and begin to explore how to be with those feelings.

·      to listen to how you are talking to yourself and when necessary be kinder.

·      to know that your safety and worth are not conditional on the numbers in your clothes, on your scales or eating the “right” foods.

·      stop all fat talk, change the conversation with friends when they begin to talk about the latest diet or “being good”.

I am suggesting that the key to an optimal life is to become a much better friend to yourself, accepting your imperfect self along with all humanity…knowing you are worthy of love and belonging regardless of weight or body size.

About the author: Helen Golstein

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

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Emotional pain as described in this article is just one type of affect, or experience of feeling, other types being mood, temperament and sensation which would include physical pain. However, emotional pain has the capacity to effect the other described affects here, even if we don’t necessarily understand it this way whilst going through it. It can amplify physical pain, cause mood to be unstable or incredibly low and even change a persons temperament.

Positive psychology as a therapeutic model

Now positive psychology when used within a therapeutic model is usually hailed as the modality that offers a positive spin as a pseudo anaesthetic to pain, yet conversely the opposite is true. Pain exists in dark places, and ironically what we need to be doing is sitting with our pain. When we give voice to pain, we are helping to raise it to a level whereby we can deal with it. Positive Psychology 2.0 delves into this, diving deeper than its original form ever did. It’s geared towards exploring the shadows where we find trauma and pain in a way that offers longer term answers.

Rather than pain being something we should shy from, it is something that we should be sitting with. Whether it’s ones own personal pain, or sitting with someone else so that they feel open enough to look at it, exploring it is the way forward.

Bear witness to other’s pain

To bear witness to someone else’s pain is a great gift, and yet we are incredibly poor at doing this. Instead we often offer stock phrases aimed at trying to help the person steer away from the pain and focus the attention somewhere else. “Time will heal this”, “at least you still have… (insert as appropriate), and many other phrases are used to offer at least something.

Bolger who is a theorist on this subject suggests that there is a core category for pain, The Broken Self, this then breaks down to four properties: Woundedness, Disconnection, Loss of Self, and Awareness of Self. It’s not all bad news though here as she explains that as one moves through their pain in stages, there emerges the ‘transformed self’. This she explains as happening after one has moved from ‘the covered self’ which is a protective mechanism used to avoid pain by steering away from it.

A positive attitude to pain

A positive attitude when faced with pain is pretty much the use of the covered self as a means to avoid. So aiming for the transformed self. As a result of processing pain seems a logical cathartic step to healing.

What can be done when faced with pain which seems so hard to bear that avoidance seems the only way of coping? A trusted friend or therapist who is there to bear witness, listen and help you to explore and uncover is essentially the best way to navigate, process and begin to manage emotional pain. Moving through stages, much like some theorists have for many years described with grief seems to be an intuitive solution. Feeling heard, feeling safe to explore and feeling understood is part of the process to move to a place to accept pain.

This is not to say that pain can be removed in this way. But if one has to endure it, then to sit with it as an acknowledged process to move through until it becomes something that you can visit rather than live with seems a productive solution.

The more we explore emotional pain in its raw state, the more we find that we can bear it. Which is essentially what anyone enduring this needs in order to live a meaningful life.

I end this article with a quote from Parker Palmer, ‘The human soul doesn’t want to be advised, or fixed or saved, it simply wants to be witnessed, exactly as it is.’

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

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Laughter is the best medicine

Most of us are familiar with the phrase ‘laughter is the best medicine’. Laughter has been found to ease the mind and relieve tension, however, in a corporate, overworked, tired, 9-5 world how often can you honestly say you share a giggle with a colleague, neighbour or friend? Do we make enough time to laugh? Do we prioritise seeing the people who we know are going to make us smile? Who can we be silly with?

This year, I have aimed to prioritise spending time with friends who make me feel the most empowered, motivated and happy. I have noticed a strong correlation between how comfortable I am with someone to how often I laugh around them. I wonder if this is because humour is buried so far deep from what we allow people to see in our day-to-day lives? To be able to freely laugh do we need to be around those who allow us to be comfortable and perhaps the most authentic versions of ourselves?

From the occasional hard day at work, I have no shame in prescribing myself a night with my best friend, watching our favourite TV programmes, eating food vital for the soul e.g. chocolate buttons and vegetable crisps. I think such prescriptions are vital for our overall wellbeing. I do not think it is surprising that I long to spend most of my time with the friend that I laugh the most with. Evenings with our friends can often be viewed as unproductive, but I fully believe they are critical to reward ourselves from the hardships of life, if we want to remain physically and mentally well.

Laughter and health

Laughter improves our health for a number of spectacular reasons. First, physical laughter triggers the release of serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical in our bodies that helps to regulate mood, reduce depressive symptoms and manage anxiety (Lucki, 1998). Evidence has found that laughter therapies, such as ‘laughter yoga’ can reduce symptoms of depression after just a thirty minute session! (MacDonald, 2004). With mental health therapies in such high demand, I think something as pure and genuine as laughter should not be overlooked when considering how to improve mood.

Similarly, laughter can result in a reduced level of stress hormones. If major stress hormones such as glucocorticoids and catecholamines are present within the body for too long we can start to become ill. Stress hormones negatively impact our immune system, can cause us to gain weight and can impact the cardiovascular system leading to increased risk of heart failure and heart attack. The anticipation of laughter alone reduces such stress hormone levels. I am not suggesting a night down the comedy club should replace the gym in your weekly routine, however, it cannot be ignored that laughter is physically good for you.

Laughter creates bonds

My personal reason for valuing the act of laughter so much is the bonds it creates between people. Laughter is something that can be shared during any human interaction that all parties can enjoy and savour. My own experiences have shown me that laughter can be an effective tool for relieving tension, putting people at ease by showing a ‘human’ side and simply enjoying. When we laugh our bodies release oxytocin. Oxytocin is released during our moments of loving interactions such as cuddling, breastfeeding and sexual intercourse.

So spend time with the people who make you laugh the most, it’s healthy!

References
Ivtzan, I., Lomas, T., Hefferon, K., & Worth, P. (2015). Second wave positive psychology: Embracing the dark side of life. Routledge.
Lucki, I. (1998). The spectrum of behaviors influenced by serotonin. Biological psychiatry.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Health benefits: Meta-analytically determining the impact of well-being on objective health outcomes. Health Psychology Review, 1(1), 83-136.
MacDonald, L. C. M. (2004). A chuckle a day keeps the doctor away: therapeutic humor & laughter. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services, 42(3), 18-25.

About the author: Amy graduated the University of Essex last year and is currently a second year MAPP student. Her dissertation on kindness and wellbeing is due to be published later this year.

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The Positive Psychology People is co-founded and sponsored
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The Big Five

Recently I have been reading about research conducted by Professor Yannick Stephan who reviewed three separate studies that investigated the long term benefits of exercise, specifically focusing on benefits for the big five personality traits. Simply put these traits are

1. Openness, which includes being imaginative, adventurous and keeping an open mind.
2. Conscientiousness, which includes having an eye for detail, being organised and reliable.
3. Extraversion, which includes enjoying meeting new people, being assertive and talkative.
4. Agreeableness, which includes being friendly, compassionate and cooperative.
5. Neuroticism, which includes emotional instability such as mood swings and tension.

Typically the participants in the studies were in their late forties to early fifties at the start of the study, they were then followed up approximately twenty years later. Different types of physical activity were measured including gardening, taking a brisk walk and running, there was a level to suit everyone.

Mental Health Benefits

The research showed that physical activity increases levels of the first four of the big five personality traits. People were more open, conscientious, extravert and agreeable. While this is not a direct cause and effect relationship, the results are a good indicator of what we can do to help protect and improve both our mental and physical health.

Examining the traits, it appears that when we exercise, a positive trajectory is formed. For example, when we exercise, we often put ourselves into an uncomfortable state, pushing ourselves to walk up the hill without stopping or do the extra sit up even though it’s hard. This may increase our compassion for others who find tasks challenging thereby increasing our level of agreeableness.

Exercise can often be completed with others such as going for a walk or a run together and friendships can result from this. When this happens we can support each, further increasing agreeableness. Similarly, developing new friendships and meeting new people from different backgrounds can increase extraversion and openness.

Parkrun

I have recently witnessed this at my local Parkrun. For those of you who have not heard of Parkrun, it is a volunteer led, timed, 5km run that takes place in hundreds of towns and cities at 9am every Saturday morning. All types of people participate, all ages, all abilities and the time taken to complete the run can range from 16 minutes to an hour. It is very inclusive and seasoned Parkrunners and volunteers support new people (agreeableness). New friendships are made as you share the experience of pushing yourself alongside others (agreeableness and extroversion). People who have never run before try it (openess). The volunteers work diligently to ensure the race is organised, safe and the results are collated (conscientiousness).

These are just a few examples of how exercise can provide a preventative buffer and increase our mental health as well as our physical health.

Let me know how exercise has benefitted you.

References:
Parkrun. (2018). [Online]. Parkrun UK. Available at: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/
Stephan, Y., Sutin, A. R.,Luchetti, M., Bosselut, G. & Terracciano, A. (2018). Physical Activity and Personality Development over Twenty Years: Evidence from Three Longitudinal Samples. Journal of Research in Personality. 73, 173-179. doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.005.

About the author: To find out more about Bryony Shaw MAPP, please click here.

‘We Are The Positive Psychology People’

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