Attitude And Aging

Thankfully, researchers are finally beginning to understand and accept the link between mind and body.  Even though the physiological make up of emotions themselves have not yet been identified, some researchers suspect that a small portion of the brain called the insular cortex may be the key. 

The insular cortex regulates the autonomic nervous system which controls the automatic functions of our body such as breathing heartbeat and blood pressure.  It also plays a role in higher brain functions and helps to process anger, fear, joy, happiness and sexual arousal.

Laboratory experiments with animals indicate that when the insular cortex is stimulated for long periods of time, causes a kind of damage to the heart muscle that is similar to sudden cardiac death.  Other experiments with people who have epilepsy who were undergoing brain surgery that exposed the insular cortex found that stimulating the area with mild electrical pulses changed the person's heart rate and blood pressure.

Is it any wonder, therefore, that years of sorrow, anger and other negative emotions may cause a malfunction of the insular cortex?  The research continues.

Whatever happens in that six inches between your ears, one thing is certain.  Optimism, laughter, love and other positive emotions can counteract many harmful effects at any age, even in your sixties, seventies, eighties and beyond! A happy outlook appears to trigger the release of endorphins.  Endorphins relax the cardiovascular system and cytokines which alert the immune system to pay attention in detecting abnormalities like cancer cells.

Let's explore some tips for developing a better outlook on your world.

Listen carefully to yourself.  If you have put yourself down since childhood, over a lifetime negative subliminal message can take their toll by turning you into a pessimist.   Spend one week writing down the phrases you use in your "self talk."  Chances are you will find that you repeat a dozen or so phrases over and over again that reinforce that negative image.  If you know about them, you can change them.

If an issue is not resolved it will continue to plague you and you will relive the negative emotions tied to that issue over and over again.  Write yourself a letter spending about 20 minutes a day for four days and write about what you feel.  Forget grammar, punctuation and so on.  No one else will see this but you and you can throw it away when finished.  Once you begin to write, don't stop until the time is up.  This exercise will help you organize your thoughts and get them out of your system.  By the end of the four days most people feel much better about themselves.

Seek out new challenges and opportunities.  Always have something that is a goal just over the horizon.  When you begin to close the gap and reach that goal, set another and another.  Keep yourself consistently moving ahead. Try and do one new thing every week or month.  Visit a museum, go to the zoo, go to a book signing or lecture.  The goal here is to eliminate monotony which is a sure killer of optimism.

Look for a new marvel of nature each day.  Discover an abundance of happiness.  Spoil your pet or if you don't have one, visit the human society and adopt one.  Learn to laugh at yourself.  Allow yourself to experience grief but don't let it control you.

If you have already planned for your retirement you needn't read these last few pages.  However, if you are one of millions of Americans who have suddenly awakened to the fact that time is slipping away and your retirement is right around the corner. . .take heed because we are going to cover a few last minute strategies to help you prepare.