Genes, Experiences Determine a Person’s Ability to Bounce Back

Interesting that the thinking that has linked peoples contrasting reactions under stress, is now going back, to where people used to believe that what you see under stress is the “real” personality. Unfortunately I feel both views are a little simplistic, as some people act totally calm and totally different in stressful situations, but fall to pieces over time, and others are the exact opposite. I fear the truth is closer to a cognitive-emotional-logical “override” mode that works in some, and possibly not in others, as otherwise, (like most of psychology), this study actually generates more questions than the science answers…

Why do we always expect one little titbit to be able to explain the worlds most complex organism, and the “only” (for the purposes of this debate) one with free will and imagination to complicate even the simplest cognitive theories…

Long-term studies of child
development indicate that some people remain psychologically healthy despite
years of severe deprivation and trauma. Researchers are now studying the
characteristics and circumstances surrounding the ability to endure stress and
bounce back-a quality they call resilience, reports the December 2006 issue of
the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Ok so that is common sense so far

I’m Doomed!

Did you know that single men die younger? ” But this should wake you up a little: […] and lack of a marital partner was associated with mortality before age 85 years.” Ouch It pays to get married then, if you like a long life. (Although, frankly, 85 seems like a pretty grand old age as well.) The study How to Live a Longer, Healthier Life — for Men� by John M. Grohol, Psy.D., actually found you need to eat right, exercise and not smoke or drink to much. So most of it was not that earth shattering! Technorati Tags: Health, marraige, men powered by performancing firefox

Psychology Today: The Doctor Is Within

Psychology today has this interesting story, not to be read by hypochondriacs!

We put a lot of faith in the medical establishment these days, and doctors can certainly tell us a great deal about our constitution. But there’s one person who knows more about your health than any doctor—you. As it turns out, the answer to one deceptively simple question—”How would you rate your own health?”—predicts disease and longevity more accurately than even the most thorough medical records.Why are our own health assessments so dead on? Maybe because we monitor our ups and downs and symptoms 24/7—a perspective no doctor has access to.

“We know things that physicians cannot physically detect,” says Yael Benyamani, a health psychologist at Tel-Aviv University in Israel. Fatigue and appetite fluctuations, for example, can be symptoms of declining health, and you’re likely to be much more attuned to them than is your doctor.

Queensland Health- And Australias, wierd prioprities

The opinionator