Positive Thoughts, Anyone?

In problematic Philippines, we have no shortage of exciting news headlines in our major dailies everyday. There is always something catastrophic or disaster happening. Sadly, the bad news outnumber the good news. But it makes good business for newspaper publishers. It also provides good topics for discussions in both coffeeshops and barbershops.

I was beginning to wonder....can the onslaught of bad news contribute to an unhealthy mental outlook? I hope not. I don't see the chaos stopping or waning in the coming days. It is just one bad news replacing another bad news. If that would always be the case, then most of us will be too depressed to even get out of bed in the mornings.

Here's some news to perk those who are in low spirits:

CHICAGO [Reuters, 27 Feb 2006] --- Optimism is good for the heart, a study said on Monday.

The most optimistic among a group of 545 Dutch men age 64 to 84 had a roughly 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death over 15 years of follow-up, according to the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Previous research has suggested being optimistic boosts overall physical health and lowers the risk of death from all causes. A positive attitude also has been shown to help patients who suffer from heart disease caused by narrowed arteries.

Remain optimistic, everyone!

Optimism = Long Life.
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UPDATE: There's a great Scientific American news about aging Dutch men and chocolate consumption. It seems those who ate the most chocolate --- dark, milk chocos, even choco spreads --- had lower average blood pressures than those who didn't eat chocos regularly. This improved their overall risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 50 percent! What a sweet way of living longer. *LOL*