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Workplace Stress: The New Asbestos?

August 31, 20140

According to a research brief completed by Rand Corporation, “Approximately 730,000 people have filed claims for asbestos injuries in the United States through 2002. At least 8,400 defendants and insurers have paid $70 billion to settle these claims.”

That is less than 1 million claims and a 70 billion price tag.

About 100 companies have filed for bankruptcy because of their asbestos exposure.(1)

Why were companies held liable for asbestos? They knew the risk to employees (or should have because the risk was known) and they did not provide adequate protection for their workers. Rand states it this way, “Asbestos litigation, the longest-running mass tort litigation in the United States, arose as a result of individuals’ exposure to asbestos and the failure of many product manufacturers to protect their workers.”(2)

The risk to your organization from not protecting your employees from workplace stress could bankrupt your company.

It does not matter who you are, or how big you are because the pool of potential litigants expands as your workforce expands. Some of the more conservative estimates I’ve seen estimate that 26% of the population has unhealthy stress levels and that 70% of that is due to workplace stress. Let’s do the math.

314,000,000 x .26 = 81,640,000 x .7 = 57,480,000

People in USA x low estimate of those with unhealthy stress levels = 81.6 million

70% attributed to workplace stress brings the number down to 57.4 million

That equates to more than 78 times the number of asbestos litigants.

And, unlike asbestos, risk cannot be stopped by no longer using the product. Workplace stress risk will continue as long as the business is in business. The best you can do it mitigate it. The good news is our program takes stress management a giant step forward.

Pay Attention: Think Long-Term

The research is compelling. TRUE Prevention-Optimum Health: Remember Galileo touches upon many of the stress related illnesses including heart disease which accounts for 1/3 of all deaths. In early 2015, Stress Kills:Happiness Heals will tell the full story-not just the health impacts, but the social problems exacerbated by stress, including divorces, depression, and suicides.

If the potential of corporate liability due to workplace stress that employers know, or should know, are harmful to their employees mental and physical well-being does not make you afraid you need to talk to a risk manager. The potential threat is real. Once the research is clear and compelling, businesses are held to a standard that they should know the risks of placing demands on their employees that lead to chronic stress.

Putting your head in the sand and ignoring the issue will not make it go away. But there are ways to manage the risk without doubling your workforce.

Stress management skills are not taught in school. The vast majority of your employees have no idea how to lower the stress they feel in any given situation. You already know some of them handle stress better than others, but not why.

The stress reduction techniques touted by most of the books and stress management teachers are dose dependent and stressed people are less likely to actually do them. It is not the reason they are stressed, stress decreases motivation. It is part of the problem. It is also part of your engagement problem. Employees who understood how to manage stress might find their environment challenging instead of stressful.

Face it, we cannot eliminate the stress from every job. Performing surgery is stressful, caring for a preterm infant with serious complications is stressful, regulations that increase and change frequently is stressful, taking up the slack from disengaged co-workers is stressful. Eliminating stress is not an option.

The connection between workplace stress and health is irrefutable. Already, in some large cities like New York and Los Angeles, police officers who die from heart disease-even if they are on vacation when they die-are considered work-related deaths. But stress does not have to involve real life or death situations for the human body to experience the negative health effects.

Long-Term May Mean… Tomorrow

The number of asbestos claims is a drop of water in the ocean compared to the potential stress claims from employees. The future that I’m talking about is not that far in the future. To those who are familiar with the state of the research connecting stress to mental and physical illnesses, it is already clearly visible. When will the first case be filed? It could be tomorrow. The evidence is compelling enough and accumulating on an almost daily basis.

What can you do to manage this risk?

The economics will not allow you to double your workforce to reduce the workload, so that is not an option.

Dose dependent stress management techniques like exercise, helping others, going outside,meditation, massage, yoga, and tai chi are dose dependent and the evidence that those suffering from the highest levels of stress are least likely to do them. The fact that they are not doing them is not a defense because evidence demonstrating that it is the high stress that makes it less likely just points the finger back at the cause of the stress.

There is a way to teach employees to manage the stress at the root cause that empowers them to perceive the stressful situation in less stressful ways. Why is this the best method? Because it addresses the issue at the root cause, it affects the entire experience. It shows the employee they have more control over their stress than they know. Increasing employee’s locus of control in this way has multiple benefits including improved health and engagement. That’s three boxes checked in one program.

  • Reduce risk of stress-related litigation
  • Improve Employee Wellness Efforts
  • Increase Employee Engagement

But the benefits do not end there. The program delivers considerably more. Relationships between co-workers (and their relationships outside work) improve because of what they learn in the program. This not only makes the workplace more harmonious, it lessens the amount of outside relationship stress that is adversely affecting the work day. This is not just romantic relationships, but also relationships with children, parents, and friends.

How much does relationship drama impact your organization’s productivity? How much of management’s time is spent dealing with personality conflict type issues?

There is another benefit. From years in risk management, I am well aware that some lawsuits employers have to defend against are for things that one employee interprets as threatening but another one would not even remember a few days later. It is the perception of the event, rather than the actual event, that creates the problem. Our programs provides employees with skills that enable them to perceive situations from perspectives that feel better to them. While it is never possible to quantify lawsuits avoided (a bane of compliance officers and risk managers everywhere), the dots can be connected and the relationship can be clear enough that the CFO will understand the benefits.

Let’s return to the wellness program for a minute. All those healthy habits you’re attempting to get your employees to do are hindered by high stress. In fact, the link between high stress and obesity has changed the paradigm of calories in - calories out = BMI. Stress affects how the body processes the food a person eats and increases the risk of obesity, which increases the risk of diabetes, which increases the risk of heart disease. Stress also increases the risk of high blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Chronic stress also diminishes the effectiveness of the immune function, increasing the risk of colds, flu, and even cancer. All of this is already scientifically documented. Many of the citations are in TRUE Prevention-Optimum Health, but Stress Kills:Happiness Heals, which is in the editing stage expands the picture further.

Other Benefits

The benefits of our program seem too good to be true but the reason they are so expansive is because they address the root cause. Almost everything else that is done to improve health and stress today addresses symptoms, not the root cause. Now is the time to take action. There are other benefits from our program detailed throughout our website.

Take Action…Today

If this sounds frightening, it is. What can you control? Can you control the job responsibilities in a way that makes them not stressful? Can you control the work loads employees are tackling?

What you can do is empower them with skill based training that insulates them from much of the stress in their lives-both work-related and personal. This training would go a long way toward demonstrating that you took every possible precaution to help your employees. Of course, it should be combined with other things you’re probably already doing, such as an EAP program. But when you wait for the situation to be at the point where most employees will reach out to an EAP, the stress has already caused damage.

We measure a variety of things in a host of different ways before and after the training, including stress, depression (expect about 10% of your employees to be suffering from depression in the pre-training testing), resilience, and emotional intelligence. You can choose to add other measures. The program is provided in large groups so the cost is surprisingly affordable. Smaller employers can combine to form a larger group to keep their costs reasonable. In large organizations, we have train the trainor programs.

Contact us today, sleep better tonight.

(1) http://www.crowell.com/files/List-of-Asbestos-Bankruptcy-Cases-Chronological-Order.pdf

(2) http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9155/index1.html


Benefits, Blogs, Business, Mental/Emotional Health, Science

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Thrive…Even if You Have Student Debt

August 7, 20140

A recent Gallup survey showed that students who had high student debt are not doing as well as their peers with lower debt based on findings from the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index. The Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index is designed to measure well-being in five areas(1), including:

  • Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community: liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community
  • Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

At Happiness 1st Institute, we have studied what makes humans thrive for over two decades. What we know is that the debt is not what lowers the ability of individuals who have high student (or other) debt to thrive.

It is the way the individual thinks about their situation and prospects

that determines how well they do and how happy they can be.

 

While they may not be able to change their debt substantially in the next three months, they can change how they think about it. The reason we exist is that we love to help and this survey by Gallup, released today, has our wheels spinning. We want to put hope out there right now because news like this can lower thriving even more-because when a trusted organization like Gallup tells people that high debt makes them less likely to thrive they tend to believe it. Believing you won’t thrive makes it far more likely that you won’t thrive. As Henry Ford said so long ago, “Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t, either way you’re right.” He understood the power of belief.

Change your dynamic - help is here

 

Our first thoughts are to help with our programs but our usual programs are not inexpensive and we don’t want to add to the debt burden. Off the cuff, we’re thinking we could provide a 40-hour course over 12 weeks for $39.99 per customer. That should cover our costs while remaining affordable. By providing the course online we will avoid travel costs for the participants and the cost of renting a large hotel room and be able to provide flexibility in when the student watches by recording the live classes.

The earliest we can begin class, based on our current schedule, is October 15th.

Stress, specifically unmanaged stress, is at the root of almost all physical, emotional, mental, and social problems. All of our programs address the root cause of stress, which is mindset. We understand and explain in easy to understand language things about the way our brains work that everyone should know but that are not taught in school. Those things are critical because they have a direct impact on whether or not an individual thrives in every area of life: their health, relationships, success, and more.

Essentially, we teach individuals how to reprogram their neural pathways so that their thought processes help them thrive instead of hindering their ability to thrive. We teach mental strength and resilience, enabling anyone to develop the type of mind all the great minds of the past used to create their achievements. Because this involves learning new habits-habits of thought-it takes time to make them automatic. Although we can and do help individuals make positive changes in their lives with 1-hour presentations, we believe that the best approach, whenever possible, is a 40-hour program over a minimum of a 12-week period. That is what we’re going to do with this course.

We’ll come up with an exact schedule and post it soon but for now know we’ll avoid scheduling class on major holidays so with a start date of October 15th, the program will run until about the end of January 2015. Forty hours of class time for $39.99 is less than $1.00 an hour.

We change lives for the better. We do it because we love it. We do it because it matters. We do it because we’ve developed leading edge techniques that work. Most stress reduction programs are dose dependent and do not address the root cause. The next best solution to what we have developed is individual one-on-one therapy where one hour can cost five times what we are offering our 40-hour program for.

You deserve to have the best possible life.

We want to help you do that. Now. You used student loans so you could have a better life. Our program helps you achieve that goal better and faster.

Send us a note if you want to register. We will let you know as soon as we have the registration process set-up.

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Citations:

(1) http://www.gallup.com/poll/174317/student-debt-linked-worse-health-less-wealth.aspx?version=print


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How can employee happiness benefit your business?

July 27, 20140

Happiness? What does happiness have to do with your business?

Far more than most have ever imagined.

Happiness provides a solid foundation for success.

Do you wish your employees were smarter or more creative?

Do you long for healthier employees who are at work more often?

Would your life be easier if turnover declined?

Can you imagine a work environment where co-workers get along with one another fairly well?

Do you want your customers to be delighted after encounters with your employees?

Some people are just naturally energizing to be around. Happy employees are likely to be that way.

Happiness is the answer!

Scientists have been studying happiness and found that happiness contributes to success rather than being caused by success.

The same individual is smarter, healthier, more creative, more resilient, and has higher emotional intelligence when he or she is happy than when unhappy.


Benefits, Blogs, Business, Science

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Positivity Reduces the Risk of Needing Long Term Care

July 27, 20140

Positivity Reduces the Risk of Needing Long Term Care

For many the fear of being unable to care for oneself is greater than the fear of death itself. Most of us accept that we are not going to live forever but we hope that the end comes in very old age and that it is not preceded by a period where we are not able to care for ourselves or are living in pain.

Science has been studying the benefits of positivity for a few decades now and the findings have clearly shown that a generally positive person, on average, (all other factors being equal) lives an average of 10 additional years than the person who is a generally negative person.

But beyond that, despite living longer, the positively focused individual has fewer years of life with chronic debilitating diseases.

Isn’t that what we all want? A long life in which we are able to enjoy living in our bodies? Blessed with health and vitality?

The purpose of this article is not to depress those who are generally negative and/or pessimistic. Science has also shown that individuals who chose to and who are equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to become more positively focused and optimistic can do so.

It is not something that an individual can generally just decide to do and succeed because their neuro-pathways have been trained in the habits of thought they have been thinking. But it is not hard to change when the knowledge and tools are known. It is also a very fun thing to do. Perhaps, for someone who has been negatively focused, the most fun thing they have ever experienced.

Science has also shown that the absence of negative emotions is not the same as the presence of positive emotions. It is the presence of positive emotions that is associated with the health and well-being benefits.

Decreasing negativity even a little improves health and well-being, but the further the individual progresses toward feeling positive emotions the greater the benefits they derive.

It does not matter how many attempts an individual has made to be more positive they can do it with the right tools. Most programs do not provide all the knowledge and tools necessary to succeed. There are pitfalls along the way that will cause someone who dos not know about them to feel they cannot become more positive or that they have failed. The trick is recognizing the pitfalls and saying to yourself “Oh yeah, I knew this might happen, it does not mean I cannot do it. I have tools to help me get past this hurdle and when I do it will be wonderful.”

We have continuously searched for new information across many disciplines including positive psychology, neuroscience, resilience, sociology, emotional intelligence, quantum physics, psychoneuroimmunology, and behavioral science over many years. Our confidence in the tools and knowledge we have woven together is such that our classes come with a money back guarantee.

Most people do not succeed because they try one tool and then another or learn one piece of the puzzle and apply it but do not see the results they desire so they give up. Perhaps making multiple attempts over years but not using a masterfully developed plan.

Life is better in so many ways when you are positively focused, optimistic, and happy. Every day contains more life, energy, and vitality.

Living in a negative and pessimistic state feels like having a thorn in the bottom of your foot and just putting up with it, allowing it to impact your experiences. You don’t realize how good it was without the thorn until it is removed and you wonder “Why didn’t I do this sooner”?

Increased positivity reduces the risk of your needing long term care but it does so much more. Relationships are better. Your immune system functions better. You thinking is clearer and your level of creativity increases. Success is easier to attain. In another study the incomes of optimistic and pessimistic individuals were tracked from college and for 20 years after college. The earnings of the more optimistic individuals were significantly more 20 years later.

While we cannot guarantee that you will never need a nursing home if you increase your level of positivity the science is clear that it reduces the risk.

How do you want your grandchildren and great grandchildren to remember you? Positive and able to enjoy life with them or ?

If you have a daughter do you know that the daughter often pays a heavy price caring for her parent(s) who need care? Often giving up her own career aspirations and sometimes attempting to balance the care of a parent while still raising her own children. If you won’t do it for yourself, will you do it for your daughter?

The sooner you begin this journey the sooner you will begin enjoying life more. Even if you are young, there are benefits to your children who are living at home to your increased positivity. We discuss these in greater detail on our website.


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Your 6th Sense-Use it

July 26, 20140

Your 6th Sense

The one they will soon be teaching in schools near you

In early elementary school children are taught about the five senses, sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. What would it be like to not understand that these senses were providing information about the world around us to help us navigate the path to our desires? What if we did not connect what the senses told us to our environment? How much less functional would that make us?

We all have a sixth sense that has been ignored. We actually have far more than five senses. The sense of urgency to use the bathroom is a sense. Hunger and thirst are senses. But this one, revealed by new research, is often ignored and that equates to lives lived far below their potential. Their potential for what? Health, happiness, great relationships, emotional well-being, success, and achievement.

New research from Harvard, courtesy of the brilliant mind of Katherine Peil, and ten pages of cross disciplinary scientific research cited in her paper, Emotion: A Self-regulatory Sense, demonstrates clearly that our emotions are a sense. In fact, her position is that emotion is our oldest sense and she uses molecular biology and the biophysical processes of living systems to lead us step-by-step through this idea.

The world is about to get much better for many people. Those who have not understood that our emotions provide us with guidance, a True North feedback guiding us to divine goodness and love, have been living in more darkness than a lack of vision would cause.

Positive Psychology has been giving us a great deal of information about the benefits of positive emotions, optimism, and happiness over the past few decades including that they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 50%, improve the immune function, help us create better relationships and be more successful among many other benefits. Our website has documented benefits to individuals, businesses, charities, communities, and health with many scientific citations.

I have copied heavily from Ms. Peil’s paper with quotes indicated in italics. Please follow the link to her full paper and read it if you are at all interested in this topic. The excerpts below, while copious, do not begin to have the depth contained in her paper. The excerpts are primarily focused on information that lends itself to the import of our emotional guidance system and our best responses. The detailed science that leads to this conclusion is not covered at length via these excerpts nor are other pertinent details to a full understanding and discussion. All page number references are to Ms. Peil’s paper, Emotions: A Self-regulatory System.

Katherine Peil’s model is “the first model devoid of neurocentricity and rooted in the fundamental hard-science biophysical principals beyond the conventional interpretation of Darwinian evolution“.

“In addition to unifying many seemingly separate and unrelated bodies of literature, this model affords science a pioneering inroad into the territory of values - the “spiritual judgments’ according to the great William James (1958). (pg 22)

Much of the positive psychology literature points to feeling that we are fulfilling a larger purpose is important to individual happiness. Ms. Peil’s model provides great insight in how to obtain a sense of purpose, “the model places purpose in an evolutionary context, with both positive and negative relating to universal self-regulatory purposes to which the biovalues of all living systems are tethered. Indeed, to recognize our teleological end directed purposes is to fill a “gaping hole” in our understanding of our world and our place within it — “the intrinsic value in humankind” (Deacon, 2011). In fact, given the emerging global village, science is clearly needed to weigh in on the issue of values lest we retreat into conflicting religious fundamentalisms (Kaufman, 2008; Harris, 2010).

Ms. Peil has great courage in presenting this model which has, to my delight, presented a“much more optimistic portrait of human nature — if not of nature itself. It suggests that cohesion, cooperation and adaptive creativity are as deeply rooted in our evolutionary history as red-in-tooth-and-claw competition and random mutation. It suggests that nature is green with grace and embrace; balancing self-preservationary necessities with self-developmental synergy.”

She describes our emotional sense as “a feedback loop in a circular stimulate-response relationship where the output of a system is fed back into itself serving as stimulus for a subsequent round of output responses. It provides feedback in perfect accordance with harmful or environmental stimulus. In doing so, it accomplishes an optimizing developmental adaption - saying “yes” to beneficial changes — or a self-preservationary intervention, saying “no” to potentially self-destructive harms.”

In other words, listening to and understanding the information from our emotional guidance system (EGS) helps us optimize our self-development and helps us avoid harmful environments and situations. The guidance from our EGS is customized to our own specific goals. An individual who wants to become a nurse will receive guidance from her EGS that furthers that goal. An individual who wants to become a great ball player will receive guidance from his EGS that furthers that goal. Our guidance leads us to better feeling emotions, whether it is away from fear in a harmful environment or toward becoming the most we can imagine being. The science has been very clear that those who are stable in higher emotional states contribute more to others, their families, co-workers, communities, and beyond. They are more altruistic and more apt to lend a helping hand to friends and strangers alike. Following our emotional guidance is the way to achieve sustainably positive emotional states.

Ms. Peil’s model refutes the value of suppressive forms of emotion regulation. “In this new view our binary feel-good/feel-bad hedonic feelings remain the conscious mind’s only valid informational tether to the biophysically right/wrong conditions required for life itself. and an innate safeguard against its more volitional -yet potentially dishonest (Greene & Plaxton, 2009) — rationalizations and hypocrisies (Valdesolo & DeSteno, 2008). Instantly, they (emotions) offer both a reality check and a behavioral fix. Their elegant stimulus-response mechanics moves us to actively avoid self-destruction and create evolutionary self-development, and their simple tit-for-tat logic constantly reminds us of these dual universal purposes.”

“Moreover, suppression does not work. For whether or not the informational component of the emotional message is deliberatively and rationally incorporated into the cognitive schemata (building conscious, reasoned motives) the coupled corrective response will simply forge them into the mindscape.”

“It conceptually reunites “the self” as a functional whole bridging the gap left by the Cartesian severance of mind from body and the many illusory divides, judgments and assumptions that would follow. Particularly those that privileged reason over emotion and conscious and intentional processes over intuitive, embodied cognition and Naïvesensory perceptions.”

The HeartMath Institute conducted a study that showed the heart registered responses in a predictive manner, while the brain responded after the fact to the same stimuli.[i] Placing reason over intuition and discounting intuition has been a mistake that it is time to rectify.

“Indeed, the appraisal themes of the four basic negative emotions - loss (sadness), imminent danger (fear), contamination (disgust), and disempowering obstacles to agency or social violations (anger) - move us to either change the immediate environmental circumstances or alter our location, to “fight” or “take flight”. To which I would add: to make right, a previously unacknowledged more adaptive, creative problem solving response to emotional distress, born of the self-developmental imperative and the approach mode of behavior.”

To me the above statement found on page 14 of her paper, is the most empowering and important aspect. It highlights a higher road that humans can take from the traditional ‘flight or fight responses”. This is the path on which solutions to many social concerns we have been wrestling with for decades (and in some cases, centuries) will be solved.

“Indeed, instead of suppression or behavioral avoidance, a Right Response (RR) is one that involves an active, adaptive, rebalancing of the ecologically optimal (biophysically favorable) rational state between the organism and the environment. The RR has been captured in the stress literature as problem-focused coping (Pearlin & Schooler, 1978); Folkman, Lazarus, Gruen, & DeLongis, 1986) or transformational coping (Chen, 2006), as perhaps the most adaptive way of reducing the psychophysiological arousal tension (Haines & Williams, 1997). This can happen in one of two ways. It can involve an active adaption of the immediate external environment, which is what we call creative action or “work”, and it is how we accomplish cultural evolution.” See page 14 of the paper for specific examples.

“Likewise, the RR can also be affected to the internal environment, the personal mindscape, in conscious knowledge acquisition, in an act of deliberate learning and personal growth, an accountable answer to the distress call. Another mental tactic is to invoke optimal belief structures to reappraise (Lazarus, 1991) or temporarily endure a challenging or uncontrollable situation; or to bear an injustice or misfortune with relative grace and ‘resilience.” (Seery, 2011). This internal RR is also known as “self-control” (Tabibnia, Satpute, & Lieberman, 2008; “self-discipline” (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005), or perhaps “grit” (Duckworth, Kirby, Tsukayama, Berstein, & Ericsson, 2011), the ability to endureshort-term pain in order to cultivate long-term complex pleasure (captured by the body builder’s lament “no pain no gain). But there is a vast difference between a RR and suppressive emotion regulation, as the corrective action itself is informed by the specific emotional message, is consciously undertake, and it self-preserves through open, approach behavior, adaptive development and social cooperation.”

“In Short, the RR is a self-developmental response more indicative of the neurally well-endowed, culturally creative human being, if not all social primates. In fact, the developmental benefits of the internal RR also concern the perceived boundary between self and other, delivering what philosopher Peter Singer (1983) deems “the expanding circle” of concern for non-kin social others. This occurs when the empathic understanding of universal distress allows the broadening of one’s identity boundary such that the concerns, well-being and interests of unfamiliar others (or ‘outgroups’) become “self-relevant” as well.”

“In short, in context of the feedback cycle, despite the primacy of pain, the modern behavior toolkit includes a creative approach response as well as avoidant reactions to emotional distress. When feeling out of balance, we can take flight or fight in defense, or we can capitalize upon our neural endowments, stay in approach mode and correctively “right” the problematic agent, Indeed, the RR should be the first choice reaction and constitute the greatest percentage of all corrective responses. But, despite such efforts, unacceptable environmental conditions persist over time, then more assertive and aggressive (yet non-hostile) confrontational “fight” responses become appropriate, until finally a “flight” to more habitable and just environments becomes the only viable options. But whether the situation dictates a Right, Flight, or Flight response, the primary objective is to immediately identify and reduce the internal or external environmental conditions that are triggering the distress in order to self-preserve.”

“The complex feelings[ii] call for internal environmental corrections — righting one’s personal mindsscape as a captain would right his sailboat in response to winds of change. Indeed, when it comes to the mindscape, fight and flight defenses are tantamount to denying the wind itself, they are maladaptive, they are wrong”.

“In sum, RRs are the mechanism for conscious, intentional, and ultimately “reasoned” learning. Such optimal self-regulatory responses promote good health (Bandora, 2005), spur both individual and social self development, and create neural structures that deliver optimal feed forward control, including empathic understanding that afford others the egalitarian respect, compassion and forgiveness required by the trial and error nature of emotional sensory self-regulation. …. It should be no surprise that unresolved emotional distress is unhealthy — if not self-destructive — as an abundance of literature suggests (Sternberg, 2001; Segerstrom & Miller, 2004).”

“The good news, however, is that suppressive approaches to emotion regulation often overlook the positive eustress signals and their “Yes! Go! - This-is-good-for-me!” messages, the natural rewards for optimal self-regulation.” See page 15 for details on benefits to individuals and society.

“Indeed, the positive emotions pull us onto an optimal — right track — of life, a richly meaningful (Peterson, 2007), morally virtuous (Aristotle, 1985), spiritually integrated and evolved (Wilber, 2006; Vailant, 2008), creatively engaged, and socially connected state of flourishing (Seligman, 2011), all by simply “following our bliss” (Campbell, 2004). Indeed, the fourfold over representation of basic negative emotions is counterbalanced by a “positivity ration”, where nearly three times as many positive as negative interactions are required to prevent group fragmentation and individual languishing (Losada & Fredrickson, 2005), which I would ague, occurs naturally if we are responding ‘rightly’ to our painful emotional messages.”

“Indeed, the moral logos of the emotional sense suggests that win-win cooperation motivated by positive emotion is the long-term rule, and that win-lose fight-and-flight competition driven by self-preservationary pain is the short-term exception. Likewise, it suggests that the role of emotions such as basic anger, sadness, disgust, and complex trust, gratitude, love, and compassion have largely gone unnoticed in rationalist models of economics, game theory, and interpersonal decision making (Lerner, Small, & Lowenstein, 2004; Han, Lerner, & Keltner, 2007). In sum, it suggests that nature is green with grace and embrace, that we enjoy a self-developmental impetus for creative adaption, that evolution is constructive because of cooperation (Novak, 2006), and that as Dacher Keltner (2009) put it, we are “born to be good”.

The implications for social advancement are enormous. “In sum, the universal right track of human development delivers an optimal suite of complex emotional perceptions and a fully functional moral compass, perhaps even at surprisingly young ages, Furthermore, the moral wisdom delivered by this optimal trajectory is also echoed in common religious mores, the virtues and values identified by the Institute of Global Ethics (Loges & Kidder, 1996), the positive psychology Values-in Action taxonomy of human strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004,) and it resonates from within well-being advice across the mental and physical health sciences. But in terms of evolutionary theory, emotion has never been given its rightful due, and the tremendous adaptive value of positive emotion has remained obscured by the notion that all pleasure is simply the handmaiden of sexual reproduction.”

Emotions have been given a bad rap despite great scientific evidence to the contrary. See page 19 for examples. “Such slander about our visual, auditory, “olfactory, or gastatory sensory processes would be unlikely and we consider ourselves disabled unless all senses are interact yet this attitude prevails (regarding our emotional guidance sense). Clearly, we have blamed the messenger while missing its primal self-regulatory message. We have chosen to suppressively regulate our emotions instead of allowing them to regulate us. Indeed, while suppression is little more than self-deception, our cultural traditions encourage us to deny our feeling signals with strategies ranging from religious taboos and admonishments to socially refined and politically correct manners, and even to powerful psychotropic drugs. But in doing so, we’ve run our optimal moral rails onto the wrong track.”

The biological emotion of disgust, for example, is designed to apprise us of contamination, diseases, bacterial overgrowth, and the avoidance of infection threat (Curtis, 2001, 2007). “Maladaptive beliefs can harness and redirect the basic emotions to preserve ideologies rather than the body itself. . . . In short, conserving maladaptive beliefs can completely and “disregulate” our emotions (Bauneister, 1997, Peterson & Flanders, 2002, Dias-Ferreira, Sousa, Melo, Morgado, Mesquita, Cerqueira, Costa & Sousa, 2009), and ultimately help manifest the host of psychiatric ‘affective disorders’ described by the DSM. in sum, by choosing the suppressive strategy humanity has not only violated the simple directive to reduce the physical and sociocultural conditions that elicit painful emotions, but we have compromised them by adding an entirely new man-made layer of social distress to the external environment - the complex negative emotions.’

“Furthermore, given the emotional system’s ancient roots in self-regulatory signaling, such tactics are a recipe for personal disaster. As noted above, sociocultural structures that exploit negative emotion in this manner create a lingering state of distress (Dickerson & Kemery, 2004) that sets the epigenetic stage for compromised immune function, ill health, and maladaptive development. Indeed, through epigenetic pathways, stressful events become biologically embedded — they get ‘under the skin’ — during developmental windows crucial to the forging of neural circuitry (Hertzman & Boyce, 2010) as well as DNA damage that accelerates degerative aging (Hara, Kovacs, halen, Rajagopal, Strachan, Grant, Towers, Williams, Lam, Xiao, Shenoy, Gregory, Ahn, Duckett, & Lefkowitz, 2011). It is now well documented that environmental factors such as maltreatment, family adversity, marital conflict, maternal depression, and even financial distress are being linked with cognitive deficits and socio-emotional behavioral problems in children (Kahnsari, Murgo, & Faith, 1990), Burchinal, Roberts, Hooper & Zeisel, 2000; Boyce et al, 2001; Tsigos, & Chrousos, 2002; Caspi et al, 2002; Cummings & Davies, 2002; Essex, Klein, Cho & Kalin, 2002; Patel & Kleinman, 2003; Mastern & Shaffer, 2006; Van Ijzendoorn & Bakermans-Kraneriburg & Van Ijzendoorn, 2007; Boyce, 2007; Kleinman, 2010). ………..(see page 20 for different descriptions) …. but by any name, they reflect the self-regulatory feedback dynamics — and epigenetic manifestations of the emotional sense.”

So, the five senses we learned about in school was a woefully incomplete story. Our emotions are sensory output (just as the color of something is sensory output from the interpretation our brain has made about the input). Just like something that tastes bitter is communicating necessary information to us, so too do our emotions communicate information necessary to both maintain health and to thrive.

Suppressing emotions on the negative (bodily preservation) side would be akin to putting Novocain in ones hands and then putting your hands on a hot stove, you might notice that something smelled funny but you would not feel the pain of the hot stove even though your hands are burning. Suppressing negative emotions is no less unhealthy.

Suppressing emotions on the positive side (self-development) would be like eating your favorite delicious high calorie dessert while your mouth is desensitized by Novocain. You would miss all the joy of the experience and not gain the pleasure response.

Suppressing emotions is not the answer.

There are three basic proper responses to emotional output from your emotional guidance system. These are Right, Fight and Flight. Right Responses (RR’s) are by far the preferred method in most situations. Right Responses can be learned. In fact, that is the main purpose of the classes offered by Happiness 1st Institute, to teach individuals Right Responses.

This is new language to us because although we have long recognized that emotions provided guidance it was not until Ms. Peil’s paper that we had scientific support for this knowing or the term Right Responses.

Another aspect that has been well documented by many research studies is that when we become happier we become better behaved individuals. We will be posting a white paper we have been working on for a while, since before we became aware of Ms. Peil’s fabulous research, on the topic of the Importance of Understanding our Emotions. The intent is to offer a plain-English explanation.

When new information becomes available that changes the playing field, the typical slow progress of science, sometimes termed “progress by funeral” indicating it is often not until the old school has passed that new insights can be brought to light and benefit humanity is unacceptable. This is one of those times. I so appreciate Ms. Peil’s willingness to publish this paper with her meticulous research and findings that overturn many prior beliefs across many disciplines. I appreciate her ability to see the potential benefits for humanity that sharing this information can bring about and her willingness to do so.

A new sense is not really that startling. Even though schools continue to teach five senses the emotional sense is not the first new one to be known. Senses are, by definition, the physiological capacities in organism that provide inputs for perception. Far more than five are documented including thermoception, equilibrioception, kinesthesioception, proprioception, and noiception to name a few. Some natural abilities (facilitated by senses) are hunger, thirst, sense of time, fullness of stomach, need to perform bodily functions and more. I make note of this here so that the non-scientist can understand that calling emotions a sense is not far fetched. It is a new, more accurate way of looking at something we have always been aware of. This way of viewing emotions has many advantages for both scientific study and for mankind because of what it says about social problems and their solvability. We are miles closer to solutions as a result of Ms. Peil’s work.

There are many aspects to her paper including an in depth discussion of the difference between basic emotions and complex emotions. There will be resistance from many quarters to retain the status quo for a variety of reasons. This paper, when fully understood, is very empowering to individuals. It also will threaten the ‘need to be right’ that many defend forgetting that they could instead celebrate knowing more than they did when they used to think what they knew was right. A Right Response (RR) would be to understand that prior opinions and/or beliefs were based upon the best information you had at the time. It is fully appropriate to incorporate new information to support new opinions as such information comes to light. In the past you did the best you could with what you had and that is no different than what you are doing today.

In time this paper will be accepted as a historical masterpiece leading to global improvements. Further research and study will increase the already well documented evidence supporting the positions put forward in this paper.

The concept that humans are good and will behave well based upon following their own internal moral compass will be accepted in time as it is demonstrated.

For those who feel their world view is threatened by this they need only change their internal mindscape slightly to remove the threat. Doing so would be considered a Right Response and lead to self development. Within the Biblical scriptures there is great evidence to support that we have guidance so maintaining a Biblical worldview and accepting the premises put forth in this paper is not that far of a stretch. The Bible says that “God is Love”. It also said that “Man was created in His image”. If God is Love and man was created in the image of God then Man is Love. If Man is Love than Man is good. The concept of man as flawed negates our having been made “In His image”. Furthermore, there are many quotes that indicate that we have guidance. A separate document on Happiness 1st Institute’s site discusses this in greater detail, see “Are Emotions Guidance from God?”.

For those who are uncomfortable viewing the emotional guidance system as God leading the way can just see it in the biological sense. If one listens to the guidance, understands its messages and follows the guidance the same benefits will be derived regardless of whether the guidance is attributed to God or something else (at least while here on Earth and I will not take this discussion beyond the Earthly plane).

Understanding emotions as a sense has the potential to positively impact every ‘social problem’ that is of grave concern to many today.

The faster this understanding spreads and is incorporated into our policies, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs the faster the benefits will be derived.

The science is clear. It is amazing that emotions as a sense has not been discovered/proven previously. The benefits of positive emotions, so well documented over the past 20 years, lends great support.

Positive emotions are more important to our well-being than nutrition, exercise, or even whether we smoke or not based on scientific studies and meta-analyses that have been published. There is a reason for this. We were born to follow our bliss.

Update on citations. Katherine Peil’s groundbreaking paper required expertise from several areas of science for proper peer review. Our scientific system is not set-up to take advantage of groundbreaking research that does that because they want one reviewer to be able to review the entire paper-rather than adopt an intelligent idea-having a committee comprised of experts from each field review the paper. Hopefully this will become acceptable in the future. As a result the paper was not able to be published in the original form as it was cited “in press” in various blogs on my site. It was modified and eventually peer reviewed and published in Global Advances in Health and Medicine in March 2014. I had access to early versions and many have quotes from those versions in various parts of my work. The inability to be successfully peer reviewed is not due to a lack in her work but to a lack in the current scientific norms for evaluating groundbreaking work. It was humanity’s loss that this work was delayed several years in reaching the public because of this.

[i] Rollin, McCraty, Mike Atkinson, and Raymond T. Bradley, “Electrophysiological Evidence of Intuition. Part 1: The Surprising Role of the Heart,” Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 10(1) (2004), pp. 133 - 143

[ii] For a complete explanation of “complex feelings” please see Emotions: A Self-Regulatory System cited above.


Benefits, Blogs, Peace, Relationships

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Are You Passionate About the Well-being of Your Family?

July 26, 20140

Are you passionate about the well-being of your family?

If you are you will want to know about the research results that are slowly (too slowly in my opinion based on their importance) making their way out of the scientific research facilities and into the knowledge bank of both scientists and non-scientists in other fields.

The new research points the way to improved health, well-being, relationships, emotional intelligence, creativity, cognitive ability, decision-making, resilience, immune system function, depression. as well as reductions in racism, substance abuse, crime, teen pregnancy, and other social concerns.

One thing that can improve your relationships, your health, and your success?

One would think this information would be shouted from the rooftops.

The science is very solid. The proof is in.

Why isn’t it being talked about on every channel? I don’t know.

Science, I have learned, typically progresses slowly in adopting new ideas and beliefs.

Although they don’t tend to chop off their heads for radical new ideas these days the fear instilled about moving too far away from the norm is not far from that which a potential separation from ones head would invoke. New research in one field often takes years to reach professionals in other fields. There is a saying “Science progresses one funeral at a time.” — Max Planck

Many people are under the misconception that current scientific theories come to prominence in science because the new discoveries changed the minds of the old guard through proofs and experimentation. Closer to the truth is that, proof and experimentation changed the minds of younger scientists, and only when old guards die off, the new theories rise to take their place and make prominent the new theory. This is true even when the old beliefs are proven clearly false. Much of the progress we see (for example, advances in medical advances), comes not from science but from business building on science.

When actions can affect human well-being or change the world, that pace is entirely too slow. The information that has come to light can literally improve health and well-being significantly, reduce crime, reduce racism, reduce substance abuse, reduce teen pregnancy and, it is my belief that it is the path to peace.

When evidence from different scientific disciplines is combined the science is solid and compelling.

Positive emotions, optimism, and happiness provide these benefits and much more.

The absence of negative emotions is not the same as the presence of positive emotions.

Science has even shown that pessimists can become more optimistic and our own level of positive emotions is within our control.

All it takes is a little knowledge and a few skills to manage your emotions to a place where you can benefit from increased positive emotions, optimism, and happiness.

New research from Harvard even shows us why the benefits of positivity are so great. Our bodies were not designed to tolerate negative emotions for long periods of time. We were designed to respond to negative emotions the way we respond to other sensory input, by making changes to make things more comfortable for us. We do not leave our hands on a burning stove and ignore the pain. Neither should we ignore negative emotions. We are supposed to feel good most of the time. The research is available at www.emotionalsentience.com.

In addition to the typical flight and fight responses we all know about there is something called a “Right Response” (RR) described in this scientific paper that is most appropriate to most situations humans encounter in their day-to-day lives. Learning how to use RRs provides a level of self-mastery over ones emotions that is followed by thriving.

Positivity has a better impact on longevity than whether an individual smokes or not. How passionate are you about making sure your children do not take up this habit? If you put that much passion into helping them develop skill at RRs you will benefit them far more and they are more likely to make good decisions including the decision not to take up that habit.

Classes that teach Right Responses are available. See our website for details.

© Jeanine Joy, 2012-2014

President, Happiness 1st Institute


Benefits, Blogs, Parenting, Science

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An Open Letter About Optimism

July 25, 20140

An open letter about Optimism

Is the glass half full or half empty?

For many years we have just taken our ‘seemingly’ natural slant toward optimism or pessimism as a fact of life, as something that is an intrinsic part of ourselves, unchangeable.

Those with a pessimistic attitude have not fought against or resisted their ‘seemingly’ natural state, believing it unchangeable and probably not all that important.

Science has now shown us that we do have control over whether we are optimistic or pessimistic. If we decide to change ourselves we can do so. Both outlooks are merely habitual patterns of thought.

Science has also shown us that there are many benefits to being more optimistic than pessimistic. These benefits, in general, include:

Optimists are healthier

Optimists live longer

Optimists are better salespeople

Optimists are more successful in most endeavors

Optimists are not as susceptible to depression

Optimists have better relationships

The saying “Blondes have more fun” might be more accurately stated as “Optimists have more fun”.

So, what can you do about it?

You can take our Keys to Happiness course which not only increases happiness but optimism, emotional intelligence and resilience. The course is fun and easy and will give you all the skills and knowledge necessary to shift your focus from being pessimistic to optimistic.

Does your pessimism serve you in your profession? One of the other benefits of our course is that you can choose to be flexible. You can focus upon becoming more optimistic in your personal life while retaining your professional skepticism. The two can cohabitate successfully when you consciously choose this path. Even if your pessimism serves you in some aspects of your profession it is not benefiting your relationships with co workers, bosses and employees. You can fine tune your optimism/pessimism switch so that the attitude that is most beneficial to you in the moment is the one you apply.

Pessimists may have difficulty believing they can change or that this course will be helpful. Feel free to check out our Science section where citations from many studies are provided. You can use the citations to locate and read the studies. You will also be able to see for yourself as students answer a questionnaire about optimism and pessimism at the beginning and end of the course to determine their progress.

Deciding to take the course is a small investment of time and money that has the potential to improve your life experience in countless ways.

If you would like to be happier, if you would like to feel less trepidation, fear, anxiety, worry and concern take the class.

If you tend to focus on the negative aspects of your family and friends take the class.

If you have dreams and goals that you believe are impossible to reach take the class.

You will be happy you did.

Best Wishes for a happy life,

Jeanine Joy, President

Happiness 1st Institute

www. happiness1st. com

PS: Recent findings show that optimism is a trait associated with a 50% risk reduction in the nation’s # 1 cause of death, cardiovascular disease.


Benefits

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Positive Attitudes and Open Minds Lead to Upward Spirals

July 25, 20140

Positive Attitudes and Open Minds Lead to Upward Spirals

An open mind and positive mindset create for individuals an ability to see more possibilities. This helps build resiliency. When a problem is encountered, the ability to see various possible solutions creates an expectation that future problems will be solvable as well. The increasing level of expectation and openness to solutions causes increasing levels of positivity. A corresponding increase in trust, not just in oneself, but in others, occurs as the upward spiral of positivity continues.

How does one create upward spirals? He or she trains his or her mind to think with a bias in favor of positive outcomes. Our classes teach you how to do this, providing skills, tools and the knowlege necessary to be successful.

Citations:

Fredrickson, B. L. , and T. Joiner (2002), “Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being,” Psychological Science 13: 172-75

Burns, A. B. , J. S. Brown, et al. (2008), “Upward spirals of positive emotion and coping: Replication, extension, and initial exploration of neurochemical substrates,” personality and Individual Differences 44: 360 - 70

Tags: Upward spirals, open minds, coping, resiliency

Happiness 1st Institute takes the best information from a variety of disciplines including Positive Psychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, emotional intelligence and ancient philosophies to create courses that provide skills and tools individuals can use to make themselves happier, more optimistic, more resilient and more emotionally intelligent.

Visit our website today for more information and to enroll.

www. happiness1st. com

© Jeanine Joy 2011 - 2014


Benefits

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An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

July 12, 20142

 

Politicians are you paying attention? Do you really have the well-being of the people in mind? Then pay attention-we know what we need to know to solve most of the problems on the agenda. Let’s stop treating symptoms and solve them at the root cause level.

This is an excerpt from the North Carolina 2012 Research Divisions (for the NC House and NC Senate) that I felt could be beneficially impacted by knowledge and skills training in positivity, optimism, stress reduction, and happiness based on the current state of the knowledge base contributed to by many branches of science including positive psychology, biochemistry, neuroscience, epigenetics, psychoimmunology, and many more.

Federal legislators and the Surgeon General are also ignoring these potential benefits. Why? Is it a case of following the money to see the real motivation?

Do we need a grass roots effort to demand that state of the art knowledge be put toward solving problems?

These benefits P R E V E N T illnesses and societal problems - not just address symptoms. There is no reason to wait!

 

  • The category is listed first.
  • The individuals assigned are listed second.
  • The third aspect are statements (not exhaustive) of the benefits science has demonstrated would be attributed to that area with the implementation of training in increased positivity, optimism and happiness.

 

The comments are made by Jeanine Broderick, President of Happiness 1st. This is based on many years of research across many scientific disciplines fueled by passion for learning everything possible about the benefits of positivity to individuals, their families, their employers and their communities.

 

I was writing to all the NC elected representatives and came across this listing. I felt inspired by the numbers of areas that have potential to be beneficially impacted.

There is solid science behind the statements made.

 

2012

A

Abortion Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson,

Janice Paul, Kelly Quick

Reduces Teen Pregnancy and repeat teen pregnancy

 

Adult Care Homes Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

Adult Day Care Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

 

Aging Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

Studies show that attitude about aging has tremendous impact; positive outcomes can be greatly increased.

 

AIDS Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson

Improves decision-making

 

Alcohol Abuse Shawn Parker, Janice Paul, Susan Barham

Reduces substance abuse

Often feeling unhappy is a strong factor in onset

 

Assisted Living Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

B

C

 

Child Abuse & Neglect Drupti Chauhan, Janice Paul,

Susan Barham, Kelly Quick

Reduces substance abuse

Improves relationships of all types

Improves ability to think

Stress reduction skills can help avoid reaching that crisis point

 

Children, Family & Marriage Wendy Ray, Drupti Chauhan, Janice Paul,

Kelly Quick

Improves relationships of all types

More harmonious relationships

Increases stability

Reduces marriage for wrong reasons

Make earlier course corrections - with knowledge and skills

Colleges Drupti Chauhan, Kara McCraw,

Sara Kamprath, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Depression is rampant among college students

  • reduces substance abuse
  • reduces ‘comfort’ sexual encounters
  • increases true self-esteem
  • Reduces teen pregnancy

Suicide is a major problem in this age group - would reduce it

Increases emotional intelligence

Increases IQ

Community Colleges Kara McCraw, Drupti Chauhan,

Sara Kamprath, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Depression is rampant among college students

  • reduces substance abuse
  • reduces ‘comfort’ sexual encounters
  • increases true self-esteem
  • Reduces teen pregnancy

Suicide is a major problem in this age group - would reduce it

Increases emotional intelligence

Increases IQ

 

Corrections Brenda Carter, Susan Sitze, Hal Pell,

Kelly Quick

Strongly believe it would reduce recidivism - would like to study

D

 

Disabled Persons Shawn Parker, Susan Barham,

Amy Jo Johnson, Patsy Pierce

There are many incidents of positivity improving ability beyond where physicians believed they could go

Helps with depression

 

Discrimination Hal Pell, Brad Krehely, Kara McCraw,

Amy Jo Johnson, Kelly Quick

There is discrimination in the world but there is also perceived discrimination when it does not exist and both are damaging to living harmoniously as a society. Helps with both types as increased positivity has been shown to reduce racism.

 

Diseases Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

50% risk reduction in cardiovascular disease (Harvard Meta-Analysis)

One skill has been shown to reduce death, disability and stroke in those who already have heart disease

Provides preventative effect on cancers studied (including breast cancer)

Reduces risk of Type II diabetes

Reduces depression and chronic depression

Reduces impact of negative life events (which typically increase risk of disease & death)

Shown to have a positive impact on Alzheimer’s

Positive impact on stroke

 

Divorce

Wendy Ray, Janice Paul

Improves relationships of all types

More harmonious relationships

Increases stability

Reduces marriage for wrong reasons

Make earlier course corrections - with knowledge and skills

 

Domestic Violence Hal Pell, Wendy Ray, Susan Sitze, Janice Paul, Susan Barham

Improves relationships of all types

More harmonious relationships

Increases stability

Reduces marriage for wrong reasons

Make earlier course corrections - with knowledge and skills

 

Drugs – Crime Hal Pell, Wendy Ray, Susan Sitze,

Kelly Quick

Reduces substance abuse

Often feeling unhappy is a strong factor in onset

 

Drugs – Pharmaceutical Shawn Parker, Barbara Riley,

Susan Barham, Amy Jo Johnson

There are a number of drugs where the placebo effect is almost as beneficial as the strong drug (that comes with side effects). Positivity can be nurtured to gain benefits from the same mechanisms that provide placebo effect deliberately

 

Drunk Driving, DUI & DWI Susan Sitze, Hal Pell, Brenda Carter

Reduces substance abuse

Improves decision making abilities

Provides skills and knowledge to deal with life stressors without need to medicate with alcohol

E

 

Econ. Dev. Incentives, JSC Cindy Avrette, Trina Griffin,

Heather Fennell, Greg Roney, Judy Collier

It would be nice to have some incentives to adopt these practices as employee benefits. The science is sound and the business benefits are robust but getting businesses to listen and understand the benefits is an uphill battle right now. Happiness has a reputation as ‘fluffy’ and something you chase, not attain. Creating case analysis would increase natural adoption of beneficial programs because the benefits include: decreased absenteeism, increased productivity, decreased turnover, increased mental ability, increased creativity, decreased health care costs, less bickering in the office and more.

 

Economic Development Cindy Avrette, Trina Griffin,

Heather Fennell, Greg Roney, Judy Collier

Adoption of programs could give businesses a competitive edge coming out of the recovery.

Education Drupti Chauhan, Kara McCraw, Sara Kamprath, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Emotional self-mastery and understanding of emotions will help children thrive at all ages.

I believe that the ones I read about (at the bottom) who can’t seem to improve no matter how many resources are thrown at them are often suffering from “Learned Helplessness” which is a state of mind where they just do not believe their actions matter. It is possible to unlearn “Learned Helplessness” and a program to do this (both for children and adults) would, I believe, result in thriving like you’ve never imagined in areas previously thought hopeless.

 

Elderly Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath, Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

Studies show that attitude about aging has tremendous impact; positive outcomes can be greatly increased.

 

Emergency Management (Resilience) Barbara Riley, Janice Paul, Kelly Quick

Resilience increases so the ability to rebound after an emergency and function well would be improved.

 

Employee Benefits Theresa Matula, Karen Cochrane-Brown,

Brad Krehely

Until everyone is learning this in school providing it as an employee benefit is a good way to help those who have completed their schooling. Providing tax advantages for employers to offer the courses would be beneficial. For example, considering it a health care expense that employers can write off. I do not believe we can make it eligible for flex benefits or HSA accounts at the state level but that would also be fantastic.

 

Environmental Health Jennifer Mundt, Jeffrey Hudson,

Jennifer McGinnis, Mariah Matheson

Why does one person get sick and another not when exposed to the same environmental toxins? The level of positivity plays a part with positivity providing some protections. The science showing that the immune system functions better when someone is positively focused, optimistic and happy is strong and clear.

 

Eugenics Denise Huntley Adams, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

There is clear evidence that a positive environment has a beneficial impact on future generations (out up to 8 generations in the research I have seen on rats) but even more importantly, there is science showing negative impact on the next generation from depressed Moms-to-be including adverse impact on behavior, sleep patters, and increased incidence of asthma and depression in the offspring.

Epigenetics is a rapidly advancing science and the newest findings demonstrate the benefits of being positively focused.

 

F

Families Drupti Chauhan, Wendy Ray, Janice Paul,

Patsy Pierce, Kelly Quick

Improves relationships of all types

More harmonious relationships

Increases stability

Reduces marriage for wrong reasons

Make earlier course corrections - with knowledge and skills

 

 

Federal Health Care Reform Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson

I was gravely disappointed that the National Prevention Council Action Plan: Implementing the National Prevention Strategy did not include taking advantage of the knowledge that exists regarding the impact of positive emotions on prevention across the board. I would be happy to participate in developing programs and recommendations to bring the advantages and known benefits of increased optimism to North Carolina. On the bright side, this affords the state of North Carolina to be a leader in this change.

 

Food Stamps Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

Poverty is impacted by many factors that improve with the knowledge and skills including self-esteem, overcoming Learned Helplessness, re-framing failures as learning experiences and more.

The program makes individuals feel more empowered and thus more likely to take positive actions under their own volition.

 

Foreclosure Karen Cochrane-Brown, Bill Patterson, Greg Roney, Janice Paul, Drupti Chauhan

Poverty is impacted by many factors that improve with the knowledge and skills including self-esteem, overcoming Learned Helplessness, re-framing failures as learning experiences and more.

The program makes individuals feel more empowered and thus more likely to take positive actions under their own volition.

Financial woes are currently made worse by some of the practices of the lenders. They will often have the delinquent customer rehash the reasons for their late payments over and over again. This focus further depletes their resilience and makes them feel even more of a failure which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. As Henry Ford said “If you believe you can, you can. If you believe you can’t, you can’t. Either way you are right. ” Reviewing practices that tend to further deplete the resilience and emotional resources of someone who is already struggling and making modifications that will help them recover instead of furthering the misery would be beneficial to both sides.

 

Freedom of Press Kara McCraw, Brad Krehely

I believe in a free press but right now the press is actually very damaging to our society. They focus upon negative events and circumstances. They do not inform (if they wanted to inform them would tell us when things were fixed, resolved, etc. ) They sensationalize.

I attended a class by Dr. Robert Holden in NYC last November and my Mom was worried sick because I stayed in Times Square and the news reported that Times Square had been taken over by Occupy Wall Street. My parents who diligently watch TV daily for hours to ‘be informed” believed, from the reports, that I was in a virtual war zone. I not only walked several blocks from my hotel to the class every day but also walked at night and never felt frightened nor did I see evidence of Occupy. The news had clearly reported an erroneous picture of the true situation, one much worse than it actually was.

They are doing the same thing with Greece and Spain. I have been asking those I meet who have been there recently about conditions because, once again, my Mom is quite frightened by the reports knowing that I am going there soon. Everyone I have spoken with has enjoyed good experiences and not been frightened.

I do not watch television. I turned it off in 1995 because the characters were people I would ask to leave if they were physically in my home. Sometimes I go to a friends home and the news is on. It can make me physically ill to listen to it in a few minutes.

There is so much good and wonderful in our world. If the news was reported proportionately good and bad the bad news would last less than 1 minute in each 24 hours. With the evidence we already have about the negative impact of this and the number of televisions that are on in most homes the negative impact is astronomical in terms of health care costs and illness. I would like to see public service announcements educating people about the benefits of positivity, optimism, and happiness. I would like to see a requirement that for every so much airtime of negative news, during the same show, a public service announcement made.

We have a Surgeon General Warning on cigarettes yet smoking only takes an average of 7 years off a life. Negativity takes 10 years.

Negativity also has a negative impact on our offspring.

Negativity has a detrimental impact on our success, our health, and our relationships.

 

G

 

Genetics Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

See comments above re: eugenetics

 

Grandparents Wendy Ray, Janice Paul

Studies show that positively focused individuals maintain better relationships with their families because family members are more motivated to spend time with them.

 

H

 

 

H. Commerce Sub. on Science and Technology

Bill Patterson, Greg Roney

More studies need to be commissioned. It is time to take the vast knowledge and create programs to benefit society and study the results so that tweaks can be made.

 

H. Education Sara Kamprath, Drupti Chauhan,

Kara McCraw, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Right now the only positive psychology program in the country (for a doctorate) is at Penn State. There are scientists who actually believe that understanding emotional self-mastery will eliminate many of the mental health diseases that currently exist. They are seeing the correlation between not properly addressing negative emotions when they occur and developing those illnesses. Understanding the benefits of positivity even further and across disciplines (many fields of science are contributing to the research including neuroscience, biochemistry, psychology, quantum physics, and more.

 

H. Health and Human Services Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson,

Barbara Riley, Janice Paul, Susan Barham

Many of the chronic issues can be resolved using the knowledge and skills already developed.

 

H. Military and Homeland Security Hal Pell, Tim Hovis

What is the difference between post adversarial growth and PTSD? Often it is mental state and having either knowledge and skills to deal with the trauma or following instinctive ideas that lead one to post traumatic growth instead of PTSD.

 

Health Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

Some Scientifically Shown Benefits of Increased Happiness

Positive emotions, optimism, and happiness have been scientifically shown to:

 

  • Reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 50%[i]
  • Provide a protective defense against breast cancer[ii]
  • Increase resilience “We contend that the cognitive broadening that accompanies states of positive emotion expands and improves the ways people cope during crises”. [iii]
  • Increase problem solving abilities and negotiating skills[iv]
  • Have the potential to create chains of events that carry positive meaning for others, positive emotions can trigger upward spirals that transform communities into more cohesive, moral and harmonious social organizations. [v]
  • Reduce stress which is being researched as contributing to Alzheimer’s disease[vi] and [vii]
  • Be the best coping strategies for life’s ‘downs’. [viii]
  • Significantly reduces risk of stroke (study only considered optimism)[ix]
  • Improved relationships of all types[x]
  • Increase success[xi]
  • Research suggests that negativity in social relationships is an important predictor
  • of (adverse) mental health in its own right[xii]

 

This is just a sample of the scientifically proven benefits. Research has found enough benefits to fill several books. I apologize for the copious citations but I wanted you to see that the statements are based upon solid research.

 

 

• Improved immune system function

• Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke

• Reduced risk of Type II diabetes

• Reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease

• Reduced risk of depression

• Reduced incident of illness

• Shorter duration when illness occurs

• Reduced inflammatory response to stress

• Increased longevity

• Lower blood pressure

• Less pain

• Improved sleep

• Greater resiliency and adaptability

• More likely to make good choices

• Increased creativity

• Increased success

• Increased productivity

• Increased optimism

• Improved relationships of all types

• Improved social support networks

• Feel love and appreciation more

• More likely to marry

• More likely to be happily married

• Become more likable

• Greater clarity of thinking; the mind sees more possibilities

• Increased ability to see the ‘big picture’

 

Please see our website, www. Happiness1st. com, for greater details.

Scientific Citations

[1]Boehm, J. K. , & Kubzansky, L. D. The heart’s content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin, April 2012

AmericanAcademyof Neurology (2001, July 13). Keeping up your overall health may keep dementia away, study suggests. Science Daily.

  • Cardiovascular disease is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s so this risk is also reduced. AmericanAcademyof Neurology (2001, July 13). Keeping up your overall health may keep dementia away, study suggests. Science Daily.

 

[1]Ronit Peled, Devora Carmil, Orly Siboni-Samocha and Ilana Shoham-Vardi. Breast cancer, psychological distress and life events among young women. BMC Cancer

[1]What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Fredrickson, Barbara L. ; Tugade, Michele M. ; Waugh, Christian E. ; Larkin, Gregory R. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 84(2), Feb 2003, 365-376. doi: 10. 1037/0022-3514. 84. 2. 365

[1]Content analyses revealed that physicians who felt good were faster to integrate case information and less likely to become anchored on initial thoughts or come to premature closure in their diagnosis. In yet another experiment, Isen and colleagues showed that negotiators induced to feel good were more likely to discover integrative solutions in a complex bargaining task. Overall, 20 years of experiments by

Isen and her colleagues show that when people feel good, their thinking becomes more creative, integrative, flexible and open to information. The Value of Positive Emotions. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph. D.

[1]The Value of Positive Emotions. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph. D.

[1]Ioannis Sotiropoulos, Caterina Catania, Lucilia G. Pinto, Rui Silva, G. Elizabeth Pollerberg, Akihiko Takashima, Nuno Sousa, and Osborne F. X. Almeida. Stress Acts Cumulatively to Precipitate Alzheimer’s Disease-Like Tau Pathology and Cognitive Deficits. Journal of Neuroscience, May 25, 2011; 31(21):7840-7847 DOI:10. 1523/JNEUROSCI. 0730-11. 2011

[1]Robert A. Rissman, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences, said the findings may at least partly explain why clinical studies have found a strong link between people prone to stress and development of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which accounts for up to 95 percent of all AD cases in humans. Robert A. Rissman, Michael A. Staup, Allyson Roe Lee, Nicholas J. Justice, Kenner C. Rice, Wylie Vale, and Paul E. Sawchenko. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-dependent effects of repeated stress on tau phosphorylation, solubility, and aggregation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012 DOI: 10. 1073/pnas. 1203140109

[1]Joachim Stoeber and Dirk P. Janssen. Perfectionism and coping with daily failures: positive reframing helps achieve satisfaction at the end of the day. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 2011

[1]Eric S. Kim, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson. Health and Retirement Study. Stroke, 2011; DOI:10. 1161/STROKEAHA. 111. 613448

[1]Relationships have been linked to lower blood pressure, better immune functioning and decreases in the length of hospitalizations, the authors write, citing previous studies. Social contact has also been linked to oxytocin, the bonding hormone, which regulates stress. This is excerpted from a study by Prof. Holt-Lunstad who co-authored a large-scale report on mortality and social relationships, which was released on July 2010 and published in journal PLoS Medicine. The report looks at 148 studies involving 308,849 people. The average age was 64. The participants were evenly split between the sexes, and followed for an average of 7. 5 years. They found close relationships correlated to 3. 7 more years of life. Conversely, a relative lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality. One study, which examined data from more than 309,000 people, found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50% — an effect on mortality risk roughly comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity.

[1]” A decade of research in the business world proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality-of-life improvements” Shawn Achor, Former Harvard Professor and author of The Happiness Advantage.

[1]Rook, 1984; Sandler & Barrera, 1984

 

Health Care Providers Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

The power of expectation has been shown time and again in so many ways books have been written about it. It is evident in Placebo and Nocebo effect as well as many other areas of life.

Health Care Providers today expect certain illnesses to develop at specific ages and communicate this to their patients. Ophthalmologists expect eyesight to decline by a certain age and communicate this to their patients. Expectation plays a role in developing illnesses and aging. There are many studies that reflect the impact of expectation on aging.

I personally had reading glasses on every flat surface in my life at age 47. Until I realized I ‘expected’ to need them at age 47 and called the bluff. Within two weeks of changing my expectation I no longer needed the reading glass and now, going on four years later still do not need them. Cell degeneration is not necessary at the rate our society experiences it. The combination of expectation and negative emotion play a tremendous role in our actual experiences.

I am happy to sign a release for anyone who would like to see my ophthalmologists records to verify the initial decline in my sight and subsequent improvement.

Many people have physicians on a pedestal and when the doctor tells them that they are morel likely to develop an illness a nocebo effect often occurs with harmful results.

 

Health Insurance Tim Hovis, Bill Patterson, Kory Goldsmith, Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

Perhaps premium discounts for positivity training?

 

Housing - Public Housing & Section 8 Brad Krehely

Poverty is impacted by many factors that improve with the knowledge and skills including self-esteem, overcoming Learned Helplessness, re-framing failures as learning experiences and more.

The program makes individuals feel more empowered and thus more likely to take positive actions under their own volition.

Also, positivity decreases substance abuse, crime and teen pregnancy

 

Human Services Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

Not sure but seems applicable

I

 

Insurance, Life & Health Tim Hovis, Bill Patterson, Kory Goldsmith, Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

See Health Insurance above

In time I am sure actuaries will want to consider positivity in ratings for life insurance and possibly health insurance. Implications of that should be considered.

 

J

 

Juvenile Delinquency Susan Sitze, Janice Paul, Kelly Quick

Reduces substance abuse

Reduces crime

Improves relationships

Increases SAT scores

Increases self-esteem

Improves decision making ability

Helps see alternate (more acceptable) paths to personal goals

L

 

Law Enforcement Officers Susan Sitze, Brenda Carter, Hal Pell,

Erika Churchill, Kelly Quick

Law enforcement officers are at risk because of the often negative experiences and focus (thinking about negative things like crime, dealing with fighting, etc. ). The high divorce rate for this job category is impacted by the negativity. For this type of job related risk it is very beneficial to have skills and knowledge that allow a shift in focus from looking for problems to a better state of mind before interaction with family and friends. Taking the ‘problem focused’ mindset home results in looking for the negative aspects of your spouse and family which is not a recipe for harmony in the home.

 

Long Term Care Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

 

M

 

Malpractice Bill Patterson, Barbara Riley, Tim Hovis

Malpractice claims are negatively impacted by negative patterns of thought. Nurses that have frequent interaction with pre-surgical patients will relay that fearful patients are the ones that have the complications and that after a while they get to the point where there are certain patients to whom they want to say “Don’t do it” because the patients negative expectations are going to negatively impact the recovery and benefits of the surgery.

 

I see a time when a psychological evaluation will be used pre-surgery to determine whether the patient is ready to benefit fully from the treatment. Counseling before the surgery to change mindset and create a more positive outlook would help reduce complications that result in suits.

 

Also, a negative focus will increase the likelihood of someone filing a claim because a person with a negative focus is more likely to blame someone else than accept any personal responsibility for self.

 

Managed Care (HMOs) Tim Hovis, Kory Goldsmith,

Bill Patterson, Amy Jo Johnson

I am sure there are impacts.

 

Marriage Wendy Ray, Janice Paul

Improves relationships of all types

More harmonious relationships

Increases stability

Reduces marriage for wrong reasons

Make earlier course corrections - with knowledge and skills

 

 

Medicaid Shawn Parker, Susan Barham,

Amy Jo Johnson, Janice Paul

See health

See Food Stamps

 

Medicare Theresa Matula, Susan Barham

See aging

See Nursing home

 

Mental Health Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

There are scientists who actually believe that understanding emotional self-mastery will eliminate many of the mental health diseases that currently exist. They are seeing the correlation between not properly addressing negative emotions when they occur and developing those illnesses. Understanding the benefits of positivity even further and across disciplines (many fields of science are contributing to the research including neuroscience, biochemistry, psychology, quantum physics, and more.

 

Military Hal Pell, Theresa Matula, Kelly Quick

What is the difference between post adversarial growth and PTSD? Often it is mental state and having either knowledge and skills to deal with the trauma or following instinctive ideas that lead one to post traumatic growth instead of PTSD.

 

Minorities Hal Pell, Brad Krehely, Kelly Quick

Many impacts.

See discrimination.

Believe would help equalize disparate income detrimental health and mortality impact.

If incomes relatively equal (eg 50 - 60,000) in a community health and longevity are better for those in that income range than others in a community where incomes have a wider range but same cost of living (e. g. 50 - 120,000). The same cost of living negates a lack of access to care for one group and not the other. However, the negativity that people self impose through negative comparisons to others correlates perfectly. It is the negativity, not the income, that causes the negative impact. In areas with disparate incomes the training can raise positive emotions (“If they can do it so can I”, instead of “Why can’t I do it; they did it” and so forth thought processes). The more empowering thoughts are healthier.

 

Minors Susan Sitze, Wendy Ray, Janice Paul

Improve emotional self-mastery

Improve family relationships

Increase intelligence

Decrease teen pregnancy

Much more

 

More At Four Drupti Chauhan, Patsy Pierce,

Sara Kamprath, Kara McCraw, Dee Atkinson

Not sure what this is but am sure it is relative.

 

Nursing Homes Theresa Matula, Sara Kamprath,

Susan Barham

End of life debilitating diseases onset is later and closer to death

 

O

 

Occupational Licensing Boards Karen Cochrane-Brown, Shawn Parker,

Harrison Moore

I would like to see standards. Perhaps reviews like CE credits are reviewed to establish minimums.

In the securities and insurance industries we were plagued by individuals who attended weekend shops and “earned” a credential that lay persons would believe established them as an “expert” - in elder care, in divorce or pre-marital financial counseling, in as many diverse specialties as could be imagined. FINRA (rightly) out and out outlawed the use of some of these “designations” because of lack of substance.

An organization has been created (it is in its infancy) but it has the goal of setting the bar for training, including minimum requirements for professional designations which would include CE requirements.

Historically, many fields are damaged (reputation) by early comers who do not truly have the knowledge or expertise but the lack of regulation allows their entry.

I would like to see this important field, that impacts so many areas of well-being, addressed sooner rather than later.

The potential benefits are so great but individuals whose first encounter is with an unqualified individual passing themselves as qualified and credentialed could turn someone away forever even when there are truly great benefits for them.

For further ideas on this please see the website, www. TheISHP. org

 

P

Parental Control Drupti Chauhan, Janice Paul

I am not sure what this category is but parent/child relations are definitely impacted by the emotional state of both.

 

Parks & Recreation Jennifer McGinnis, Jennifer Mundt,

Jeffrey Hudson, Mariah Matheson

Programs that help children master their emotions would be beneficial

 

Police Susan Sitze, Brenda Carter, Hal Pell,

Kelly Quick

Law enforcement officers are at risk because of the often negative experiences and focus (thinking about negative things like crime, dealing with fighting, etc. ). The high divorce rate for this job category is impacted by the negativity. For this type of job related risk it is very beneficial to have skills and knowledge that allow a shift in focus from looking for problems to a better state of mind before interaction with family and friends. Taking the ‘problem focused’ mindset home results in looking for the negative aspects of your spouse and family which is not a recipe for harmony in the home.

What is the difference between post adversarial growth and PTSD? Often it is mental state and having either knowledge and skills to deal with the trauma or following instinctive ideas that lead one to post traumatic growth instead of PTSD.

 

Preschools Drupti Chauhan, Sara Kamprath, Kara McCraw, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

It is never too early to begin teaching emotional self-mastery

 

Prisons Brenda Carter, Hal Pell, Susan Sitze, Kelly Quick

Strongly believe it would reduce recidivism - would like to study

 

Probation Hal Pell, Susan Sitze

Strongly believe it would reduce recidivism - would like to study

 

Public Assistance Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

Poverty is impacted by many factors that improve with the knowledge and skills including self-esteem, overcoming Learned Helplessness, re-framing failures as learning experiences and more.

The program makes individuals feel more empowered and thus more likely to take positive actions under their own volition.

 

Public Health Shawn Parker, Barbara Riley, Susan Barham, Amy Jo Johnson, Jennifer Mundt

See Health

 

S. Ed/Higher Ed Drupti Chauhan, Sara Kamprath, Kara McCraw, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Depression is rampant among college students

  • reduces substance abuse
  • reduces ‘comfort’ sexual encounters
  • increases true self-esteem
  • Reduces teen pregnancy

Suicide is a major problem in this age group - would reduce it

Increases emotional intelligence

Increases IQ

 

S. Health Care Shawn Parker, Theresa Matula,

Amy Jo Johnson, Susan Barham

See Health

 

S. Insurance Tim Hovis, Amy Jo Johnson,

Kory Goldsmith

See Insurance

 

 

S. Mental Health & Youth Services Shawn Parker, Patsy Pierce, Janice Paul,

Susan Barham

See Mental Health and Minors

 

Schools Drupti Chauhan, Kara McCraw,

Sara Kamprath, Dee Atkinson, Patsy Pierce

See schools

 

Sex Crimes Hal Pell, Wendy Ray, Susan Sitze,

Kelly Quick

Emotional self-mastery and higher self esteem would help; especially with the crimes committed by those who were once victims

 

Sexual Harassment Hal Pell, Susan Sitze, Brad Krehely

While there is real sexual harassment there is also perceived sexual harassment that interferes with ease in relationship of co-workers. Negative emotional states increase the likelihood that innocent comments will be perceived as threatening. That is why an action or comment is barely (or not) remembered by one person and vivid to another.

Increased positivity would reduce the perception of harassment where it does not exist but would not overlook real situations that require attention.

 

Sheriffs Susan Sitze, Kelly Quick, Erika Churchill

See Law Enforcement

 

Smart Start Drupti Chauhan, Patsy Pierce, Sara Kamprath, Kara McCraw, Dee Atkinson

See pre-school

 

Smoking Shawn Parker, Amy Jo Johnson

This is the type of decision that improves with positivity. Even the decision to quit in more likely when someone is optimistic and positively focused.

 

Social Services Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

Not sure but am positive there are many relevant aspects

 

Special Education Drupti Chauhan, Kara McCraw,

Sara Kamprath, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

Positive expectation makes a tremendous difference in potential progress.

Also, increased self esteem is beneficial

 

State Employees Health Plan Karen Cochrane-Brown, Theresa Matula,

Kory Goldsmith

The state could save many millions by implementing positivity training for employees. Service levels would also improve.

 

Studies Authorizations Brad Krehely, Giles Perry, Wendy Ray,

Kory Goldsmith, Kelly Quick

While there is plenty of evidence, more than enough, to begin applying positivity training and reaping the benefits there is more to be known. As programs are implemented some should be studied to determine both the benefits derived and areas that we may wish to tweak for even better results.

 

Substance Abuse Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

See drug abuse

 

Unemployment Brad Krehely, Theresa Matula, Janice Paul

Increased positivity increases the likelihood of finding new employment.

It opens the mind to possibilities that are closed when a person is negatively focused.

They are more attractive and more likely to be hired when they are positively focused.

 

Universities Drupti Chauhan, Sara Kamprath,

Kara McCraw, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

See Colleges

 

V

Veterans Hal Pell, Theresa Matula, Kelly Quick

See Military

 

Victims of Crime Brenda Carter, Susan Sitze, Kelly Quick, Janice Paul

Statistically, a rape victim is 7 times more likely to be raped again than someone who has never been raped.

In self defense classes they teach that appearing confident deters crime.

That is true.

Once you have defined yourself as a victim it is difficult to appear otherwise. It is like an invisible neon sign.

You can change what is written on that sign by changing your definition of self.

That is just one impact.

Victims of domestic violence also have a similar neon sign.

 

Vocational Education Kara McCraw, Sara Kamprath, Drupti Chauhan, Patsy Pierce, Dee Atkinson

I see self esteem issues here.

Some would view a vocational education as ‘less than’ a college education.

That negative comparison of self to others has detrimental impacts on health and relationships

Structuring healthy, valid self perceptions would improve health, well-being and even success. There are some vocations where an individual can be very successful but most in that sort of work do not see themselves as having that potential. Back to expectations.

W

 

Welfare Shawn Parker, Susan Barham, Janice Paul

See food stamps

 

Women’s Rights Brad Krehely, Kara McCraw, Kelly Quick

Some women still perceive women as less than men. This perception is damaging to self.

 

Work Release Brenda Carter, Hal Pell, Susan Sitze

See Incarceration, prisons

 

Worker Training Hal Pell, Brad Krehely

Many applicable and beneficial applications

 

Workers’ Compensation Tim Hovis, Bill Patterson, Brad Krehely

Negativity does not just impact health via illness, there is evidence it impacts accidents

 

Workplace Safety Hal Pell

See Workers’ Compensation

 

 

[i]Boehm, J. K. , & Kubzansky, L. D. The heart’s content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health. Psychological Bulletin, April 2012

AmericanAcademyof Neurology (2001, July 13). Keeping up your overall health may keep dementia away, study suggests. Science Daily.

  • Cardiovascular disease is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s so this risk is also reduced. AmericanAcademyof Neurology (2001, July 13). Keeping up your overall health may keep dementia away, study suggests. Science Daily.

 

[ii]Ronit Peled, Devora Carmil, Orly Siboni-Samocha and Ilana Shoham-Vardi. Breast cancer, psychological distress and life events among young women. BMC Cancer

[iii]What good are positive emotions in crisis? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Fredrickson, Barbara L. ; Tugade, Michele M. ; Waugh, Christian E. ; Larkin, Gregory R. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 84(2), Feb 2003, 365-376. doi: 10. 1037/0022-3514. 84. 2. 365

[iv]Content analyses revealed that physicians who felt good were faster to integrate case information and less likely to become anchored on initial thoughts or come to premature closure in their diagnosis. In yet another experiment, Isen and colleagues showed that negotiators induced to feel good were more likely to discover integrative solutions in a complex bargaining task. Overall, 20 years of experiments by

Isen and her colleagues show that when people feel good, their thinking becomes more creative, integrative, flexible and open to information. The Value of Positive Emotions. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph. D.

[v]The Value of Positive Emotions. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph. D.

[vi]Ioannis Sotiropoulos, Caterina Catania, Lucilia G. Pinto, Rui Silva, G. Elizabeth Pollerberg, Akihiko Takashima, Nuno Sousa, and Osborne F. X. Almeida. Stress Acts Cumulatively to Precipitate Alzheimer’s Disease-Like Tau Pathology and Cognitive Deficits. Journal of Neuroscience, May 25, 2011; 31(21):7840-7847 DOI:10. 1523/JNEUROSCI. 0730-11. 2011

[vii]Robert A. Rissman, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences, said the findings may at least partly explain why clinical studies have found a strong link between people prone to stress and development of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which accounts for up to 95 percent of all AD cases in humans. Robert A. Rissman, Michael A. Staup, Allyson Roe Lee, Nicholas J. Justice, Kenner C. Rice, Wylie Vale, and Paul E. Sawchenko. Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-dependent effects of repeated stress on tau phosphorylation, solubility, and aggregation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012 DOI: 10. 1073/pnas. 1203140109

[viii]Joachim Stoeber and Dirk P. Janssen. Perfectionism and coping with daily failures: positive reframing helps achieve satisfaction at the end of the day. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 2011

[ix]Eric S. Kim, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson. Health and Retirement Study. Stroke, 2011; DOI:10. 1161/STROKEAHA. 111. 613448

[x]Relationships have been linked to lower blood pressure, better immune functioning and decreases in the length of hospitalizations, the authors write, citing previous studies. Social contact has also been linked to oxytocin, the bonding hormone, which regulates stress. This is excerpted from a study by Prof. Holt-Lunstad who co-authored a large-scale report on mortality and social relationships, which was released on July 2010 and published in journal PLoS Medicine. The report looks at 148 studies involving 308,849 people. The average age was 64. The participants were evenly split between the sexes, and followed for an average of 7. 5 years. They found close relationships correlated to 3. 7 more years of life. Conversely, a relative lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality. One study, which examined data from more than 309,000 people, found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50% — an effect on mortality risk roughly comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity.

[xi]” A decade of research in the business world proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality-of-life improvements” Shawn Achor, Former Harvard Professor and author of The Happiness Advantage.

[xii]Rook, 1984; Sandler & Barrera, 1984


Benefits

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