Nina In New York: Happiness Isn't All Its Cracked Up To Be
A lighthearted look at news, events, culture and everyday life in New York. The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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By Nina Pajak
Are you all enjoying this weather? Sure, it's a little dissonant with all the holiday cheer and festive, glittery, snowy decor, but it's fabulous isn't it? Passersby are friendly, people let you go ahead of them in lines. Doesn't it just make you want to skip down the sidewalk and sing? Doesn't it just make you so darn happy?
Well, bully for you. It ain't gonna help you live longer. May as well turn that upside-down frown back where it belongs.
After so many studies asserting that unhappy people are grumping themselves into an early grave, a new study published last week in Lancet concludes that happiness has no effect on longevity—in women, specifically. Debbie Downers of the world, rejoice! Or, you know. Don't.
According to The New York Times, the researchers tracked the health of a million middle-aged British women, and also collected survey responses on their happiness and stress levels. They now believe that those conditions have no bearing on life span. And taking it a step further, they feel that previous studies have gotten it twisted, declaring that misery causes illness when really the opposite is true.
From the article:
He and his fellow researchers decided to look into the subject because, he said, there is a widespread belief that stress and unhappiness cause disease.
Such beliefs can fuel a tendency to blame the sick for bringing ailments on themselves by being negative, and to warn the well to cheer up or else.
"Believing things that aren't true isn't a good idea," Professor Peto said in an interview. "There are enough scare stories about health."
So if true, this would be very important information to anyone feeling like they would finally get better if they could only get themselves out of the dumps. Feeling guilty for "making yourself sick" with high anxiety and negativity isn't what anyone needs. Being released of that would certainly take a weight off for many people suffering.
On the other hand, the article points out that this study's methods are not considered the most rigorous, and many other scientists feel there is much more work to be done on the subject. Anecdotally, many of us have personal experience with being susceptible to sickness in extreme times of stress. And many of us have watched loved ones fade away, sapped of all hope and positivity from an illness. Then again, many of us have seen people fight hard and win, never letting their spirits fall. Perhaps this really is all luck of the draw, and none of it matters. Perhaps the people who faded would always have done so, and the people who recovered would have made it through to the other side regardless of attitude. No, we don't want to labor under false delusions that a smile can cure and a frown can kill. People should be allowed to feel how they want to feel. But it's difficult to imagine that trying to keep a sick friend feeling happy can hurt anyone. We have to keep trying, don't we? Quality of life still has to count for something.
The jury is out. In the meantime, it may be best just to keep that frown somewhere between right-side up and upside-down. Just to be safe.
Nina Pajak is a writer living with her husband, daughter and dog in Queens. Connect with Nina on Twitter!
