Perhaps the most telling testimony to the healing potency of emotional ties is a Swedish study published in 1993. All the men living in the Swedish city of Göteborg who were born in 1933 were offered a free medical exam; seven years later the 752 men who had come for the exam were contacted again. Of these, 41 had died in the intervening years.
Men who had originally reported being under intense emotional stress had a death rate three times greater than those who said their lives were calm and placid. The emotional distress was due to events such as serious financial trouble, feeling insecure at work or being forced out of a job, being the object of a legal action, or going through a divorce. Having had three or more of these troubles within the year before the exam was a stronger predictor of dying within the ensuing seven years than were medical indicators such as high blood pressure, high concentrations of blood triglycerides, or high serum cholesterol levels.
Yet among men who said they had a dependable web of intimacy--a wife, close friends, and the like--there was no relationship whatever between high stress levels and death rate. Having people to turn to and talk with, people who could offer solace, help and suggestions, protected them from the deadly impact of life's rigors and trauma.
Emotional Intelligence. Random House LLC, 2006. 358 pages, p.179
No comments:
Post a Comment