Anxiety really is measurably bad for our physical health. Correspondingly, calming techniques help our physical health.
It may be linked to a study on how a feeling of having been unfairly treated makes one more likely to have a heart attack. This latter is important because it is further evidence that great inequalities and injustices in a society affect a population's health.
However, we should recall that we are dealing with a perception, and perceptions can vary not only with objective things but subjectivities too. There is a place for helping people to reframe their experience in ways that can reduce the stress, anxiety and felt unfairness. Thus people who generally have a grateful approach to life are likely to be better off than those with 'chips on their shoulders'. The further difficulty, though, is that this catches us in a kind of cleft stick dilemma; greater contentment leads to less anxiety and sense of injustice but runs the risk of taking away the determination to deal with injustice.
Is hope a good health factor? Because there ought to be a difference between feeling aggrieved without hope of redress, and having a hope of redress. Is revenge about 'exporting' our sense of hurt and grievance as a way of dealing with the pain of being wronged? Is forgiveness the process of coming to terms with being wronged? Does forgiveness have positive health benefits? Anecdotal evidence says it does.
And the biggie is, how does all this relate to the wrath and forgiveness of God?
ScienceDaily: Over Time, Those Who Find Inner Calm Live Longer, Healthier Lives See also the article on unfair treatment.
Technorati Tags: health, meditation, justice, wrath, forgiveness
Patients whose anxiety intensified over time were in greatest peril, while those who started out highly anxious but later found inner calm markedly reduced their risk.
It may be linked to a study on how a feeling of having been unfairly treated makes one more likely to have a heart attack. This latter is important because it is further evidence that great inequalities and injustices in a society affect a population's health.
the results still showed that the higher the sense of injustice, the greater was the risk of a heart attack or angina.It also supports the view that the fear of crime etc will worsen health. So the new Labour idea of tackling crime as an issue of social justice does have merit, much to the chagrin of some of the traditional left.
However, we should recall that we are dealing with a perception, and perceptions can vary not only with objective things but subjectivities too. There is a place for helping people to reframe their experience in ways that can reduce the stress, anxiety and felt unfairness. Thus people who generally have a grateful approach to life are likely to be better off than those with 'chips on their shoulders'. The further difficulty, though, is that this catches us in a kind of cleft stick dilemma; greater contentment leads to less anxiety and sense of injustice but runs the risk of taking away the determination to deal with injustice.
Is hope a good health factor? Because there ought to be a difference between feeling aggrieved without hope of redress, and having a hope of redress. Is revenge about 'exporting' our sense of hurt and grievance as a way of dealing with the pain of being wronged? Is forgiveness the process of coming to terms with being wronged? Does forgiveness have positive health benefits? Anecdotal evidence says it does.
And the biggie is, how does all this relate to the wrath and forgiveness of God?
ScienceDaily: Over Time, Those Who Find Inner Calm Live Longer, Healthier Lives See also the article on unfair treatment.
Technorati Tags: health, meditation, justice, wrath, forgiveness
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