One more benefit for meditation and exercise: we don’t
catch the cold as often and don’t suffer through it as long. Bruce
Barrett, MD, PhD, July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. “Evidence
suggests that mindfulness meditation can reduce experienced stress and negative
emotions and that regular exercise may protect people from respiratory
illness.” This has been proven in people 50 and older.

Interesting hypothesis reported in Medscape Neurology A.N.
Wilner, MD, 07/11/2012 that mass hysteria might be related to mirror neuron
activity. Unable to stop copying someone? Even harder when in a group? It
sounds plausible.

This was an excellent day with great, varied and competent speakers.

2011 was the first NZ conference and the main philosophy of Positive Psychology was present throughout the day. The content of the presentations, the approach of the speakers, and the attitude of the delegates… it was all testimony to this new (ish) approach in psychology.

-Dr Lindsay Oades spoke about the fact that business wellbeing and employee wellbeing are interdependent and that prosperity can only follow if both are well.

-Prof Todd Kashdan linked in from US and reminded everyone that context matters. If Positive Psychology is to become meaningful, then it cannot be applied ‘mindlessly’ to every situation or client in a ‘cook book’ way.

-Dr Suzy Green reminded the audience that Positive Psychology is NOT ‘Happy-ology’. The meaning IN life (not OF life) deals with questions of life purpose and ‘making of meaning’, even after trauma. It also includes all emotions – not just happiness. She suggested that we all think about writing our obituaries…’What would you want to be remembered for?”

-Gaynor Parkin took a similar approach by pointing out that Positive Psychology is not just ‘positive thinking’; rather reality appraisals, resilience and the meta-cognitive approach. She acknowledged Seligman’s, Padesky’s and Fredrickson’s contributions and she recommended the use of measurements/ psychometrics to establish ‘markers of effectiveness’.

-Dr Jo Mitchell reminded the audience that Positive Psychology has already spread online and thus even people in remote areas can be part of this new approach. The traditional ‘illness alleviation’ needs to be complemented by ‘wellness enhancement’. The internet allows mental health to be promoted in an accessible, sustainable, effective and individually tailored way. If presence of wellness can be promoted/achieved, this translates immediately into absence of illness… She also reminded us of the effectiveness of keeping a gratitude journal…

Dr Aaron Jarden was lauded as being the main driver for this conference and for the inception of the Association of Positive Psychology in NZ! He presented the ‘International Wellbeing Study’, which has been running for a few years and has generated a mountain of data (from 18 psychometric measures). These data are slowly being interpreted, but best of all: they are ‘open source data’ and available to everybody on the website! This is true collaboration and true spirit of sharing, meaningfulness and positive outlook into the future. Their first results have pointed towards the best predictors of wellbeing:

“Living life aligned with ones values, while using one’s time in a meaningful way”

It is definitely the next step for psychology and fortunately the present CBT approaches are well suited to fit this new future.

Check out their website as well: www.positivepsychology.org.nz

 Dr. Veronika Isler

It can be imagined that Jane Clifton felt a great sense of achievement after publishing her article ‘Down with positivity!’. Journalists are supposed to create debate – and her opinion piece will undoubtedly achieve this goal. However, there is also the question of causing harm by presenting a one-sided and not very well researched (or deliberately selective?) view point. It is time-consuming having to rebut extreme viewpoints that have been forwarded ‘just to create debate’. Nevertheless it seems necessary, in order to restore some balance.
First of all, I would like to ask Jane whether she has defined “being positive”? Does she mean optimism?, or happiness?, or cheerfulness? It seems that she is on a crusade against ‘magical thinking’ (as evidenced in ‘The Secret’ or in many writings by various life coaches). Would she suggest that we are better off (and healthier) when we are negative and pessimistic?; as these are the true opposites to the maligned ‘positivity’.
As always, the truth lies in the middle. We need to be realistic about the issues life throws at us and we need to examine various solutions in order to generate a plan and to feel self-reliant and ‘in charge’. We also need to know when problemsolving does not work any more and when we need to change our perspective and our thinking about a problem. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) teaches exactly that: If life throws you a lemon, either make lemonade (do problemsolving) or learn to like lemons (change your perceptions and thinking). Both these options will require optimism and the attitude of generating solutions and being in control.
It is interesting that Jane Clifton has not picked up why Ehrenreich was so angry when writing her book: First, she wanted to be validated for her pain; then she could go on to find remedies and interventions. Positivity does not cure cancer, but it helps in order to remain active, full of energy and goal focused (nobody is advocating a Pollyanna attitude, which is denial of the problem and the opposite of taking control). Negativity leads to rumination, passivity, pessimism and ultimately inertia – which is definitely not the way to approach any challenge, let alone cancer (or global warming for that matter). It seems a bit doubtful (literary license?) that anyone would get ‘fired when they are not cheerful enough’; however, an active ‘go-getting’ attitude might be more desirable for the success of a company, than pessimism and wallowing in the negatives…
The movement of positive psychology is much more evolved than “patronizing and infantile magical thinking”. There are thousands of good articles and an abundance of solid, evidence based research, which will disprove the statement that there are “no clinical studies correlating health to happiness”. They can be easily found: for example a recent study demonstrated clearly that ‘happiness is related to cutting the risk of a cardiac episode’ (Karina Davidson, European Heart Journal), and I am sure many other letter writers will point out relevant research. Scientific studies also prove correlations between optimism and happiness and improved cognitive functioning, improved memory performance, longevity, or better general coping skills, to name just a few. We are a work in progress, our brain is a work in progress and we can take charge to improve ourselves and our lives and as a consequence our environment; if we are pessimistic, and negative and don’t believe in possible solutions, then we won’t! Hillary climbed his mountain because he was positive that he could!
Psychologists (in particular CBT psychologists) have spent much time lately to teach clients how to recognise their thinking patterns, how to modify and influence their emotions, and how to change behaviour patterns. The underlying message is, that we all can take control in our lives, even if we are faced with a ‘catastrophe’ and have to modify our thinking and our actions. It is very satisfying to see people lose their fears, stop their avoidance, and become less dependent on ‘gurus’, medical cures, or other external factors. Being positive IS good for us if we use it actively to change what we can and to accept what we can’t change. I hope that the readers of this article have not fallen into the trap of the black and white thinking and that nobody equates positive thinking with complacency or ‘magical thinking’. A bit more research would have avoided that trap for Jane Clifton as well…
We would be delighted to explain to Jane more about the recent developments and achievements of psychology in people’s lives.

You don’t have to be an expert to figure out that consistency is pretty essential to successfully change your life, your health, your weight and unhelpful behaviours. But it’s also pretty clear that building a consistent routine for example of regular exercise and healthy eating is not an easy thing to do.

You start off the day with the best intentions—to be active, do relaxation exercises, or make other healthy choices. But then life happens. One of the kids is sick, the babysitter is late, the boss asks you to work overtime, or any one of a hundred other surprises that can really wreck your day. Before you know it, your plan is in trouble and your prospects for “sticking to it” aren’t looking very good. In fact, things are probably going to get worse as the day goes on. By the end of the day, you have no energy left for exercise, or any other of the tasks and goals you has set yourself for the day and everything feels like a big burden when what you really want is a break. Something has to give.

More often than not, “what gives” is your plan to stick to new behaviours, for example the walk around the block, the writing of your diary or eating right. When it’s hard to do everything, the things most likely to go undone are those that don’t affect or involve anyone but you—especially if those things aren’t exactly your favorite things to do anyway.

So how do you change this pattern? With the three rules for building consistency.
These three simple rules, when followed faithfully, will make it easier for you to be consistent with your new adaptive and healthy lifestyle habits—even on the toughest days.

Rule #1: Never tell yourself “I’m not motivated.”
That’s not the real problem, unless you really don’t want to live a healthy lifestyle. As long as you do want these things, you have all the motivation you need.

It may be true that sometimes you don’t want to exercise, or that you really want to blob in front of the tv rather than being active and engaging in a hobby or being socially active. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t mean you’re not motivated. It just means that you want two different and opposing things, and you have to make a decision. Telling yourself that you lack motivation is just a way of denying that you really do have a choice. It makes the problem seem mysterious and out of your control, and it makes you feel less powerful than you really are, because you lack something (the motivation) you need. Not true!

In the long run you’ll do better if you acknowledge that the choice is yours to make. You can choose either option, without making excuses or inventing a theory like “lack of motivation” to justify it. Then, pay attention to how you feel about the choice you made, and decide whether that is how you want to feel most of the time.

Being consistent does not mean being perfect. (There are going to be days when you decide to do something other than stick to your plan and new routine, and that’s fine.) But becoming consistent does mean giving yourself the power to choose.

Rule #2: Build momentum one step at a time.
It’s never easy to change old habits or start new routines (i.e., to build new brain pathways in order to replace the old ones). Studies show that it takes anywhere from 21 to 40 days to really turn a new behavior into a persistent habit. And during that time, you’re going to have to work at it pretty diligently—even when you don’t feel like it.

The key to long term consistency is building momentum. The hardest part is always getting things started. But once you’re moving, staying in motion and picking up speed becomes a lot easier. There are a lot of ways you can gradually build momentum during those first few weeks. Here are some examples:
• Start with something that’s pretty easy to manage and build up from there. For example for activation set a goal of one 10-minute session per week. Then increase it to two 10-minute sessions. Gradually add minutes to each time (and eventually add one or more additional physical activities to your week), until you’re moving as long and as frequently as you should in order to reach your goals. The simple act of setting aside some time every day, no matter how little, and sticking to it is enough to start building the habit.
• Find an accountability buddy (friends, mates, your counsellor)—someone who knows about your plan and is willing to give you a push when you feel like slacking off.
• Join a team. It’s always harder to let someone else down than it is to let yourself off the hook.
• Employ an excuse buster. Find someone whose judgment and opinion you respect. Each time you find yourself thinking about skipping a session or giving in to old behaviour (mal-adaptive) patterns, write down the reason for your choice. Share this reason with your excuse buster and get their honest opinion about whether the reason for your choice is reasonable or just an excuse. You’ll probably find that this makes it a lot harder for you to believe your own rationalizations… you might even discover that you can see through your own excuses once they are written down!

Rule #3: Always have a plan B.
Because life is unpredictable and complicated, you need to have plan B ready—even before you actually need it. Plan B is an alternative way to stay consistent with your goals when your regular routine (or something else) doesn’t work out as planned. Obviously, you can’t foresee every single problem that might come up. But most of the time, the things that get in your way are things that happen fairly often—like kids getting sick, extra hours at work, or days when you just don’t feel very energetic. Those surprises won’t throw you off track if you plan ahead. For example, have a friend or family member lined up to stay with your kids so you can go for your walk or do your breathing exercises; stock your freezer with some healthy meals when you’re short on time; use your cell phone as an alarm clock to remind yourself of being mindful throughout the day (or of keeping your tv watching to an hour in the evening); have a diary at home and in the car for your self-observations; stash some exercise clothes at the office when you can’t get away.

Put a little time into identifying the most common problems that disrupt your new planned routine, and prepare (in advance) what you can do to handle these problems without sacrificing your intentions. Then all you’ll have to do is put your plan B into action.

Following these three simple rules will help you overcome some common obstacles while building the momentum you need to stay consistent. … In the process you will discover the patterns of behaviours and thoughts that throw you of track most frequently.