Does negativity affect people's physical health?

I should have been clearer in my post: she was just diagnosed with breast cancer this spring, and just had a mastectomy this month. I have no idea what the prognosis is.

I 100% feel that OP. I won't even go further because new age beliefs are shot down here.

I also believe that many childhood diseases are picked up by children up until the age of 8 or so by their parent's fears/thoughts. Children are essentially in an alpha state until that age and the subconscious is extremely powerful.

Our subconscious picks up our entire life's beliefs through the age of 7-- unless you learn to eradicate them as an adult.'

And yes that negativity as an adult has to manifest somewhere- almost always the body.

I agree, OP.

I think negativity and stress will destroy our bodies in the long run.

My mother was always a very negative person. She has alzheimer's now but her physical health is perfect and has been her whole life. I really wish people like this would never have kids but women always buckle under the pressure to have kids even if they don't want them.

Very 1970s, OP. Congratulations.

Since your "example" is a female, I'd say your obsession will give you an incurable disease.

Cheers!

Also, r4: many of these people think nothing is wrong with [bold]them,[/bold] but with everyone else. Of course they will be great parents! But woe betide the child who does not meet their standards...

This thread is clearly hitting too close to home for r5.

I’m a big believer in the effects of negative and positive energy. However, I am not really of the belief that just because someone is a negative person, they would attract just any kind of cancer. Particularly breast cancer. Many positive and upbeat women have found themselves with breast cancer.

What I do believe is negative thoughts or negative states of mind can effect health in very specific ways. For example, If someone suffers extreme stress they could develop bowl cancer if that stress always hits their stomach. Or if someone does not speak out for themselves they could develop throat problems, due to energy not being released vocally.

R7 = Millennial with a wish

OP, you should buy your coworker a copy of The Secret. I'm sure she'd get a lot out of it.

Actually it is better to have some rage, it keeps people alive. Being nice all the time is the real killer.

r11 = Mel Gibson

Well, stress definitely affects your physical health--it kicks up your cortisol, which has a series of associated bad health effects in the long term. Are there negative people who are not stressed? I don't know.

Louise Hay made a successful career, based in this very notion. In her book, “You Can Heal Your Life,” she even lists dozens of physical ailments with their emotional causes.

Actually, after working as a hospice nurse for nearly 8 years, I discovered that anger, control, ocd, unresolved feelings all keep people alive longer. They seem to subsist on sheer orneriness. They couldn’t be called very happy about it, however, and often have continuing, exacerbated pain.

But they do live longer.

before you go there, think of all the young gay men who died before their time.

And loveless marriages end up in cancer of the cervix and planes boarded in bad spirit crash and people who repress things end up with bleeding ulcers.

I stated [italic]quite[/italic] explicitly "That's absolutely not to say everyone who gets cancer is negative," and I also made even no [italic] implications[/italic] that any other deadly disease (particularly such as AIDS, as r15 is implying) is caused by negativity.

Please don't put words in my mouth.

She is karma's bitch at this point

[quote] I cannot help but think it is in some way related to her horrible negativity eating away inside her.

If this were true, then a lot more nasty people would be getting cancer. Yet, plenty of truly horrible people remain quite healthy.

However, I do believe that one's emotional state and things like stress do cause physiological changes in the body and trigger the release of all sorts of chemicals from serotonin to endorphin to cortisol to dopamine that could have negative physical impacts.

In this case, for the hypothesis to be true, the "negative" state would have to be a relative negative from her steady-state condition. For it to adversely affect her health she'd have to be experiencing higher levels of negativity to trigger the release of might ultimately cause a physical manifestation.

Unless, of course, you're suggesting it's some kind of karmic justice. Then, I suggest that you go seek the sky daddy and ask him.

R17, see r2.

It's all so simple and all so simple-minded.

But simple-minded works for the shallow, r21.

Childhood trauma and stress is responsible for many diseases in adulthood.

Scientific proof, r23?

If r23 is to be believed, then every child who survived the concentration camps must have fallen prey to diseases as adults.

Imagine being around Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen all day. You’d lose brain cells and years .

R26=Kathy Griffin.

OP and the others like him, I am about to ruin your lives...and probably your kids' lives. Go read up on epigenetics. You're all fucking doomed.

Childhood stress really stunts children's growth. Children who do competitive sports at very young age or become pro actors too early are relatively short. I read an article in the health section of DM last year.

Fuck you r29!

[QUOTE]Actually, after working as a hospice nurse for nearly 8 years, I discovered that anger, control, ocd, unresolved feelings all keep people alive longer.

Sounds like Dataloungers are gonna live to the ripe old age of 200

Has no one in this thread ever heard of the saying: Only the good die young? My annoyance at your idiocy has given me another five years on this earth. Thanks!

I don't know but it definitely ages you. I went through some fairly intense emotional misery for the last 4 years and I shit you not I aged about 10 through 12 years in the last 4. So the opposite of most data lounge posters in other words.

Well, liars DO get cancer you know

[quote]I also believe that many childhood diseases are picked up by children up until the age of 8 or so by their parent's fears/thoughts.

Good Lord, you sound like a LOON!

I mean, I'm all for the pseudosciences of chiropractors and acupuncture, but this takes the cake! I hope you don't share these thoughts with your friends!

There's no question that stress, self-induced over little or nothing, or something serious like watching your house burns down, has a significant physical effect on your body. Staying in that state consistently or beyond that will take a toll. There's no serious dispute about this.

I think the stress I've been under for the last three years is literally killing me before my very eyes. I try to do little things to de-stress. To try to breathe. To try to be positive. Try to enjoy little moments here and there. But, the hits just keep coming and I don't ever see it getting better. Just more pain and more loss in the future. I'm physically falling apart but most of the time I'm just too stressed or depressed to care.

.....

Stress can bring on MS symptoms. It will slowly kill you.

R39, it doesn't cause MS. It can bring on an attack or worsen symptoms but it's not going to give you MS, which is what it sounds like you are saying.

I know that grief, eg losing a spouse, has an impact on the immune system, and so 50% of people die with 2 years after their spouse's death. Of course, both partners might be elderly and likely to die anyway, but there is a connection.

The connection between stress and cortisol and inflammation is well-known.

[quote] 50% of people die with 2 years after their spouse's death

Absolutely untrue.

R11 speaks the truth. Bitterness, anger and victimization will keep you alive for fucking ever. I have several relatives who lived to be ancient, and they were all horrible, nasty, vindictive motherfuckers. Rage is the fountain of youth.

Technically it's not the negativity that causes people's illness. It's the subconscious looking for proper punishment for the negative thoughts and actions that cause these illnesses.

You can be the most nicest guy on earth and you still can get cancer or HIV when you were raised to believe that being gay is wrong, destructive, and shameful and believe you need to get punished for acting on your "depraved" gay urges.

You can be Mother Bloody Theresa2.0 and still get cancer when you believe you don't deserve true happiness or a spouse who loves and respects you and you should settle for someone who beats you and surround yourself with drama and misery and people who provide that drama and misery.

When we see bad things happen to bad people we call it karma. When we perceive that nothing bad happens to bad people we claim that karma doesn't exist though some bad people are just good at hiding the bad things that happen to them.

It certainly doesn't help it. I think having a very negative attitude all the time breaks down a body's defenses and makes it easier for a person to get sick. I believe negativity can help to cause cancer cells we all have in our bodies to switch on.

OP, are you familiar with Viktor Frankl's Man's Search For Meaning?

He addresses this question as it relates to Nazi concentration camps (of which he was a survivor).

My great aunt was mean and stubborn. She lived to 107. But then she externalized all her negativity. It sounds like your coworker had plenty of internal negativity too.

R47- Nailed it-

Externaliizing the negative thoughts is step 1 , and releasing them for good is the ultimate step 2.

And R28- I have studied Epigenetics, and what OP is talking about Epigenetics DOES fall in line with-

I am curious what you are saying- And Epigenetics is absolutely one of the coolest things to read up on everyone-

R44, do you really believe gay men can get HIV from being oppressed by homophobia in their youth? And r45, you also believe negativity causes cancer?

I hope no one you know makes the mistake of taking either of you seriously.

This line of thinking came out in the 80s. And to me, it's destructive and unhelpful. I had a bad scan once, very scary, and while I was waiting for further tests, I did nothing but blame myself for having probably given myself cancer.

(Test came back clear.)

I had a professor in college, not only academically a brilliant mind but also a very warm and sympathetic person. She was also holistic. She thought she could fix a permanent disability I had by the healing power of touch.

Needless to say I declined her well-intentioned but embarrassing offer. This is all in the same line of thinking, including the understandably comforting notion of karma.

Search and you shall find, you hobbitches!

Results:

Men: parental death and divorce during early childhood was associated with shorter adult height, and later puberty. Later puberty was associated with shorter adult height. Path analyses demonstrated that the relationship between parental divorce and height was completely mediated by age at puberty; although parental death was only partially mediated by age at puberty.

Women: the father’s death during early childhood was associated with earlier puberty, which was in turn associated with shorter adult stature. The relationship between paternal death and height is entirely mediated by age at puberty; no evidence of a direct relationship between childhood family disruption and adult height.

[quote] [R44], do you really believe gay men can get HIV from being oppressed by homophobia in their youth?

Yes, I do. Even in 2019 there are still people living in the closet who not only hate others but also hate themselves. You seriously underestimate the power established childhood beliefs (and untreated trauma) have in adults' lives and experiences.

R53, HIV results in sexual contact with an infected person. It isn’t magically transported via homophobia.

JFC.

R49 you clearly know nothing about how attitude and emotions contribute both negatively and positively to a person's health. It's a proven fact that most people recovering from serious health issues recover faster wen they have a good and positive attitude. And yes, negative emotions can cause the cancer cells in a person's body to become active. Any doctor worth his salt will tell you that's true.

R55, you are clueless as to what I know. Clearly, you’re so full of condescension with your scientifically unproven contentions that you’re stuck with your beliefs. You’re welcome to them. There’s no proven fact that a good attitude (while wonderful to have) helps to cure anyone from anything. Prove this with hard evidence, why don’t you? You can’t.

Any doctor worth his salt will tell you that illness and death can happen unexpectedly to anyone regardless of how positive or negative they seem.

R2-your post makes me sick. My sibling had a childhood cancer and it was horrific for her and the rest of my family. To place blame on the parents is evil.

[R53], HIV results in sexual contact with an infected person. It isn’t magically transported via homophobia.

Nobody claims it to be a magical process except you. What this thread is discussing is that actions taken from a negative mind set can lead to short term and long term negative results. A negative minded person - with low self esteem, or someone who is looking for punishment on a subconscious level, is more likely to engange in bareback sex that can lead to an HIV virus transmition than a positive minded person - with high enough self esteem - using PrEP and condoms to protect himself from HIV transmition.

Science cannot yet explain why the HIV transmition rate isn't 100% when an HIV+ has unnprotected sex with an HIV- person. ONE of many theories is discussed here and you take offense, because science must be applied in order for you to feel, what, safe?

You’re talking about self-destructive behavior, which anyone of any sexual orientation can exhibit. And? It’s the argument that a good attitude or a bad attitude predetermines your health or what diseases you contract is what I’m calling bullshit on. It’s that simple.

I don't know if a negative attitude can cause cancer or not but I don't think it helps. I assume cancer spreads faster in a negative environment and if your mind is constantly on death, doom, and gloom, you are more likely to attract it. I believe in "the will to live" and think it has gotten people through some pretty terrible experiences they would not have survived had they not had it.

OP give her a hug. Since you're such a ray of positivity the shining beacon of hope and good that is you will seep into her and make her a better person.

"I assume cancer spreads faster in a negative environment"

Based on what other than your assumption, r61?

"and if your mind is constantly on death, doom, and gloom, you are more likely to attract it. I believe in "the will to live"

Another moron who's all words and bloviating pronouncements.

I know that I've had MS for twenty years and it's aged me forty years worth. I look and feel like shit.

^ I forgot to say that having MS resulted in negativity, so chicken or egg. Who knows.

Sorry to hear, R64 R65.

Pain and suffering bring negativity. Trauma results. Nobody on earth wants to suffer.

R67 Yep absolutely . Quite a few individuals develop negative viewpoints AFTER chronically negative and emotionally painful experiences.

I find that as I get older I have to work HARD at staying positive. So many things just piss me the fuck off, especially since I stopped smoking weed. But I refuse to give up and allow myself to become an old, nasty bitch. Exercising every day helps a lot.

"I also believe that many childhood diseases are picked up by children up until the age of 8 or so by their parent's fears/thoughts."

I just bet.

Just look at racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, misogynist, xenophobic, transphobic Trump voters, and especially closeted, self-loathing gay Trumptards who have the shittiest state of being, physical, mental and moral. Their existences are worse than that of the smallpox virus the CDC stocks in its lab.

Childhood adversity is a significant root cause of chronic illness and early death. Prevention, mitigation, and Tx of toxic stressors must be part of our paradigm of care.

No, negativity doesn't affect physical health, but people like to believe it does because that gives them a false sense of control over their bodies, and allows them to blame people they don't like for their troubles.

The truth is that illness is random in nature, and people want to believe anything other than that life is random and that tragedy can strike you no matter how hard you try to avert it.

If negativety affects peoples health, most of the DL posters would be dead by now.

I grew up with my single mom who was a rageaholic and bipolar. She used to scream at me for hours and I wasn’t allowed to move or speak. I had to stand still silently while she screamed in my face until she ran out of things to scream about. Picture a drill sergeant yelling at a ten year old, but saying things like, “you ruined my life and I wish you were never born.” Neither parent bothered to take me to a doctor, ever. So I just thought I had “stomach flu” when she would scream and I would get diarrhea.

In my twenties, I finally got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. My doctor suggested taking out some intestine since it was so ulcerated, but I couldn’t afford to keep a roof over my head if I went on disability, so I quit going. He wasn’t helping me anyway and everything he told me to do made it worse. I moved to another town. Over about fifteen years I very slowly got better. But it continued to affect me to the point that I couldn’t go to restaurants and I had stomach cramps pretty much every time I walked out the front door. But I had to work, so I just went to work and came home. For years.

After about fifteen years of very slow recovery, I moved to another town where I knew no one. Within three days I quit having stomach cramps and I never had them again.

I can drive wherever I want. I can go to restaurants. I can sit in the passenger seat with somebody else driving without having a panic attack. I get in the car and drive just for the hell of it and if I get lost I’m ok. All things I could never do my entire adult life.

I wanted a certain career that requires business lunches with clients and driving. But I always knew I could never do it because I would get excruciatingly sick any time I had to do business lunches or business travel. So I got a boring office job I never liked. Now that I’m finally better, I’m too old to change careers. And I’m starting to have age-related health issues now.

R75: hugs! You have been through a lot, I hope you can enjoy the rest of your life!

No, OP, negativity does not cause cancer. If it did, the orange traitor would have dropped dead ages ago.

I don't think it does.

Mind you, if you feel good, you tend to sleep better and secrete less cortisone.

[quote] R25: If [R23] is to be believed, then every child who survived the concentration camps must have fallen prey to diseases as adults.

Just one woman, but I knew a woman who was in the camps. She must have been aged 10-22 somewhere. She had a lifelong speech disability where she spoke in a shrill, unnatural manner. I’ve never heard anything similar from anyone else. She must have died 20 years ago, but it still breaks my heart thinking of her.

We are not running extermination camps at the Southern border, but there will be children who are likewise terrorized there, nonetheless. And we’re training our border guards to be callous monsters, which is kind of a societal bonus. In a representative democracy, that’s all in our name.

I think that constantly feeding negative thoughts and seeing oneself as a victim could keep stress level raised. As several have said already, there are studies on raised stress level and lowered immunity.