Negative emotions, including those associated with anxiety and depression, have been found to be hard on the heart. Might the opposite--feeling generally upbeat and happy about life--have the reverse effect and be beneficial to heart health?It turns out that the answer is probably, yes. A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology looked at people with a family history of coronary artery disease and found that "People who were positive and felt good about their lives... were 33 percent less likely to have had heart problems than those who were not as upbeat."
Now, as with all studies, there are assorted caveats. But nonetheless, it seems reasonable that happy people are healthier than unhappy people.
It also occurs to me that even if it isn't true, happy people are... well, happy people are happier, that is, emotionally healthier even if they're not necessarily physically healthier. So all in all, I'll go with being happy, upbeat, cheerful, and positive.
But what about the problems in the world? How can we be happy in light of all that's going on in our families, communities, country, and world?
That is where faith comes in and there's no getting around it. You may or may not appreciate their politics, but three happy warriors come to mind, two of whom I had the privilege of knowing personally. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, William F. Buckley, and Chuck Colson were up to the minute on the sorry state of the world. They faced business, family, and personal issues. They were highly opinionated and argued rigorously for what they believed even when their counsel was rejected. Even now, after their deaths, things are still not going their way. Yet sustained by lively faith, they wrote, spoke, and debated with cheerfulness.
As someone who has a family history of heart problems, I take this study as both a warning and as encouragement. Given the alternatives, I'll be a happy warrior.
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