In Sickness and In Health
I recently talked about the importance of healthy relationships and some ways to establish and maintain them.
Here is an interesting study that was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The research into 111 coronary artery bypass patients showed that the partner’s personality traits played a major role in how well they had recovered 18 months after their operation.
Pollyannas are probably the best sort of significant other when you’re sick. It is interesting to learn that their cheerful chatter might sound like the last thing an ill person needs but it is such a tonic that patients recover much better and faster.
A homeopath, acupuncturist or Integrated Practitioner would quickly identify who would like the Pollyanna and who would not.
What you definitely don’t want is a “generally neurotic and anxious” partner. These spouses increase the patients’ risk of developing clinical depression. Such depression is increasingly recognised as a significant risk factor in causing slow recovery and deaths from conditions such as coronary disease.
And most specialists recognize that depression and anxiety can be catching.
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
