The Longevity Project Reflections

Ch. 14 discussed stress and the effects of war on longevity.  As is expected, those who faced were involved in more violent locations during the war, were more likely than other to develop poor habits and have a shorter life.  What was also unsurprising were the bad habits that came out of the men who joined the military regardless of their station (drugs, alcohol, depression, and such).  I can see those patterns in my friend in the army reserves, his bad habits seem to return every time he goes off to training, and his demeanor is altered slightly too for a few days.  What surprised me is that the more conscientious of them were the ones who didn’t tend to be place in combat roles, which I’m curious if was purposeful or chance.  The chapter also went over the effects of trauma and its relationship to depression and other diseases.  As current studies are supporting, depression can be coded in one’s DNA but be inactive until trigger by a traumatic event.  And while depression does cause other health issues, the source of the depression is likely linked to the source of these issues.  It makes me wonder what that link is as I have depression but overall am in quite good health.

Ch.15, if I am being quite honest, didn’t say much new information.  It covered specific situations that were introduced earlier in the novel but don’t delve any further into them.  The only thing I truly appreciated about this chapter is its section about how we are over medicalizing everything.  While I agree that our progress in modern medicine are wonderful, we are often too quick to prescribe solutions to problems that can have other fixes quite often.

The epilogue spoke on how society should use this information for positive change.  This chapter again I feel had a great deal of filler information but was good in that it indicated the positive change that funds towards reducing childhood poverty and improving low income neighborhoods have on longevity.  This makes me worry more about the sweeping motion the current administration is doing to defund all of these wonderful programs.  I suppose the book’s prediction that we are going to be seeing a reduction of longevity in the coming years might prove to be true if the government doing listen to research.

While reading chapter 14, I was not surprised that the veterans who went overseas tended to get sick and pass away shortly after returning home, more so than those veterans who stayed in the United States. The veterans who traveled overseas were not only risking their lives but they were also living in a new place away from their families. These men were homesick, in an unfamiliar culture, stressed, and in great danger. I think the biggest difference in longevity between John and Phillip had more to do with their roles in the war and not so much where they were stationed. John was doing intelligence work, and was not in immediate danger, whereas Philip was immersed in combat. I would imagine that the men who were in combat would be more likely to develop psychopathological disorders such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders, more so than the men who were not on the battlefield.

A possible explanation for why less conscientious Phillip was more likely to fight in the Pacific than his conscientious counterpart John, is because he may be more likely to make risky decisions. Phillip may not have thought through the implications of going overseas to fight in the Pacific, whereas conscientious John may have weighed the benefits and risks and consequently decided to go into intelligence in England.

A theme that I have seen reappear while reading this book is how longevity depends significantly on how you appraise a situation. For instance, if you find war to be meaningful and worthwhile, then you are less likely to go down an unhealthy pathway, such as substance abuse once you return.

I agree with chapter 15, how our society is so quick to receive medical attention and be prescribed a pill. Often times a kid reports symptoms of a cold and you will see a parent immediately bring the child in for care. I grew up with a mom who was a big advocate for rest and hydration instead of immediately seeking medical attention. As a result, I do not like to overmedicate myself. When I am sick I will certainly take medicine that will cure what I may have, but that is not my first choice. I will first try to rest, eat well, and hydrate before I turn to pills. Our culture seeks immediate gratification, and due to this we look for the quickest fix, in this case medication.

A main point I took away from reading this book is how there are so many different perspectives to health and how we have to view health from a biopsychosocial model. There is not just one factor that pertains to health, but a whole host of different components. Health is such an individualized concept and health varies from person to person. Of course we all have a general idea of how to remain healthy: don’t smoke, exercise, and eat well, but health is so much more than that. It is your career, your interpersonal relationships, your personality, your happiness, your traumatic experiences, and how you handle stress. Although I found this book to be frustrating at times, it helped me gauge my own health, and made me consider the pathways of my friends and family. While reading I also noticed patterns in who I tend to surround myself with and how those relationships are beneficial to my own health.

The chapter begins by stating that many of health’s most recommended practices are misguided. This book concludes that many of these recommendations are actually not accurate and may lead people astray. While advice to exercise, lose weight, sleep enough, wear sunscreen, eat right, avoid drugs, and take prescribed medicine is recommended, doctors expect longevity to decrease because people are failing to follow these medical recommendations. I think some people may underestimate the benefit of eating healthy, working out, and receiving enough sleep. I know for me when I follow these practices, other healthy behaviors follow.

The findings in this book are being tested again by other researchers and participants. It will be exciting to see if these findings are consistent with past results. The most recent evidence does in fact suggest that the findings from the Terman studies are relevant to health today, which is good because then this book is still relevant to read!

I thought it was interesting how we put too much emphasis on our biology and genes, and how in fact the experiences of our relatives is not a good predictor of our own health. I tend to not agree with this just by looking at my own family. I tend to see trends across my relatives. My grandmother is 90 years old and does not have any apparent health issues, and this trend follows in her six daughters. All of my aunts are particularly healthy and do not have any health concerns. While in other families you can see obesity, substance abuse, and unhealthy eating patterns consistent across generations.

I agree with the conclusion that a society with more conscientious and goal-oriented citizens, well integrated into their communities, is likely to be a society of health and long life. I think the book did a good job of supporting this conclusion in every chapter. After reading this book I have definitely reflected on my own health and ways that I could improve

Chapter 14 was pretty much a no brainer to me considering what we know in psychology about trauma and coping. The example about war and experiencing combat, death, destruction etc. obviously is a great example to use considering that many war veterans develop PTSD following their time abroad. It can be very tough to serve your country in that way and I have nothing but respect for people who are in our military. However, I do think there is a lack of a program so to say concerning how we as Americans can help our veterans reassimilate to society and cope with the terrible experiences they may have endured.

To broaden that topic, I think it was definitely great to acknowledge that a lot of people will experience some kind of significant trauma in their lives that they may not process in the best way. A lot of people conversely, will never have this sort of experience. I personally, have experienced a trauma already when I was in a mass shooting at an airport in Fort Lauderdale. It still brings me to tears just thinking about it right now. It’s hard for people to understand what you are feeling when they have never stared death right in the face. I’m lucky to say that I have struggled with this experience but have been able to cope and get through it in a healthy and meaningful way.

Concerning Chapter 15, I was quite pleased with the way that the researchers framed their conclusions. It almost seems as though they took a step back and completely re-thought their findings in a more broad and reasonable way. Most of the earlier chapters only spoke about the findings in a very specific way, such as how being part of a religious group will lead to a longer life. I appreciated that the researchers applied these findings in a more greater sense so to say that you’re not necessarily living longer because you are religious, but rather, you’re living longer because of the social ties you get through being religious.

The way the researchers summarized the findings and developed their train of thought really gave me some closure with feeling as though the book had been very close-minded to begin with. I wish they had presented some of their findings as they did in Chapter 15 in a similar way in the previous chapters. I think it’s also important to take everything they said with a grain of salt as these are simply correlations and not necessarily fact. You can follow all of these recommendations and still experience a short-lived life. I think it’s important to make sure you are happy and fulfilled with your choices in life because that’s really all that matters.

Although the authors are rich in saying that recommendations can only get you so far concerning longevity, I think the authors claims about that are pretty hypocritical. They say that doctor’s recommendations though well-grounded, are obsolete, however, this entire book is based on suggestions on how to prolong life based on certain life factors. I think the suggestions posed by doctors (stop smoking, exercise, eat healthy, etc.) are important as well as some of the suggestions posed by the authors (social support, conscientiousness, etc.). It’s impossible to stress that health is definitely affected by both mental and sociological factors as well as the traditional biological factors. If there’s one takeaway I’d say about this book, it’s to consistently take the biopsychosocial model into account. Most people only attribute health to biological bases, which is largely incorrect. I think that this book helps to shed light on the reality of health to those who have never been exposed to a background in health psychology.

I’d also like to touch on the point about the Terman study background in general and  the circumstances the original study was done under. I think it would be extremely interesting to redo the study in current times when women have a lot more respect and rights in society and minorities are represented with more equality. It would be super interesting to see how these measures would be affected, specifically the masculinity vs. femininity measure and social support measure, with all of these factors taken into consideration. I would definitely like to look into current scientific journals and see if there are any researchers attempting to redo a longevity study along these lines. I’d also like to discuss this in class during lab this week and see what the class thinks about how this study would have played out in current times!

The first chapter focuses on how experienced stress and trauma can affect one’s chances for increased morbidity and mortality risk.  The case study on Phillip shows that when working overseas in the Pacific and facing danger from combat, morbidity for chronic illnesses can increase and longevity decreases. He died from a heart attack at such a young age (compared to other Terman subjects).  Furthermore, those who were fighting in the war but in England also had similar futures but at a lesser extreme. This makes sense because even though those men were in a different country, they had social support from those around them (less of a cultural barrier) and had contact with their family, whereas the ones in the Pacific did not.  In addition, the chapter examined how those who were more likely to have depression (which is multifaceted) were more likely to have comorbidities of other illnesses. This past thought is striking to me because in Chapter 1 of our other textbook, we spoke about a concept called “nuclear conflict model” in order to diagnose mental illness. It basically stated that the core features of an individual, such as personality, affected their chances of having a certain illness. It is insightful to be able to connect this through different texts. Even though we also do not really refer to the nuclear conflict model as much anymore, it continues to show up in this text.

Chapter 15 summarizes basically every finding from the study written in the previous chapters. Warning: the next sentence will be pretty long. Basically, in order to live a longer life, we should avoid toxins, radioactivity, and trauma, have great social relations, be conscientious, be successful and take great pride in your work, laugh but not to the point where you avoid good health practices, worry enough about your health to develop health promoting behaviors, maintain a healthy marriage, and be religious. LOL. I hope no one takes anything I said seriously because all of these findings are correlative; we still haven’t figured out whether these findings cause good health! This book has done a great job at showing the preliminary research in longevity but there is still so much work to be done!

One other part of chapter 15 I really disagreed was the beginning when the difference between health and wellness was described and the doctor’s changing role with the patient. Patients are going to the doctor to seek help with issues that are usually resolves with their primary groups (i.e. family and friends). Doctors need to take a biopsychosocial approach in their practice, not the biomedical approach. If patients are going to their doctors to seek help on an issue that relates to their health, doctors should be prepared to help them. I understand that an emphasis was being placed on doctors prescribing pills as a “one solution fits all” treatment and while I do agree with the book in that sense, it is unfair to shine doctors in that light without having a disclaimer of some sort.

I agree with most, if not all, of this section’s content. While some scientists believe that longevity will be decreasing because of rising healthcare costs and patients not taking sound advice from health experts, the authors of this book believe the opposite. The studies performed on the Terman participants are being performed on more diverse populations and the results have remained consistent: this study is still relevant today. In addition, we need to realize that our genetics is not the only predictor of longevity and that we ourselves are responsible for a healthy pathway. I really appreciated it when the authors mentioned how traditional approaches do not work with improving health in today’s age because of the differences in social context. Compared to JFK’s presidency, our population in the States is more diverse than ever and we need different policies to help the vulnerable populations. By creating the right intervention for the right audience, I believe that we become closer to helping those most in danger from a health-related threat.

Participating in war, especially overseas, especially in the Pacific, especially in combat, led to shorter longevity. As the authors state, “The more alien and disturbing the situation, the worse the later health.” Chronic stress and PTSD that result from engaging in war extremely affect longevity. This is not surprising because I’ve grown up during a time of active war and have learned about and witnessed many an individual who do not return from war the same person they once were. We know that prolonged stress equates to prolonged elevated levels of cortisol, which in turn is harmful to the body. It was interesting the find by the study done in New Zealand that found those “good genes” were less susceptible to depression even if they faced a lot of stress.

The grand moral for Chapter 15? Despite how it has come to be commonly understood, health is more than simply the absence of disease. And “health” and “wellness” should be used interchangeably not separately and distinctly. Following that, chapter 15 essentially summarized each of the previous 14 chapters and some of the main findings from each.

My grandfather on my dad’s side was in the Army in the Korean War. I do not know how old he was when he died, but I want to say he was in his low 60’s—in other words, he was younger than we would have all liked for him to have been when he passed. He died from a heart attack in his sleep. I imagine his being a black man in the Jim Crow south combined with going to war and the family line having a history of heart disease/high-blood pressure all contributed to his early passing. I just wonder now how much the war effort played a part as well.

Playing military-style video games are about as close to war and combat as I plan to ever get so I am not worried about chapter 14 so much. In regards to chapter 15, I don’t fear how long I will live but rather I simply palnto and try to live my best life while I still do have it. I consider my eating habits, exercising habits, and other extraneous habits and factors all pretty “well-rounded” and balanced. I understand there are some “invisible” factors or things I simply may be ignorant to that may result in a shorter life expectancy, but like I said, I ain’t scared.

I will say, I did like that the authors very clearly addressed the fact that each of our estimated or expected longevity’s is a result/prediction more so of our life paths, that is what we do as individual’s to and for our bodies throughout our lifetimes, than anything else. Many people, including many I know and even myself at times, try to blame others (family, family history, or friends) for our downfalls and deficiencies. But truly, we ought to give ourselves more credit, both for the good and the bad. The latter obviously can be more difficult but ultimately accepting and working towards improving our deficiencies is what will lead to our success (in this case, greater longevity) in the end. I will agree, the Terman study is very beneficial to public health and society because it provides tangible data and not-too-far-off correlations of real life events/things. It offers real life solutions/tips to better health outside of the “magic” pills we ever increasingly see today.

I do not believe I ever recall learning of the race of Terman’s participants, but oddly (correctly) enough, they just about all were white. By this I am not surprised, but I can’t say I’m not disappointed. However, I won’t weigh too much on this point as Terman himself was simply a product of his environment at the time of the start (and continuation) of the study. That said, I wouldn’t venture far to say the US has become just as unhealthy racially as it has physically and mentally despite all of the countless efforts to solve all of these issues.

But to end on a positive note 🙂 overall, I am pleased to have read this book as it provided a lot of information and perspective on how health was and is viewed as well, of course, as what recommendations/changes I can utilize to live a longer, healthier, and happier life.

Chapter 14 offered an interesting perspective on the experience of soldiers and other war participants in regards to longevity and overall life experiences. I was surprised to read about the different ways in which war can affect people, because I admit I had only considered it from the point of view of the soldiers who actually participate, before reading this chapter. However, I was fascinated by the comparisons made between soldiers who served overseas and the veterans who only served on the home front. I could have likely guessed that those who served overseas would endure more PTSD than whose who did not, but to be more than one and a half times as likely to die in any given year after the war was a shocking and saddening statistic to read about. I can understand why a “more alien and disturbing situation” leads to worse health later on in life, but this made me wonder why this is the case — and whether the “alien and disturbing” situations have to happen to the soldiers themselves, or if merely witnessing these acts would cause the same amount of PTSD and deteriorated health in the future.

Another intriguing part about this chapter was the finding that most cigarette smokers avoid getting lung cancer from the help of their genes — it goes to show how powerful our genes really are. Finally, it was compelling to read that the psychological stress of war is not what directly leads to a person’s health being threatened. Instead, these health threats can be attributed to the unhealthy patterns that follow the war. This amazed me because I feel as though we are always focusing on the psychological effects war can have on a person, but not necessarily what these psychological effects, such as stress, may actually lead to, such as drinking or relying on drugs to combat these post-war struggles.

Before reading Chapter 15, I had only briefly heard of these “polypills” and heard them be referenced in certain TV shows. I have actually seen similar “cure-all” pills being sold in Medellin, Colombia, where I go annually with my family. The shocking part is that I also witness lines full of people waiting to buy such pills because they believe what they are being told without even getting a chance to read the labels on these capsules. If there were any chapter of this book I could print out and distribute to people, I am sure it would be this one. Far too often, I believe people fail to acknowledge how different we all are. I commonly hear people advocating for “embracing our differences,” but what they are referring to is our physical features. I think that if we payed equally as much attention to our biological differences, and the fact that we cannot all take one identical pill that will solve all of our problems, these lines in Colombia, and elsewhere, would be nonexistent.

I am overjoyed that the studies conducted on the Terman participants allowed researchers to reach numerous valid conclusions. It was a captivating study to learn about throughout this semester and I think the most effective tool the authors used was their constant use of Terman participant examples. My favorite way of learning new things is through stories, as I am sure applies to many others, and this is what allowed me to remember many of the findings from this study throughout the book. I think that there are still too many people out there who do not truly believe in the effects mental illness can have on a person. Simply labeling someone as “crazy” and admitting him or her to a mental institution, as was commonly done in the past, is no longer acceptable for an endless amount of reasons, many of which the Longevity Project can help explain. It is important to acknowledge that the same people who undergo some of the most tragic events in life can also be the people who live the longest, as was the case with many of the Terman participants. What is important is how a person deals with the stress and trauma in their life, which leads back to the quote I provided at the beginning of this semester when Dr. Nonterah asked us to share what our favorite quote was with a partner. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it” — something I now actually know has been scientifically proven in many cases. No matter how complex these patterns of persistence can become, what matters is that a person strives to overcome their battles, which I find thoroughly inspiring.

As I read through the Epilogue, I was relieved to know that the Terman participants’ lives were useful for research purposes and that the findings of the authors are being tested today. It’s also good to know that we tend to overestimate the role of genetics when it comes to illness, but I think it’s still extremely important to take family history into account. However, I disagree with the second “core error” about health, because I do think health recommendations made by physicians are essential for patients to follow. Yes, these health recommendations may not always be followed precisely, but after complicated surgeries, I am sure many patients value their lives much more than they did before and are willing to do anything to remain healthy after being at risk of dying. I believe the approach taken with the Terman participants was interesting, in that they never received any such “list” of health recommendations and were encouraged to find their own unique pathways toward health.

As for lists, I think it depends what the list is based on and who the list is given to, in order to assess how effective it truly is. For example, the authors argue that lists are generally oversimplified and that these oversimplified recommendations are worse for patients, but this does not apply to every list of goals or resolutions that has ever been made. I think this is something that really depends on the person, because I know that if I make a list of descriptive, defined goals for myself, with elements such as date and time, I will be inclined to follow it in the days to come — and even the future, as I like to track my progress. Overall, many of the conclusions found by the authors seemed practical to me, but it is inspiring to know that as humans, we are essentially in charge of our longevity. I hope that as the studies based on the Terman participants continue to be examined, more narrow conclusions can be drawn from future research. These conclusions will contribute immensely to the growing field of Health Psychology.

Chapter 14 of this novel centers around war and the effects of war experience on the longevity of life. They discovered that men who had served overseas were more than one and a half times more likely to die than the veterans that only served on the home front. Also combat veterans were less likely to live long lives compared to those who went overseas and didn’t face combat. The main reason of this is depression and the life pathway associated with coming back home from serving our country. Individuals who are depressed are more associated with poor health and have an increased risk of dying.  To treat depression, the novel claims that we need a broader view. Treatment should include individuals slowly being integrated back into a supportive community, a stable career, and having a caring group of family and friends.

This chapter brings the importance of establishing programs and making sure our veterans are transitioning back to life in the states. Last summer I had the opportunity to work an event called the “Perfect Sense Unified Challenge.” Junior golfers from The First Tee are paired with a wounded veteran, Special Olympic athlete, and professional golfer for a pro-am tournament that takes place in Washington D.C. From this event, I saw directly the positive impacts of being a part of a supportive community and within a caring group. Golf was the unifying factor for all and an outlet and community for the wounded veterans. The country needs to implement more programs and events like this for all of our veterans coming back from war.

The concluding chapter of this novel speaks of how our society is turning towards pills to fix human diseases that may not even be a disease to begin with. People overlook the less exotic and more effective tools already at our disposal to fix or change something about their health. In addition to modern medicine, equally as important, if not more, is focusing on families, work, and social relations to increase the chances of living a longer life. The novel goes on to say there are many paths to health and gives an overview of each of the previously read chapters.

One of the pathways was called the “high road.” It states that those who are thoughtful planners, have a sense of control and accomplishment, along with perseverance are more likely to live the longest. Additionally, the final paragraphs of the book stresses giving back to the community, enjoying and thriving in a career, and nurturing healthy marriage of close friendships. All of these factors will add many years to one’s life. I’d like to think my volunteer work with Camp Kesem and The First Tee organization, my passion for golf, physical activity, working with kids, impacting the community, and my relationships and close friendships that I have now are all signs of a healthy and long life ahead.  I have been volunteering in some sort of capacity since I was 10 years old. I do it because I thoroughly enjoy it and have found that some of my best relationships with other people have resulted in spending time in the community. My plans for the future may still be in the works at the moment, but some aspects I know I will make time for and keep are volunteering / being part of a group that impacts the community and all of my relationships that I have formed during my time here at the University of Richmond.

In the final pages of the Longetivity Project, it goes to state that experience of our own individual life path is what matters the most. People have overestimated the importance of family biology and think that by receiving a list of best practices to good health will be the magic list for curing all chronic disease we potentially face. However this is not the case at all. As we have learned in class, in order for one to become healthy or have healthy behaviors, they need to take actions and be a part of programs that promote these healthy behaviors.  Not every single person has adequate or can afford access to healthcare, healthy living options, or programs. Oversimplified recommendations do not help this population that lacks the resources yet may be in the most need of them.  Typically those who cannot afford healthy living are not in socially stable societies. Drawing on the biopsychosocial model we have been learning in class and this novel, we ought to target overlooked parts of society, minority groups, and communities when creating health promotion programs. The study may have lacked diverse participants, however in this day in age, we now know there are disparities amongst many minority groups that should be studied just as the Terman subjects were back in the day.