Cynicism Linked to Greater Dementia Risk, Study Finds

Practice these in your own life is just one way to boost your own personal happiness (together they spell the acronym GREAT DREAM):

Giving: do things for others
Relating: connect with people
Exercising: take care of your body
Appreciating: notice the world around
Trying out: keep learning new things
Direction: have goals to look forward to
Resilience: find ways to bounce back
Emotion: take a positive approach
Acceptance: be comfortable with who you are
Meaning: be part of something bigger

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By Dr. Mercola

The state of your mind has more to do with your health than you might think. In fact, it's capable of influencing not only your mood but also your physical health, including that of your brain.

Negative emotions are particularly damaging, of course, and these run the gamut from depression and anxiety to pessimism and, according to the latest research, cynicism.

If you have a deep mistrust of others, such that you often suspect others of cheating, taking unfair advantages, lying, or simply being untrustworthy, you might be at an increased risk of dementia.

Cynical Distrust Associated with Increased Risk of Dementia

Older people with high levels of cynical distrust had a more than 2.5 times greater risk of developing dementia than those with low levels.1 Cynical distrust is described as believing that most people are self-interested and out for themselves as opposed to looking out for the community and others.

Some experts describe it as a form of chronic anger.2 The finding adds to growing research showing that negative emotions, and cynicism in particular, may lead to poor health. It's dangerous in a number of ways.

For instance, cynical people are more likely to smoke and gain excess weight, and less likely to exercise. They also struggle more with stress and have higher levels of chronic inflammation, which is linked to chronic diseases including dementia. For instance, research has shown:

• Women with cynical, hostile attitudes are more likely to die prematurely and have higher rates of death from coronary heart disease than women with "positive future expectations"3
• People with cynical attitudes may suffer more from stress, and do not get as much of the stress-buffering benefits offered by positive social support4
• Cynical hostility is associated with poor oral health5
• Cynical hostility is associated with increased markers of inflammation, which may contribute to increased heart risks6
• Cynical hostility is associated with increased metabolic burden among middle-aged and older adults7

How Do Negative Emotions Harm Your Health?

It's now undeniable that your emotional health engages in a continuous, intricate dance with your physical health, such that it is virtually impossible to untangle the two. As noted by Dr. Stephen Sinatra:7

"Suppressed anger, rage, loss of vital connection (heartbreak), and emotional isolation and lack of intimacy with others are all 'hidden' emotional risk factors that can contribute to the development of heart disease.

Many cardiologists fail to recognize these psycho-emotional factors which often underlie other commonly recognized risk factors such as excessive smoking, inappropriate diet, and even high blood pressure and cholesterol levels."

Negative emotions like anger and hostility trigger a cascade of physical reactions that extend throughout your body, including increases in heart rate, arterial tension, and blood pressure. Together, these could prompt changes in blood flow that encourage blood clots as well as trigger inflammation.

According to one study, when a person is angry, their risk of heart attack increases by nearly five-fold and their risk of stroke goes up more than three-fold in the two hours following an angry outburst (compared to when they are not angry). The risk was even greater among those who had a history of heart problems.8

Your emotions can actually trigger your genes to either express health or disease… and if you're chronically cynical, angry, or prone to uncontrolled outbursts you could be inadvertently sabotaging your health. This is why I highly recommend you work on overcoming your emotional barriers, whether they're based on life's anxiety-factors or more deep-seated emotional traumas that may have left you "angry at the world."

The Power of Your Mind for Health and Healing

The feeling of happiness – whether you equate it with optimism, joy, well-being, personal achievement, or all of the above – goes hand-in-hand with healthier habits. People who are in good spirits tend to eat better, exercise more frequently, and get better sleep than those who are not, whereas those who are cynical or angry tend to eat poorly, drink excess alcohol, smoke, and not exercise.

It could also be that such healthy habits among happy people lead to better health, which in turn lends itself to a better mood and happiness. Positive thoughts and attitudes are also able to prompt changes in your body that strengthen your immune system, boost positive emotions, decrease pain and chronic disease, and provide stress relief.

One study found, for instance, that happiness, optimism, life satisfaction, and other positive psychological attributes are associated with a lower risk of heart disease.9

In short, whereas hostility raises your risk of heart problems and chronic disease, happiness lowers it. It's even been scientifically shown that happiness can alter your genes! A team of researchers at UCLA showed that people with a deep sense of happiness and well-being had lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and stronger antiviral and antibody responses.10

This falls into the realm of epigenetics— factors beyond the control of the genes, such as lifestyle choices, nutrition, and mind set, that change the way your genes function by turning them off and on, which your emotions can do for better or for worse. Past research has even found that positive emotions – including being happy, lively, and calm -- appear to play a role in immune function. One study found that when happy people are exposed to cold and flu viruses, they're less likely to get sick and, if they do, exhibit fewer symptoms.11

The association held true regardless of the participants' levels of self-esteem, purpose, extraversion, age, education, body mass, or pre-study immunity to the virus, leading the lead researcher to say:12 "We need to take more seriously the possibility that positive emotional style is a major player in disease risk."

Are You a Natural Cynic? You Can Learn to Overcome It

Some people are naturally more positive than others, but this does not mean you're stuck with a hostile or angry attitude. If you know your attitude trends toward the negative, please realize that you can actively work toward becoming more positive. Not only will this benefit your health, but you'll certainly find more joy in your life as well.

It's not as hard as you might think, as day-to-day habits that you have full control over can make or break your happiness. Each of the happy habits below has been linked to a more positive emotional state. Trying to practice these in your own life is just one way to boost your own personal happiness (together they spell the acronym GREAT DREAM):13

• Giving: do things for others
• Relating: connect with people
• Exercising: take care of your body
• Appreciating: notice the world around
• Trying out: keep learning new things
• Direction: have goals to look forward to
• Resilience: find ways to bounce back
• Emotion: take a positive approach
• Acceptance: be comfortable with who you are
• Meaning: be part of something bigger

Those who are happy tend to follow a certain set of habits that create peace in their lives. If you learn to apply these habits in your own life, there's a good chance you'll become more positive, too:

1. Let go of grudges	2. Treat everyone with kindness	3. Regard your problems as challenges
4. Express gratitude for what you have	5. Dream big	6. Don't sweat the small stuff
7. Speak well of others	8. Avoid making excuses	9. Live in the present
10. Wake up at the same time every morning	11. Don't compare yourself to others	12. Surround yourself with positive people
13. Realize that you don't need others' approval	14. Take time to listen	15. Nurture social relationships
16. Meditate	17. Eat well	18. Exercise
19. Live minimally	20. Be honest	21. Establish personal control
22. Accept what cannot be changed

The Inverse Paranoid Principle: How to Change from Being Cynical to Optimistic

If you're cynical and have a hard time trusting in the good around you, try applying the inverse paranoid principle, as taught by W. Clement Stone. It has been one of my guiding principles for many years to help address life's challenges. Admittedly, it isn't always easy, but the benefits are profound. Unlike a conventional paranoid who believes the world is out to get him, an inverse paranoid believes the opposite: that every awful tragedy that befalls you ultimately is for some purpose that will benefit you far more than you can possibly imagine, even if you are unable to see it at the time.

Applying this principal can help you to get through even challenging times while maintaining a brighter outlook, and can help you turn a cynical attitude into an optimistic one. Beyond this, I recommend using energy psychology techniques such as theEmotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help clear negative emotions.

EFT can reprogram your body's reactions to the unavoidable stressors of everyday life by stimulating different energy meridian points in your body. It's done by tapping on specific key locations with your fingertips while custom-made verbal affirmations are said repeatedly. This can be done alone or under the supervision of a qualified therapist (seeking the help of a licensed EFT therapist is particularly recommended if you're dealing with trauma-based stress, grief following the loss of a loved one or severe anger). There are also many other stress-management strategies you can employ to help you address your stress and other negativity on an ongoing, daily basis, including:

• Exercise. Studies have shown that during exercise, tranquilizing chemicals (endorphins) are released in your brain. Exercise is a natural way to bring your body pleasurable relaxation and rejuvenation, and has been shown to help protect against the physical effects of daily stress
• Restorative sleep
• Meditation and mindfulness
• Schedule time to eat without rushing, and make sure to maintain optimal gut health by regularly consuming fermented foods, such as fermented vegetables, or taking a high-quality probiotic supplement

My favourite topic: Geisha...

Geisha (meaning "art person") are women who practice the 250-year-old art of gei ("artistic skills"), and have traditionally entertained and charmed wealthy customers men with music, dance, song and witty conversation. Some think they look dolls. By en large men are supposed to admire but not touch. 

"Through discipline and talent, the geisha has created a life of beauty. She has made herself into the image of the perfect woman, the embodiment of Japanese culture and refinement, a living work of art," wrote Jodi Cobb in National Geographic. "Her business is to sell a dream—of luxury, romance, and exclusivity—to the wealthiest and most powerful men in Japan. Inside the most expensive restaurants and tea houses, as men conduct delicate business negotiations, geisha pour sake and keep the conversation flowing—at a cost of thousands of dollars.

Being a geisha was one of the few ways a woman—or even a person—of “common birth could achieve wealth, status and fame. In the old days many geisha married influential samurai-turned-politicians and used their connections and skills to advance their husband’s careers.

 Geishas first appeared in brothels in the pleasure quarters of Tokyo and Osaka in the 17th century. Their job was to entertain bar and inn customers with dancing and music. A geiko (literally "arts child") is the Kyoto expression for a geisha.

 The earliest geishas were men known as taiko-mouchi (literally "drum carrier"). Like their female counterparts today, they charmed male clients with conservation, service, performances and sexual innuendo. There were around a half dozen taiko-mouchi still alive in the 1990s.

 It wasn't until the mid 18th century that the geisha profession was dominated by women. In the 19th century geishas were the equivalent of supermodels. The most well-known ones earned substantial incomes and influenced fashion and popular culture. In a world where women were either wives of prostitutes, geisha lived in separate communities known as the "flower and willow world." 

 Western fascination with geishas began when Japan opened up to the West in the late 19th century and was spurred on by a popular British musical play The Geisha(1896) and Puccini's Madame Butterfly (1904), which wasn't about geishas but featured a woman thatdressed like one. Japan, encouraged the image, sending geishas to represent Japan at world exhibitions.

Part of the Western fascination with geisha is rooted in the belief that they were highly decorated, high-class prostitutes. Many Japanese insist that geishas are not prostitutes at all but skilled performers. The truth is somewhere in between and varies from case to case. 

 Geishas have generally not been prostitutes. Part of their allure has been the suggestion not the reality of sex. However, on occasion, if the mood, the man and the money were right, they sold their bodies or served as mistresses to wealthy men who took care of them, but they are not supposed to utter one word about it. 

 In the old days, there was often a distinction between geishas who worked as prostitutes and those that didn't. Geishas who worked at hot spring resorts were the lowest status geishas. For them sex was not a remote possibility but something that was expected of them. These women earned “points” by sleeping with customers that went to paying off the debt they owed their geisha houses. 

 A Tokyo geisha told the Japan Times that the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1957 changed things. "In the old days, geisha did as they were told,” she said. "Today's women are much more independent."

 The likelihood of a typical customer, particularly a foreigner, having sex with a geisha is extremely unlikely. Part of the geishas training includes how to politely deflect offers of dates and unwanted advances. The virginity of geishas was sometimes auctioned off to the highest bidder in ritual known as mizuage ("deflowering"). Some men paid the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege.

 Male patrons were called danna ("husbands"). Not only were they supposed to maintain the geishas like mistresses they paid for her kimonos, accessories and training. The total cost could run in the equivalent of hundred of thousands of dollars. 

 Danna often supported a geisha for decades. In return the geisha was supposed to be devoted to him exclusively. Few geisha ever married their dannas even after their wives died and even though they gave birth to the danna's children. 

 Since the Meiji era in the late 19th century many geishas have been organized into by a system, run by a kenban, or agency, which dispatches geisha to ryotei in certain areas. Since then 50 areas gave been designated as “hanamachi,” or entertainment districts, Gion in Kyoto is perhaps the most famous hanamichi.

 Up until World War II, women who were geishas had no choice but to be geishas. They were born into the trade or forced to join it to survive. Many were girls who were sold by their parents to geisha houses and became virtual slaves. 

 Many of these girls were sold to the geisha houses when the around five. They worked as house servants and maids until they were old enough for their training to begin. The geisha houses looked upon the girls as investments and kept the girls from leaving by obligating them to pay off their debt for training and maintenance. The custom of mizuage was created in part to help the girls pay off their debt. 

 Maikos are geisha apprentices. To become one takes a year of training. Afterwards they endure several more years of training to became a geisha. Maikos are often decked out in flamboyant colors while geishas tend to be more demurely dressed. Many pictures that one sees of geisha are actually of maikos. 

 Maikos are sort of like medical students doing their residency. They participate in the entertainment of customers under the supervision of geishas. A maiko typical becomes a geisha when she is around 20. In the old days, a maiko sometimes became a full-fledged geisha after her mizuage ("deflowering"). These days many maiko never become geishas. They leave the geisha houses when they are in their early 20s and get married and live normal lives. 

 Geishas follow a strict samurai-like code of honor which prizes discretion and forbids geishas from revealing anything about their private lives or the private lives of the their male customers.

 The reputations of geishas was badly tarnished in 1989, when one geisha talked about her affair with then Prime Minister Sosuke Uno, causing his party to suffer a humiliating defeat in the following election. Two years later another geisha sued a Kyoto training center, where she was being taught, claiming she was abused and underpaid. A settlement was reached out of court. The confessions by the geisha that provided material for the novel Memoirs of a Geisha also broke this code of honor.

 There is such a thing as male geishas. Also known as hokan or as talko-mochi (“drum bearer”), they are like court jesters and undergo some of the same training as geishas in dance, music and manner. One who works in the Asakusa district told the Asahi Shimbin, “Another good description of my job is whipping boy for company presidents.” He said he said getting yelled at is part of his job. “That’s what the host is paying for, he want to be able to scream at someone in front of an audience, I don’t take it personally.” 

 Girls that decide to become geisha today do so out of choice. Most enter a geisha house when are 14 or 15, after they have graduated from middle school. Many join without parental approval. Those that live in the geisha houses develop mother-daughter relationships with the geishas that run the house and refer to them as "mother." 

 Maikos endure a strict military-like training that takes up most of their time. They study etiquette, the ways of men, walking with quiet, shuffling steps, and traditional arts such as the tea ceremony, flower arranging, calligraphy and classical fan and umbrella dancing and learn to play the banjo-like the samisen. 

 Maiko are taught to eat tofu and fish with touching the food to their artfully lacquered lips and learn to bow by kneeling with their body straight so that just the tips of their outstretched fingers touch the tatami. They are not supposed to touch their palms of forearms to the floor. During winter training they have to stand out on a balcony and sing. During the summer heat they have to serve hot tea while wearing their full geisha regalia. Many maikos say they often think about quitting during their training.

 Maiko training in Kyoto is very strict. Those who come from outside Kyoto have to acquire a Kyoto accent. Geisha apprentices from Tokyo can't talk to their families on the phone out of worries that her Kyoto accent would be tarnished. Only about of one of 10 trainees actually becomes a maiko. 

 These days the training is much less rigorous than it used to be. Girls start much later than they used to and are allowed to take a day off if they are tired or have a hangover. If the training is too hard the girls quit. 

 A geisha in Akasake, Tokyo told the Daily Yomiuri, “real geisha are educated in every field and act as if they’re part of the elite, despite having to suffer through hard times...An Akasaka geisha can be likened to a peony. It’s more colorful than say, a lily, and peonies are overwhelmingly beautiful. I want my younger colleagues to feel the vigor and flamboyancy of a peony.” 

 Geishas live in a world of obscure rules and etiquette in which there is a state and a backstage. One geisha told the Daily Yomiuri, "Our function has always been that of mediators for customers conducting business, We maintain utmost obedience to them. If one customer says crows are white, we just smile and agree. In this sense, we are no different from hostesses." 

 Before each meal geisha is Akasuka, Tokyo say: “Our minds are one of loyalty, reflection and gratitude. We give love to people, give water to flowers. We shouldn’t forget our first intentions; an excuse is merely an objection in disguise.” 

 Geishas spend a lot of time pouring drinks and, in many cases, drinking. One geisha told the Japan Times, "You need to be able to drink. You have to drink every day. The customers are usually drunk and they try to get us drunk." 

 Geisha are taught to go uh huh, uh huh and not offer their opinions. A Tokyo geisha told Cobb, "In this world the man holds the higher position, and the woman follows him. That's the way it should be. I must help and support him but not let him know. This a woman's virtue: to be strong on the inside but not let it show." 

 One geisha told the New York Times, "There is a technique to good listening. It may sound impolite to wives, but men have a world that wives cannot understand. Men release their inner self in a place like this and then go home. Professional women can draw out a man’s inner self, but it requires experience. You can only do that after your 40s." One geisha told the Japan Times. "The golden rule os not to forget were in a trade that sells dreams. It's taboo to talk about everyday stuff."

 Geisha activities and movements are carefully crafted. Bruce Wallace wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “Every move...is rooted on Japanese ritual...The way her body sinks to a kneel, or she uses just the fingertips of her right hand to slide open wood-framed Japanese doors. The way she moves like smoke across the room on dancer’s toes...every action is a piece of performance art based on Japanese tales whispered down through the generations.” 

 Dancing and instrument playing are expected to be heartfelt. A retired geisha told the Los Angeles Times, “The dances are not just action; they are stories from our history, and you have to know that history to express it.” 

And Finally,

 Geishas wear a bright outer kimono, two under-kimonos, 11 obis (belts and sashes); lacquer their hair and place ornaments in it; and apply layers of paint and make up. Before the geishas put on their kimonos they apply white powdered make-up on the faces and paint to their necks and backs. Some geishas paint their teeth black, a custom once considered beautiful for women. 

 Putting on the obis and kimonos is like going through a maze to a complete a jigsaw puzzle. It takes geishas about three hours to put their make-up on and the costume, which often costs more than $30,000. Young helpers and an "auntie" often help the geishas to get dressed. A man is sometime necessary to do the strenuous parts of putting on the obi.

 Geisha clothes weigh 10 kilograms. "An obi is like a man's necktie." a Tokyo geisha told Cobb. "You tie it tight, and you become upright and rigid. I'm like a businessman putting on a suit in the morning, preparing for his daily battle, forgetting his personal life. When I put on make-up and a kimono, I turn into a geisha in my mind also. In a kimono, I am a professional."

 One Kyoto client told Cobb, "I have seen how geisha prepare their makeup, but I don't like to. I want the romantic ideal, not the reality. I don't want to know the trick. I don't want t known their sad stories. I want to keep it as a dream, and they want to keep it as a dream for me. That's the business." 

Geisha Hairdos

 
older maiko hairstyle Geisha hairdos are created with the geisha’s hair, and human and animal hair extensions that are held in place with wax, silk ribbons and inner bindings made of absorbent Japanese paper. A hairdo can weigh up to three kilograms. 

 Styling a geisha hairdo can cost ¥20,000 each time its done, Geisha sometimes sleep on wooden neck rest so as not to mess up their hairdos. The hot irons and wax used to create the hairdos take their told and leave geisha with bald spots when they get old. These are sometimes hidden with wax and yak hair. 

 The hairdressers who prepare a geisha’ hair are known a keppatsu-shi. Describing Kyoto’s only male keppatsu-shi at work, Anthony Faiola wrote in the Washington Post, “‘Now this won’t hurt a bit,’ he said wryly, raising his handmade, $300 comb designed specifically for geisha hair. He dragged it roughly through the remaining pots of wax in her tumbling locks...After rapidly applying the right thickness of wax according to the day’s humidity, he tied a string of paper to hold her hair in place, tightening it with his teeth. He then put his hands on her porcelain-white neck, stuffing in required patches of yak hair to give her a variation of the split-peach geisha hairdo that some Japanese consider highly suggestive.” 

 Hairpins worn by geisha can be quite elaborate and change according to the season with as many as 20 variations worn at different times of the year. A hairpin worn by an experienced maiko during the Gion Festival has five tiers of 110 flowers and butterflies with blue fabric. One worn by a maiko with only a few years experience has three tiers with 48 silver flowers and four butterflies. Flowor decoration are made from heavy paper doubled over and put on a wire and fixed with silk thread. Butterflies are made with heron or stork feathers. A skilled craftsman can make only one or two hairpins a day.