Perhaps this reflects the nature of the person. Cousins -- and so many other people -- were/are oriented to helping others without requiring benefit to themselves, and so they will publicize things that do just that. Others -- too many others, in my opinion -- are self-seeking, and won't do anything for others unless it provides them with an economic benefit; these are the people who promote things that they can make a profit on.
Perhaps that reference to Cousins laugh therapy died away -- beyond the likelihood that some who heard of it thought it to be too simple to be true -- merely means that there are more of the latter kind of people than the former? Cheers, Lawry On Sep 30, 2012, at 8:27 PM, D & N wrote: > Indeed. He cleared a few people out of hospital beds but it seemed to go the > way of a fad. It made a point but how much is it worth if everyone can choose > to do it for themselves for free. > > D. > > On 30/09/2012 11:44 AM, de Bivort Lawrence wrote: >> Do you remember Norman Cousins and his laughter therapy? >> >> Cheers, >> Lawry >> >> >> On Sep 30, 2012, at 12:12 PM, D & N wrote: >> >>> I have heard of such things. >>> >>> Feeling bad. Negatives. Would this not block the flow of energies through >>> our bodies? Creating areas of stagnation? It is one thing to have these >>> areas assisted by massage (or whatever) but if the underlying reason for >>> illness is not addressed, the illness will continue or return. There have >>> been incidents of total cancer remission without intervention. But, once >>> one has cancer (or other major illness) another circle in one's life is >>> closing the ring. So feeling bad may initiate a disease but now having the >>> disease makes one feel worse (perhaps in another way) and the feedback loop >>> is complete to retain the disease. >>> >>> D. >>> >>> On 29/09/2012 10:29 AM, Ray Harrell wrote: >>>> So feeling bad gives you cancer. Rather than Cancer makes you feel bad. >>>> Hmmm. >>>> >>>> Interesting. >>>> >>>> REH >>>> >>>> From: [email protected] >>>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Hudson >>>> Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2012 1:05 PM >>>> To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION >>>> Subject: Re: [Futurework] Diminishing life expectancy of the poor >>>> >>>> At 15:04 29/09/2012, you wrote: >>>> >>>> From today's AlterNet Newsletter. I find the last paragraph interesting >>>> -- the idea that ill health and diminishing life expectancy are at least >>>> partly the result of the poor feeling they are sinking into an >>>> increasingly hopeless situation. Might life expectancy be related to how >>>> good and useful you feel? >>>> >>>> Yes, I'd have thought so. >>>> >>>> Keith >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Ed >>>> >>>> >>>> Shocker Stat: Life Expectancy Decreases by 4 Years Among Poor Whites in >>>> U.S. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Yesterday, the New York Times reported on an alarming new study: >>>> researchers have documented that the least educated white Americans are >>>> experiencing sharp declines in life expectancy. Between 1990 and 2008, >>>> white women without a high school diploma lost a full five years of their >>>> lives, while their male counterparts lost three years. Experts say that >>>> declines in life expectancy in developed countries are exceedingly rare, >>>> and that in the U.S., decreases on this scale "have not been seen in the >>>> U.S. since the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918." Even during the Great >>>> Depression, which wrought economic devastation and severe psychic trauma >>>> for millions of Americans, average life expectancy was on the increase. >>>> >>>> What are the reasons for the disturbing drop in life expectancy among poor >>>> white folks, and in particular for the unusually large magnitude of the >>>> decline? According to the Times, researchers are baffled: one expert said, >>>> “There’s this enormous issue of why . . . It’s very puzzling and we don’t >>>> have a great explanation." Undoubtedly, the increasing numbers of >>>> low-income Americans without health insurance is a major contributor >>>> factor. Researchers also say that lifestyle factors such as smoking, which >>>> has increased among low-income white women, play a role; poor folks tend >>>> to engage in more risky health behaviors than their >>>> more affluent counterparts. >>>> >>>> I will offer an alternative hypothesis, one which is not explicitly >>>> identified in the Times article: inequality. In the U.S., the period >>>> between 1990 and 2008, which is a period that saw such steep declines in >>>> life expectancy for the least well-off white people, is also a period >>>> during which economic inequality soared. Moreover, there is a compelling >>>> body of research that suggests that inequality itself -- quite apart from >>>> low incomes, or lack of health insurance -- is associated with more >>>> negative health outcomes for those at the bottom of the heap. One of the >>>> most famous series of studies of the social determinants of health, >>>> Britain's Whitehall Studies, had as their subjects British civil servants, >>>> all of whom health insurance and (presumably) decent enough jobs. >>>> Intriguingly, these studies >>>> found a strong association between grade levels of civil servant >>>> employment and mortality rates from a range of causes. Men in the lowest >>>> grade (messengers, doorkeepers, etc.) had a mortality rate three times >>>> higher than that of men in the highest grade (administrators). >>>> >>>> The Whitehall studies found that while workers in the lower grades were >>>> more likely to be at risk for coronary heart disease due to factors such >>>> as higher rates of smoking, higher blood pressure, etc., even after >>>> controlling for those confounding factors, these workers still experienced >>>> significantly higher mortality rates. So what was behind such disparate >>>> health incomes among high-status and low-status workers? Researchers >>>> pointed the finger at inequality, hypothesizing that various psychosocial >>>> factors associated with inequality — such as the higher levels of stress >>>> at work and at home experienced by the lower tier workers, as well as >>>> their lower levels of self-esteem — were behind the dramatic differences >>>> in mortality rates. >>>> >>>> I believe that inequality-related stressors are likely to be the >>>> determining factors in declining American life expectancies, as well. I’m >>>> surprised, in fact, that the Times article did not specifically identify >>>> inequality as a causal factor, because the health risks associated with >>>> economic inequality are well-established in the scientific literature. For >>>> decades, the United States has been making a series of political choices >>>> that has distributed wealth and power upwards and left working Americans >>>> not only poorer and sicker, but also feeling far more burdened and >>>> distressed, and experiencing far less security and control over their >>>> lives. The consequences of these choices have been devastating, and absent >>>> a dramatic reversal in our political course, they are likely to get even >>>> worse. Where inequality is concerned, Republicans have their foot on the >>>> accelerator, while the best the Democrats seem to be able to do is to >>>> (temporarily) put their foot on the brake. >>>> >>>> We are on a trajectory all right, and it’s not a good one. >>>> The Washington Monthly / By Kathleen Geier | Sourced from >>>> Washington Monthly >>>> >>>> Posted at September 22, 2012, 8:27am >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Futurework mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>> Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Futurework mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Futurework mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
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