A positive mental attitude is essential for healthy living. The mind-body link, which was largely ignored in Western medicine until recent years, plays an important role in how the body handles stress. Growing evidence indicates that a person?s attitude can affect health or, at the very least, the perception of health, which in turn leads to a happier life. Yet having a healthy mental attitude does not mean you are smiling 100% of the time. It is simply the ability to cope with life?s frustrations and celebrate its joys. It is a sense of peace and fulfillment that you are doing what is best. A positive mental outlook allows you to evaluate the past, appreciate the present and plan for the future.

Having a positive mental attitude requires the realization that life sometimes presents situations that are beyond your control. There are lines to wait in or traffic jams that cannot be avoided. We may not be able to control frustrating situations, but we can control our reaction to them.

And now researchers are finding direct links between emotional health and physical health. Sickness and death rates in heart patients improve when stress management techniques are incorporated into the treatment plan. Visualization significantly improves anxiety and perception of illness in multiple sclerosis patients. Even the pain associated with cancer treatments can be helped with relaxation and visualization techniques. This may have important future applications for those fighting treatment-resistant infections and those with autoimmune disorders.