The Biology of the Possible

Hold on…We can think ourselves young?

That’s right.  The theory is called, variously, “the psychology of the possible” or the “biology of hope” or the “biology of belief.”  The general hypothesis that our beliefs might be one of the most important determinants of health and longevity.

Yes, beliefs.  Beliefs about our own health, about our body’s reliance and strength (or lack thereof), about our ability to thrive, about what it means to age.  What we think will happen, what we believe will happen, what we expect to happen may, in fact, happen.  And by “fact,” I mean statistically valid, scientifically derived evidence.  That kind of fact.  Our minds are just that powerful.

Suppose, like just about everyone in our culture, you grow up believing Old is Bad.  Suppose, after years of hearing jokes about being over-the-hill at forty, after seeing thousands of commercials for Depends and Ensure and cellphones with three-inch-high numerals, after watching hundreds of movies and television shows with cranky, crabby, asexual older people, suppose you begin to conflate “old” with sick, debilitated and diminished? With forgetful, slow, weak, timid and stodgy? Those last five adjectives are the most common negative, “unthinkingly accepted” stereotypes of “old” in western cultures, according to one group of researchers.  What we have here, researchers in the biology of belief field say, is a self-fulfilling prophesy of decline.  You get what you expect.

On the other hand, the Abkhazians, one of the healthiest, most vibrant, longest lived communities on the planet, have no word in their language for “old people.”  They refer to the eldest among them as “long-living people.” Note how “long-living” expresses an action, something they are in the midst of doing, while “old” is a static state, a pronouncement.  Are Abkhazians healthy and vital in old age in part because their language (their culture) allows – expects – them to be?  An intriguing idea.

The evidence about perceptions of aging (another way of looking at expectations about growing older) and what does in fact happen is pretty startling.  A Yale study concluded that perceptions held by people about aging had more impact on how long they lived than did their blood pressure, cholesterol level or whether they were smokers.  Regardless of age, gender, socio-economic status, loneliness or – get this – the actual state of their health, the men and women with positive views on aging lived 7.5 years longer than those who bought into the negative stereotypes.

Conversely, another study found that older adults who perceived their health as poor were six times more likely to die (within the time frame studied, that is) than those who thought they were in good health – regardless of their actual health status. One explanation is that if you think of illness and decrepitude as an inevitable part of aging, you are less likely to do anything to prevent, counteract or treat it.  Another study at Yale found a strong link between positive self-perceptions of aging and what’s called functional health – the mechanical well-being of the body, the ability to move and perform desired tasks without pain or injury.

            Clearly the path toward an invigorated and meaningful mid-life and beyond requires us to do more than jump on the superfood-du-jour/ exercise-fad-of-the-month bandwagon.  It requires us to question our beliefs about aging.  It requires us to create our own biology of the possible.