Up: How Positive Outlook Can Transform Our Health and Aging

by Hilary Tindle

Why looking up matters A positive attitude is important, but until now we didn’t know how important. In Up, a practicing physician and NIH-funded researcher draws on her research and experience to show that our outlook on life— our unique patterns of thinking and feeling about ourselves, others, and the world—may be the key to how well and how fast we age. From wrinkles to cognitive decline, our outlook affects our health at every level. Using the framework of outlook GPS, Up illustrates how we can gauge our current attitude latitude and move to healthier ground. Tindle brings a fresh eye to attitudinal traits such as optimism, noting that it has many faces, including the face of her own struggling optimism. Using the 7 Steps of Attitudinal Change that she applies to her own patients, Tindle offers us a path toward healthy aging. Prescriptive and accessible, Up puts forward a paradigm shift in how we age and treat disease, giving even the most struggling optimists a chance for hope. It will appeal to readers of The Longevity Project by Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin as well as The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Self Help, Psychology

285 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2013

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah nonfiction. You read the book then realize it can all be summed up in about three lines:
It is better to be optimistic than pessimistic.
Mindfulness is good.
Exercise is good.

[Maureen Onyeziri · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first book of 2022 and a fine read to begin the new year with. This book explores the scientific research conducted to investigate how optimistic and pessimistic outlooks on life can affect overall health and wellbeing, with particular emphasis on aging well. It gives the benefits of a positive outlook on health and how being pessimistic in certain situations can negatively affect one's health or one's drive to improve their health. It provides questionnaires for one to deduce where they fall on the optimist/pessimist spectrum, and it gives practical guidance on how severe pessimists can change their outlook and by extension, their overall health. While the claims of the book are not necessarily new, it was interesting to see that a significant amount of research exists backing these claims. People who are typically cynical and overly pessimistic may benefit from the information in this book, but it is a good book for anyone, regardless of their default outlook on life.

[Erick P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I learned:
1. Pessimism creates the stress to wear out telomereres that help the cell replication. Damage that, aging accelerates.
2. Pessimism/Optimism essentially culminates in self fulfilling actions. Either for good or bad - affecting the direction of self care.
3. Pessimism and Optimism are not mutually exclusive. Optimists get depressed or moments of it. And pessimists don't always get depressed.
4. For toxic home environments, hope or a dream helps to motivate one to get out of that situation and develop an Outlook to escape it.

[Marlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book with practical advice, wonderful information, and inspiring stories. It was more focused on optimism and pessimism along with medical suggestions such as taking medication. Obviously, being written by a doctor this makes sense. However, I would have preferred the discussion of optimism and outlook to have gone along with other natural and drug free ideas. In all, this book could help people whether they are more into natural ways of healing or into regular medicine and doctoral approaches. This book was very hopeful and uplifting to read.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it five stars but I after finishing the book I can't even recall the suggestions to be more positive. I like the stories, I just felt like it jumped around a bit. I do firmly believe, even before reading this book, that a positive attitude improves your health.

Overdrive

[Chu Qiao · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter what situations you are in, there is always a door to go through to create a better future. Keep positive outlook and down-to-the-earth as well.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Argh too many platitudes and rehashed info, don't waste your time.

[Josiah Lent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great information- but could’ve been a Blog post or half as long. The optimist in me says it’s still a worthwhile read!

[Aazir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book confirmed what I had read elsewhere about the power of positive thinking and how it could have a real effect on one's life. It was nice to see the medical background for these ideas, however there was nothing very new in this book otherwise. I can't see someone reading this book and then deciding to change their outlook. It seems to be written more for an academic audience.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Moving on uP in health**

What’s your outlook?

Whether it’s positive, negative, or somewhere in between, your outlook is a key driver behind every aspect of your health and aging:
“Outlook encompasses our personality, character traits, general disposition and attitudes, all of which are words used by researchers and clinicians to describe our psychological makeup…Our outlook, research shows, has the potential to influence every facet of our health, from how quickly we recover from an illness or surgery to whether we become depressed, develop cardiovascular risk factors, or suffer a heart attack, stroke, or cancer, and even how well we care for ourselves when our health begins to break down…Our outlook may be our earliest ‘risk factor’ for accelerating aging—before all the other traditional risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol levels that we’ve come to know and fear.” (pp. 5, 15)

A positive outlook (or at least less negative one) can have a profound effect on improving quality of life and navigating difficult times:
“Just as vaccines spur our immune systems to create antibodies against polio, pneumonia, influenza, hepatitis, and other diseases that have historically cause epidemics and even pandemics, facets of our outlook such as conscientiousness, optimism, openness, and self-compassion could arm us with the tools to cope with life’s hardships.” (p. 228)

The upside is that there’s much we can do to improve our outlook. _Up_ serves as a guide for doing so with its 7 Steps of Attitudinal Change:
1. Determine your current attitude latitude (Point A)
2. Aim your brain in the desired direction (Point B): Form an intention to change
3. Examine your outlook in action by learning to listen to your inner conversation
4. Acknowledge your accomplishments along the way
5. Follow typical doctor advice
6. Reach our for the benefits of social support
7. Get a healthy dose of green: Cultivate your microenvironment

The book shows how these steps look in real-life using real people’s stories, a plethora of clearly presented research findings, and explanations of key practices for implementing them, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, contemplation, guided imagery, and motivational interviewing.

A satisfying, uplifting, and hearty read, _Up_ gets two thumbs up from me!

[Ash Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide for both patients and practitioners[return][return]I read this book from the perspective of someone who's had to learn the importance of a positive outlook the hard way, after years of struggle with a debilitating chronic medical condition. Dr. Tindle recounts the story of her own health problems early in life, as well as stories of working with patients as a practicing physician, so she ably brings both perspectives to the writing of this book.[return][return]Drawing on a wide range of recent research, she examines the impact our mental attitude can have on our health and aging, right down to the cellular level. For instance, studies have shown higher, longer-lasting, levels of inflammation associated with negative outlooks leading to faster aging at the cellular level, such that the term inflammaging has been coined to describe the phenomenon. (As someone all too familiar with the joys of chronic inflammation, I can attest to this...curse you, excessive interleukin-6!)[return][return]Thankfully, she also gives strategies for improving your outlook, and thus your health and aging in the process. Most of this material is quite good. Some of it will be familiar to those who've read about positive psychology in recent years (e.g. Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism), or even some of the better stuff in the self-help genre (say, Napoleon Hill's Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude), but the perspective on health and aging Dr. Tindle focuses on here makes it well worth reading even to those already sold on the importance of a positive outlook in general. On the whole, Up is intelligently written and should be of interest to doctors, patients, or just the general reader interested in how their mental outlook can affect their physical well-being.[return][return]http://www.amazon.com/review/R24CQU6J...

[Joan Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Tindle speaks with warm conviction as she demonstrates how attitudes influence behavior. She’s no cockeyed optimist who believes in the mystical power of good thoughts alone. Instead, she shows how an optimistic outlook can be attained and impel a can-do focus to change negative behaviors that lead to ill health. Smoking, drinking, over-eating, as we know, are causes of numerous ailments. Part of the problem is the urge for immediate gratification rather than long-term planning. Tindle points out step by step measures that people can take to master their behaviors and lead healthier lives. One of the worst excuses that she encounters is “I have to die of something.” While that is, of course, true, she counters that a healthier lifestyle makes aging more agreeable and also extends lifespan. Tindle presents anecdotes throughout. Her advice is commonsensical and compassionate. She cites research studies and her own fieldwork, but she uses layman’s terms making “Up” an accessible and enjoyable read.

[Beverly McCall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilary Tindle, M.D. M.P.H. shares her premise on how one’s outlook affects our life as we age and especially our health in this book. One’s outlook is defined as a unique pattern of thinking and feelings relative to oneself and the world around us. Subsequently, our outlook impacts the quality of our life and lifestyle. It can impact our physical and mental health. Our outlook is not static and grows as we grow. We have the power to change it. Dr. Tindle presents a 7 step process to change our outlook. Her work, rooted in research, supports her basic premise. She provides case studies to substantiate these points. The take away I got is that we need to know who we are and live a life with purpose (self worth). You need to pay attention to your internal dialog and self-correct along the way. Along with paying attention to our outlook and focusing on the positive, we need to ensure that we eat healthy, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and develop friendships all contribute toward a positive outlook and all are in one’s control.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon this book in the New Books display
at my local library. I was intrigued by the title,
so I picked it up to read the dust jacket copy.
When I discovered that a local doctor and researcher
wrote the book, I checked it out of the library and
figured that I'd sample it at minimum.

The more that I read of the book,
the more that I liked it.
And "like" peaked at "love" at some points.
Although the book cites research,
it's engaging, interesting, and compelling.
It's never stuffy and pretty easy reading.
I developed a genuine admiration for Dr. Tindle,
her story and advice, and those people of whom she writes.

I'm really happy that I found and read this book.
I've started to put some of its recommendations
into practice. I would love to meet Dr. Tindle
and tell her how much her book means to me.
Since we live in the same city,
that's within the realm of possibilities!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read about how an "up" outlook can improve our health as we age. The author backs her statements by citing research, often her own or by colleagues. She uses case studies and personal stories to keep the theories realistic and simple to understand. I found the most useful chapter to be the one with suggestions about improving outlook through cognitive behavioral therapy (antecedent event, belief, consequences); mindfulness (like MBSR); contemplation (come close to a spiritual power); guided imagery (think about specific mental images while relaxing to improve health and well-being); and motivational interviewing (express empathy, develop discrepancy, roll with resistance, support self-efficacy by looking back and ahead at success).

[Mark Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worry that I may be addicted to reading books with positive outlooks like this one but then I let my inner voice speak to me and I am assured that it is for the best. What I enjoyed from reading Tindle's book on psychophysiology is her middle section outlining five different types of positive outlook psychology: CBT, Mindfulness, Contemplation, Guided Imagery, and Motivational Interviewing. I also enjoyed it because Tindle has led me to investigate other titles.

After my heart attack in 2006, I regularly try to feed my mind with positive reading materials and I recommend it to others too (the readings, not the heart attack).

[Tiffiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book validates previous info I all ready knew with emphasis on how powerful your mind actually is! So important with our elderly and poverty stricken / disadvantaged youth population! " Wether you think you can or you can't , you're right"!

[Marylou · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kind of book ... her outlook is terrific! If the ideas that she puts forth in this book could really happen, what a beautiful world this would be!!! Make everyone know that they can succeed ... just be happy and work for a better world!!! I love it!

[Yakov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being optimistic is healthy, and one can become more optimistic. This book quotes original research but itself is not a very compelling read, the author seems to stray quite often from the main path if there was any.

[Belann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes over the latest scientific research showing how transforming our thoughts with cognitive behavioral therapy, contemplation, or mindfulness can transform health. Really makes a case for training our brains to look at the bright side of things.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely made me re-evaluate some things. Not a great read and lacking some scientific weight but convincing none the less.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had some good information but was very dry and boring. I think it could have been written much tighter and still contained the good information.