From: Timothy Bates (tbates@karri.bhs.mq.edu.au)
Date: Mon Jun 14 1999 - 05:27:16 MDT
Personality and disease is interesting. There is rather a lot of literature
on the so-called toxic personality ( and the hypothesis that stress hormones
destroy neurons), links suggesting that introverts and neurotic people get
less cancer, others saying more, or more heart disease.
I feel that most of these data are pointing to a role of hostility (bad for
your heart) and depression (bad for everything). My retrospective advice?
1. Come from a K strategy group selected for long life, altruism, and high
parental investment (which requires parents to be alive, which means you
live longer).
2. Don't get depression
Vaillant, G. E., (1998). Natural history of male psychological
health, XIV: Relationship of mood disorder vulnerability to
physical health. , 155: 184-191.
3. Don't do depressing stuff like getting divorced.
Tucker, J. S., Friedman, H. S., Schwartz, J. E.,
Criqui, M. H., (1997). Parental divorce: Effects on individual
behavior and longevity. , 73: 381-391.
4. Oh yes, and if you are male, marry someone as far younger
than yourself as you can find.
Williams, C. L., Durm, M. W., (1998). Longevity in age-heterogamous
marriages. , 82: 872-874.
> This is exactly the opposite of what I remember seeing; it's my memory
> that researchers found that curmudgeonly, selfish, outspoken people
> lived longer. Thus, the stereotype of an old man yelling "You kids get
> off my lawn!" He's still around, while the nice old lady who baked
> everyone cookies is presumably not.
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