The Heart of the Matter: Why Context Rules

GeekNurse has posted a tracing of a baby’s heart activity. It’s one of those occasions where a straight reading might have prompted concern that there was a major cardiac problem. However, with the nurse’s special understanding of the context, the trace is correctly interpreted as innocent of any sinister problem (I’m not giving the solution here, it’s a nice surprise). [April 2006 edit. Sadly, this excellent blog has been taken down so this example is no longer available. The solution was that the nurse had been present when the baby hiccoughed, causing the irregularity in the trace.]

I’m attracted to this example because it is a striking instance of the need to understand the full context of data before interpreting it appropriately. And this is yet another re-working of my continued thinking on the topic of whether unhappiness is a symptom or a passing phase.

Unhappiness is inevitable as a response to life events: it is appropriate in the current context of that life. There may come a point when the degree of unhappiness paralyses a person’s ability to function on many levels, both socially and economically. Somewhere on that continuum unhappiness became a symptom in need of a remedy or intervention, whether pharmacological or psychosocial. Identifying that point of cross-over seems to be an art-form.

Positive psychology emphasises the many benefits of positive emotions, from greater personal success to better immune systems and improved longevity. One of the most repeatable findings seems to be that unhappiness is inevitable, but it is our resilience to life events and circumstances that governs our outcomes. It seems that we can cultivate resilience by cultivating positive emotions.

I have previously admitted that I used to spend less time cultivating happiness that I did practising the piano. Like many people, I go through periods of guilt-pangs about my level of physical fitness and know that I should enagage in X hours of physical activity per week. There are even government guidelines as the type, intensity and duration of such activity. Many of us are familiar with the notion that it is not the absolute measurement of our heart-rate or blood-pressure during exercise that is indicative of our fitness and well-being, but the length of our recovery period (e.g., how long it takes us to get our breath back, or for our heart rate to drop towards normal). In the same way, it seems that it is not the magnitude of our unhappiness that is of the most interest, but our resilience and ability to recover from it.

Guidelines would be going too far, but there seems to be little cultural support for the notion that we should cultivate happiness, resilience and other life-enhancing positive emotions. Particularly if, as I suspect, there are substantial health advantages to be gained from cultivating emotional fitness (not the right phrase but I will never post if I spend any more time thinking about a better one) through positive emotions rather than unrealistic ideals of physical fitness based around lifestyle modifications such as physical exercise and eating habits.

I should mention that I do believe the trial data that report substantial physical and emotional benefits from activities such as walking and other physical exercise. Likewise, I’m convinced by reports that some people show demonstrable emotional and behavioural gains when eating a nutrient-dense, fresh, wholefood diet rather than their traditional fare of processed food. I’m just struck by the disparity of coverage and support of areas that have an equivalent impact on our health and well-being.

My current random conclusions and speculations. Unhappiness is part of the rhythm of our lives. Resilience mitigates the impact of unhappiness and has many other beneficial effects. Cultivating resilience may make an equivalent or more substantial impact on improving our health outcomes than many other health-related recommendations. Would receiving a prescription that enouraged us to spend time everyday in cultivating our positive emotions seem less respectful than a prescription for an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication?

Copyright 2006, Tony Plant Happystance Project