Evidence suggests worry inhibits longevity

Press, 17 September 1987, Page 56

Evidence suggests worry inhibits longevity

PA Wellington Growing medical evidence supports the idea that less worry means a longer life, says a professor at the Harvard Medical School, Professor Thomas Hackett

The professor of psychiatry turned a boyhood passion about World War I fighter pilots into an interesting informal study of how they reacted to stress, and other factors which seem to have helped them face the challenge of battle. Visiting Wellington for a psychiatric conference, he presented the study at the Wellington Medical School. His involvement with a former fighter pilot being treated in a coronary-care unit sparked the idea, because of the man's “strange attitude to his danger.” “The fellow in the heart unit said, T am not worried about my heart because I am in the best possible place, so why worry?’ He still had a

severe heart attack. Professor Hackett went on to interview 50 former World War I fighter pilots starting in the 19605. The interviews had no formal psychiatric structure, he said, but his years in the field helped him form conclusions, and his knowlege of the -area, right down to the weapons used and the detail of battles fought, along with the fact that many of the veterans were in their 70s and 80s and had not been listened to for many years on the subject, all helped.

Professor Hackett said one of the most striking things was that all 50 were what he calls “deniers” — able to deny or turn away from the most stressful parts of any situation so they could live through it.

None of them remembered feeling fear before or during combat, he said, while all had the conviction that they would survive the war. But all had behaved cautiously, checking their

planes and weapons. Those touched by the stockmarket crash of the 1930 s lost little sleep, the men did not bring home work worries, were not workaholics, and they made time to enjoy themselves, Professor Hackett said.

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t care enough. They were more than smart enough to know what peril they were in, but could isolate, deny the hurtful, harmful part of an event and live through it”

“They were able to, by a trick of the mind, reduce or suppress worry.” They had a strong sense of humour and would turn distress to humour. All the men were not introspective types, and doers rather than thinkers, Professor Hackett said.

A further sign of this was their interest in world events and politics, even at their advanced ages. “It made me think they were unlike so many

older people in that they could pull their interest out of themselves.” All the men were in good physical and mental health, apart from three who had had cancer and three who had strokes, he said. For most, the greatest risk to health was sport injuries, and all continued playing sport as far as their years could allow, including one in his 70s who played polo. All had played contact sports in their youth. All were health-con-scious enough to have quit smoking and most had stopped drinking alcohol, a further demonstration of taking precautions without worrying, he said. Professor Hackett said that these qualities could be useful survival tactics. "Chances, I think, are better for a longer life without constant worry. There is growing medical evidence it is true.” Professor Hackett called people with the opposite traits “aug-

menters” or “exaggerators,” and said they were the kind of people who thought a chest pain signalled a heart attack or a headache, a brain tumour.

“If you do have a heart attack and can suppress or deny, if you can behave like this one fighter pilot in the coronary care unit, I think the chances of getting over the attack are better. We have figures to demonstrate that. "The trick is not worrying, but still doing.” In Auckland an occupational health nurse says some Auckland firemen are facing up to their occupational hazards through using a sense of humour. Fire-fighting is no laughing matter but some firemen use humour to release stress built up on the job, a nurse who has worked with Auckland brigades believes. “It is their own good humour which comes to the rescue,” said Sister Jocelyn Werry.