Female chacma baboons that maintain close, lasting friendships live considerably longer than their peers who switch companions more frequently, a new study finds in ScienceNews

“There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.”   said Stephen Hawking in an interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News.

Hawking used the words “because it works”, rather than “because it is true”.  Determination of “truth” in any other way would require an ultimate authority, and ultimate authority is religion’s game.

In this context Epicureanism is more like science than religion: it did work for the decent, rational and reasonable middle class of the Roman Empire for 800 years just as well as it does for us today.

• • pain
  • a lack of control over environmental circumstances, such as food, housing, health, freedom
  • social issues such as social defeat, relationship conflict, deception, break-ups
  • major events such as birth, death, marriage, and divorce
  • life experiences such as poverty, unemployment, exams, deadlines

Why are these very common issues and experiences perceived by many as threats? If they are so common, why are we not appropriately prepared for them? Is our failure to cope with the most common issues not a result of the malfunction of those whose responsibility it is to prepare us for life? Have our parents, teachers, educators and counselors all failed us?

Epicurus, the founder of the Epicurean school of philosophy and happiness-boosting life conduct, suffered all his life from a bladder pain that finally killed him. This fact, however, did not interfere with his pursuit of happiness, even though they had no pain relief medicines in 271 BCE.

So what was Epicurus’s secret?  His “four-part cure,” in Greek “tetrapharmakos,” can give us a hint:

Don’t fear the gods,
Don’t worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure

But his anti-stress medicine could not be swallowed at once with a glass of water. His followers had to chew and digest it over many years in their communal educative life-schools. The effort must have been worthwhile since the Epicurean circles of friends flourished over 800 years from 300 BCE till 500 CE.

So how was Epicurus’s stress-prevention program practiced?

The Epicureans did not give up their possessions as the Pythagoreans did, since that would have prevented them from generously sharing their resources with each other. They did not rebel against the state and its institutions, as the Cynics did, since they relied on the state to protect them in exchange for performing their duties as citizens. (Epicurus himself went to Athens for his two-year term of military service at the age of 18.) They did not plot against rulers or attempt revolutions, as the Platonists did, since they believed that the exercise of political power beyond the bounds of their own self-administrative communes endangered their peace of mind, necessary for a good life in freedom and happiness. For the same reason they did not participate in state affairs, as the Stoics did. They kept a low profile according to one of their principles: “lathe biosas,” in English,” live unobtrusively” or “unnoticed.”

This is what they did: The happiness-seekers lived together in communities where they could individually and collectively promote each others’ progress on their pathways from pain to pleasure. They studied intensively Epicurus’s therapeutical writings and memorized the most important precepts so they had them ready at hand the moment the specific philosophical-psychological pill was needed. They gave each other feedback on their progress and those who were more advanced helped the others in the way modern life-coaches and trainers do through lectures, discussions, conversations, and practical activities.

How  can an Epicurean lifestyle prevent each of life’s main “stressors”? Through the education and continuous practice of stress-busting, happiness-boosting attitudes towards all the issues related to pain, fear, frustration experienced today as social defeat, relationship conflict, deception, break-ups, births, deaths, divorce, poverty, unemployment, exams, and deadlines.

I will take up these issues individually and describe how Epicureans dealt with them over eight centuries and how we can deal with them today.

I have written an article on this issue entitled: ‘Proven Ancient Prevention against Modern Life’s  “Stressors”’ and submitted it to ezinearticles.com

• burn calories for you
• boosts your immune system
• lowers the risk of heart attack
• elevates your mood
• makes you look more beautiful AND
• no expiration date?

The solution to the puzzle is here:

http://www.babyboomerknowledgecenter.com/2009/12/working-outin-bed.html

Therefore I will just stick to my 2300 year old Epicurean principle: “mens sana in corpora sano”, i.e. to strive for “a healthy mind in a healthy body.”

As I have never taken vaccine against any kind of flu (that  kills about 10,000 people in Germany every year, i.e. roughly twice as many as killed in raod accidents) so far and I will not make an exception for the swine flu either. The statistics do not support any call for action that would justify the loss in MH-ROI (mental health return on investment): my peace of mind, tranquility, stress-FREEDOM, ataraxia.

The vaccine against the swine flu is expensive, it may have unpleasant or even dangerous side effects. The vaccine against the swine flu or any other panic  generated by the media industry  is cheap, pleasant and available for each and all: good, old, proven practical Epicurean philosophy.

Read more here:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/10/05/beware-of-intense-stress/8755.html

Nowadays philosophy is hardly more than scientific speculation about linguistic phenomena. Even ethics consists mainly in the discussion of its own methods. In most forewords to philosophical books on ethics you can read that the author’s aim is to find ways how ethical norms could be established but no author even suggests that he could set up such norms of behavior.

On the contrary: Epicurus has given us practicable ethical norms – practiced by his followers unchanged for 800 years. He showed a practicable way how to live if you want to be happy and he did this in a simple language understandable for people with basic education.

At the same time Epicurus didn’t only teach and preach but he lived in accordance with his own teachings and so he became an inspiring role model for all those who decided to lead a happy life.

Epicurean philosophy applied in everyday life has been guiding and curing stressed, disoriented, suffering people for 2300 years now. It is easy to understand and simple to follow. It is compatible with science and its practice has such side effects as producing  a major contribution to sustainabilty.  

All you need is to take the decision: I want to be happy in tghis life because there is no other life ahead.

The study of 1,011 adolescents (aged 10-15) and their mothers from low income families living in three cities — Boston, Chicago and San Antonio — was posted on the Web site of the Journal of Adolescent Health (http://www.jahonline.org/inpress), which will publish it in the August issue. Forty-seven percent of the teens in the sample were overweight or obese, but that percentage increased to 56.2 percent among those who were impacted by four or more stressors.

 ”We found that an adolescent or youth who’s more stressed — caused by such things as having poor grades, mental health problems, more aggressive behavior, or doing more drugs and alcohol — is also more likely to be overweight or obese,” said lead author Brenda Lohman, an Iowa State assistant professor of human development and family studies (HDFS).

 Susan Stewart, an ISU associate professor of sociology; and Steven Garasky, a professor of HDFS at Iowa State; joined Lohman on the research team. Former ISU faculty members Craig Gundersen, a member of the agricultural and consumer economics faculty at the University of Illinois; and Joey Eisenmann, a member of the kinesiology and pediatrics faculty at Michigan State University; also contributed to the study.

The study analyzes data obtained from the “Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study” — a six-year longitudinal investigation. Researchers measured the height and weight of the adolescents to determine their body mass index, which was subsequently used to determine weight status based on two widely used classification systems. Adolescent food insecurity status and individual, maternal and family stressors were also determined through interviews.

The five factors used to determine the individual stressor index for the adolescents were:

* Academic problems

* Consumption of drugs and alcohol

* Depression or poor mental health levels

* Acting out or aggressive behaviors

* Lack of future orientation [...]

The study also found that a mother’s stress, [...]contributes to a child’s chances of becoming overweight or obese. [...]

While this study singles out mothers, fathers aren’t immune to their child’s weight status either.

“My own research focuses on fathers and shows that fathers, too, have an effect on children’s eating habits and obesity,” said Stewart, author of the book “Brave New Stepfamilies,” who had another study posted by the Journal of Adolescent Health last month on nonresident father involvement and adolescent eating patterns.

“In our latest study, we found that kids who are involved with nonresident dads eat better — more vegetables, less fast food,” she said. “However, similar to the Lohman study, living with a single mom was associated with worse eating habits.”

Lohman says the new research should emphasize the need for healthcare professionals to take a more holistic approach in their treatment of obese teens.

“We absolutely have to focus on their (teens) health, well-being, nutrition and exercise — and education of these things for them,” she said. “But we really need to also look holistically at their life and work towards reducing stress [...]

Original title:

Stress, obesity linked

Source and full text here:

http://www.scientistlive.com/European-Science-News/Medical/Stress,_obesity_linked/22357/