Latch on to the affirmative, researcher says: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Latch on to the affirmative, researcher says: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Plenty of research suggests that looking at the bright side is good medicine. Now, according to psychologist Margaret Chesney, it's up to the medical establishment to figure out how and why that works and the best ways to help people accentuate the positive.

"There are pathways by which positive emotions influence health and well-being," said Chesney, deputy director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Most of the mind-body research to date, she said, has focused on the impact of negative emotional states -- anger and depression, for example -- on bodily health. "We don't have nearly enough . . .