Mental resilience is linked to a longer life.

 There is some very interesting research, just published in the Journal BMJ Mental Health about data from 10,500 adults in the US with an average age of 66. Mental resilience, was the psychological problem to be considered? The capacity to perservere was the - sine qua non for doing well. The question is - how is this obtained? Is this quality part of - nature or nurture? The old chicken and egg conundrum - has bamboozled psychologists for years. There needless to say - isn't a simple answer. How the participants dealt with things like: divorce, redundancy and unemployment, separation from a loved one, the death of a loved one and in particular a child, physical illness or hospitalization, financial collapse or bankruptcy - were all seen as indicators about psychological resilience or lack of it. 

The study concluded, that psychological resilience could be boosted by good social support and a feeling of meaning and purpose in life. In addition to having an optimistic attitude to life in general - the glass is half full, not half empty. These more positive attitudes - have a knock on psychological effects that act as a protection and create longevity. The research was carried out by scientists in Sweden Karolinska Institute and a team at Sun Yat-sen University in China.