 Health & Nutrition
Thoughts on
Aging
Mental Health and Life Story - May 19, 2011
(2 minutes: 7 seconds)
 WMA (audio
only)
Audio/Video Script:
Dr. LaVona Traywick
Assistant Professor - Gerontology
[Announcer] Welcome to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona Traywick,
Assistant Professor of Gerontology with the University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.
[Dr. LaVona Traywick] Mental healthiness refers to how we think, feel and act as we cope with life.
It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. To
be mentally healthy, means that you have the balance, stability and focus to
enjoy life, achieve goals, and maintain a healthy self-esteem.
Recalling,
sharing and documenting life story and health history is one way to promote
mental healthiness. Reminiscing about life's positive and negative significant
events and experiences encourages you to think about your life in context. This
can be empowering because it helps you get to the heart of who you are and what
is important. Life experiences help you understand your purpose, including your
behaviors, decisions, plans, and dreams.
Sharing life story promotes social
activity and self-esteem through interpersonal communication and connections.
Documenting life story is good for both physical and mental health. A written
document of life experiences allows you to track patterns, trends and improvement
and growth over time.
Journaling experiences and emotions are associated with
feeling better, fewer doctors' visits, stronger immune systems, reduced stress,
and even decreased symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition,
journaling can help you resolve disagreements more effectively and be a better
problem-solver.
[Announcer] Thank you for listening to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona
Traywick. To learn more about this and other topics, contact your local county
Cooperative
Extension Service office.
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