Friday, April 14, 2023

Confronting Fiction

 


This essay applies  Fictional Finalism  to life span.  Alfred Adler MD  trained as an ophthalmologist and then became a significant member of Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytic Society. Later, Adler resigned as president and formulated his own  personality theory.  He viewed the child as small, weak and helpless with feelings of inferiority and  being totally dependent on others.  This created an unique compensatory drive - a striving for superiority, perfection  or self actualization. On the other hand, Freud , acknowledged irrationality but postulated pleasure  as being the significant driving force. Within Adler’s model, and our focus, Fictional Finalism is  just one of Adler’s brilliant  common sense concepts.


Fictional Finalism is the idea  that man follows fictional ideas , myths , cliches , rationalizations and illusions. It’s been stated that pursuing illusions makes life bearable. The fiction , with emotion, becomes an attitude with a  motivational striving  towards persons, places, and things  . It’s an opinion, belief, interest, or purpose involving an expectancy for a certain kind of  future experience with readiness for an appropriate response.  In other words, when activated, the irrationality of man’s  attitude results in a  self defeating motivating force .  A couple of examples of Fictional Finalism  include: 1.  The Civil War was based on "Don't Tread on Me."  2.  The Vietnam War was based on the "Domino Theory."  3.  The Iraq war was based on "Weapons Of Mass Destruction."  We are the weapons of mass destruction.  4.  The 2020 election was fraudulent.  5.  Trump can't be indicted because he's a former president .  Yes, he can in order to make America great !


One of America's most notable poets Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Sports is the bloom and glow of perfect health."  That's an example of  Fictional Finalism.  Yes, exercise, activity, play, humor, fun, amusing oneself are all related to health.  Do they tell the whole story?  Two examples follow: 1.  I last saw my former teammate and NFL superstar about  10 years ago.  Ed Budde , once a physical giant, played 14 years with the Kansas City Chiefs.  He said he had lost about 2 inches in height, and has difficulty walking.  Luckily for me, because I danced with Carolyn while he looked on.  2.  My lovely wife Linda was an equestrian, river rafting guide ,golfer , swimmer , pickle ball  with low cholesterol.  She had a five way heart bypass.  Then, suffered an equestrian injury resulting in shoulder replacement, two punctured lungs,  and  CTE . Note, there is current legislation proceeding in California that would ban tackle football for those 12 and under because of primary CTE consequences.


Successful aging in men and women is  complex .  Yet, there are all types of exercise equipment like treadmills, ellipticals , Pelotons , machines, free weights, bands, gym memberships, athletic  competitions etc.  We are told to exercise for a certain length of time, and walk so many steps .  Don't sit too long, ride a bike, swim, kayak, work in the garden, go dancing, etc. Physical activity alone does not result in longevity.  Advertising with Fictional Finalism  messaging is good for capitalism and the myth of exercise but  is irrational and misleading.


Everyone has heard about Weight Watchers, Nutri system, Mediterranean Diet , Mark Hyman's Food As Medicine and numerous supplements like Herbalife Quickstart, Zero  Belly Smoothies, 7-Day Apple Cider, GOLO for, Life, weight loss classes, etc.  As far as diets, there's nothing wrong with diets.  The problem is people are unable to stick to a diet .  Three quarters of our population are either overweight or obese.


Life expectancy is related to activity , choices including diet.  A few factors that are associated with health include the following: 1.  Majority of money spent on healthcare in the United States is spent on preventable diseases.  2.  How long American life is mostly dependent on socioeconomic , regional lifestyle choices made in midlife alcohol use, tobacco smoking, being overweight or obese and having elevated blood pressure.  3.  Low economic rural whites with no  health insurance and  no access to healthcare had longer life expectancies  in Minnesota than those who were low income rural whites lacking in health insurance living in Appalachia and the Mississippi Valley.  They had higher alcohol use, tobacco smoking, greater obesity and higher blood pressure.  4.  Tobacco smoking and high blood pressure are the largest contributors to death in the United States and responsible for one in five deaths.  Being overweight ,obese and lack of physical activity each cause nearly 1 in 10  deaths 4.  Preventable lifestyle choices and conditions influence the risk of developing life-threatening chronic diseases .The major causes of early death are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung disease and cancer.  6. Covid -19  misinformation and poor choices  resulted in a dramatic blow to life expectancy in the United States.


The following is no guarantee of happiness nor Fictional Finalism but is associated with being  a  centenarian.  Michael Howard evaluated 16 healthy habits and lifestyle choices for those reaching 100. His 16   does not mean that there are no  other variables associated with living to 100.  His following 16 :1.  Blood pressure less than 100 mg/Dl .  Fasting . 2.  Blood pressure range 115/75 mg/  Hg.  3.  Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/ dl .4.  Keep BMI from 18.5 to 25 . 5. Eat fewer calories 6. Mostly vegetarian diet with coffee and tea .7.  Take your vitamins . 8.  Exercise regularly, be active and stay busy after retirement. 9.  Don't smoke or stop smoking If you do 10, Drink less alcohol.  11.  Get regular and restful sleep.  12.  Healthy gums .13.  Challenge your mind.  14.  Stay positive in attitude and avoid anxiety and depression.  15. Shed stressors ,have daily structure and be resilient. It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it. Hans Selye, endocrinologist   16 . Stay socially connected with serenity and purpose to life.


Human beings have four basic processes, all of which are indispensable for functioning and which are interconnected: 1.  Perception or senses-see , taste,  smell , feel and hear .  2.  Sensorimotor movement-walks ,eats, swims, throws climbs, etc. 3.  Emotes, feels-loves, hates, fears, becomes guilty,  depressed  .  4.  Rational or irrational, thinks, remembers, imagines, hypothesizes, concludes, solves  problems.


With that being said, Japan has a life expectancy of 84.6; Singapore 83.7; South Korea 83.4; Norway 83.2.... US 76.4.   Some, Fictional Finalism comments might be about  genes or heredity being the main cause .  Studies, including twin studies, found that heredity and genes account for 25 to 35% of one's health.  It's clear that individuals in the above countries are employing four basic  human processes (Perceiving, emoting, sensorimotor, and thinking-rational )  in more healthy ways than in our country.  Some Fictional Finalism folks might say we are happier than those living in other countries. Statistically, the happiness rankings : Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands........ and in 14th place,  the United States.  Some Fictional Finalism folks might say we have the best healthcare system.  Statistically, Japan is number one for least healthcare costs but is also number one for lifespan length . We  pay more  for healthcare  and trail lifespan in Japan.


 A few more statistics regarding mortality rates in the United States: 1.  People in Republican counties have higher death rates than people in Democratic counties.  2.  People live longer in blue states than red states  3.  People die younger in states run by conservatives.  Give thanks to Republicans- Covid -19 , not wearing a mask and  not getting vaccinated; Republicans say “no “ to gun reform; “no” to democracy ; yes , to income inequality; yes, to banning reading materials; and yes to racism ,discrimination and  following fiction  .


In conclusion,  is anyone thinking about the future and being dependent on someone else?  Italy, found itself short of individuals that could care for others.  Children have moved away and  home care workers are limited causing concern for many in the industry.  An article titled "Who Will Take Care Of Italy's Older People ?  Maybe Robots " in the March 26, 2023 edition of The New York Times suggested that robots is the answer.  It was stated that "Robot  wasn't a replacement for socializing with other people.  It can nevertheless be company,  What doubletalk.


PS

1.  “2-Minute Exercise Bursts Can  Have Big Benefits “found in the December 11, 2022 edition of the New York Times.          

2. Advertisement “We're Changing How The  World Thinks About Weight   Loss. Lose Weight  for Good  Sign up for a 14 day  free trial.

3. Confront fiction for a prediction  of how many more years left,  by taking the questionnaire derived from longevity research at www.livingto100.com.

Reference ,Successful Aging in Men & Women.  Institute for Natural  Resources.


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