Counter Clockwise

I have control issues. I really like the idea that I can affect my future, and that I am not just a victim of chance or predestination. Therefore a book like "Counter Clockwise" is right up my alley. The book is written by a member of the Psychology department at Harvard, who has authored many books and received multiple awards during her distinguished carreer. This is a woman I can trust. In this book Ellen J. Langer proposes that being mindful, as in being observant of details, and actually seeing the present truth, rather than being held hostage to preconceived notions and stereotypes, can affect our health in a very real and measurable way. While I guessed this might have been true, the birth of Cory convinced me it was so. Having my mind in the right place with the right thoughts absolutely made the difference between a two day and 5 hour labor to me. Sure there were other factors involved, but the difference my thoughts made were amazing.

Langer did some studies among the elderly. One major study she undertook was among a population of senior citizens that she took on a retreat. She divided the participants in to two groups. The first group spent a week reminiscing about what life was like for them in 1959. They looked at that year as a moment in their past whereas her experimental group looked at 1959 as if they were living it presently. The people involved in carrying out the study were carful to make sure everything that was part of the week was from 1959, from the magazines, to the tv shows, to the discussions. By the end of the week, both groups present showed measurable signs of improvement in hearing and memory, but the group that was fully immersed in the idea of 1959 being the present showed more improvement in areas like joint flexibility, height, weight, and many even improved their scores on intelligence tests.


Langer found that when hotel cleaning staff were informed that their job satisfied the CDC's recommendations for an active lifestyle they lost weight and improved their health, just by being mindful of their work. Langer also took issue with the language used when referring to the condition of cancer patients. She noted that it is possible that merely telling someone they have a terminal disease, may deprive them of the hope they need to conquer it. She also encourages everyone to think outside of the traditional medical box, ask questions, and realize that when it comes to health there are few hard and fast paths to follow.


In short, this book is full of studies and ideas that make the thoughts floating through our brains seem more than random ideas, but a power that can be harnessed. Langer indicates in her book, however that these ideas are not necessarily a fountain of youth, or a cure for cancer, they are more like an aid, a vitamin. While being mindful about our health may actually physically help us, it will at worst at least give us hope, and help us to make the most of the time we have.