ORLANDO, Fla. — Being hopeful doesn’t just feel good, science shows it can improve your health and save your life. It can also give you a reason to get up in the morning, even when life seems to hit you hard.
“A car came down the highway and crashed into us and I was crushed.” Says survivor Jamie Blanek.
The next memory Jamie Blanek has is waking up in the I-C-U. Her right leg gone, her left leg crushed,
“I was an active person, and I was a model. I traveled; I owned a business.” Says Jamie Blanek.
Jamie lost a lot, but she never lost hope.
Jamie Blanek stated, “I’ve gone through this whole process wanting to reach my goals.”
Social science researchers at Arizona state university found that hopeful people are able to set goals easier, identify ways to reach their goals and achieve those goals. Jamie’s trauma surgeon Daniel Stahl sees how hope makes an impact in the E-R.
Doctor Stahl says, “There’s also a hope that as a trauma surgeon, you have to instill to say, even though this terrible thing happened to you, we're gonna, we're gonna fix what we can fix.”
He believes honesty and positivity can change outcomes.
“I think when they hear that from their surgeon, it, it does, it instills a lot of hope.” Says Doctor Stahl.
Research shows you can learn to be more hopeful by taking small steps to reach long-term success. Check in with yourself regularly to make sure you goal is still what you want. Hope takes practice and it’s easier to have it if you foster a culture of hope, surrounding yourself with others who hold your optimistic view.
On the ten-month anniversary of Jamie’s accident on her birthday, Jamie reached her goal of getting back out on her snowboard.
Jamie said “I survived for a reason. And the future is very bright.”
According to a 2019 study, researchers found that optimism is specifically related to a 15 percent longer life span and to greater odd of living to the age of 85 and beyond.
