How do positive emotions help us cope with our most challenging moments including caregiving for people facing life-threatening illness or bereavement?

In this podcast, Prof. Judith Mokowitz, social and health psychologist, shares how activities that generate positive emotions can help people respond to significant life stress in a healthier way. Her ground-breaking work has shown the difference simple activities like re-framing, mindfulness, kindness, practising and benefit finding can make to the bereaved, people living with stroke, dementia, HIV-Aids, Stage IV breast cancer, and their carers. Importantly, Judith’s work shows that we can all learn these strategies and reap the benefits.

Listen to how talking about the positives, even in the most challenging times, can help psychologically and physically.

Bio

Professor Judith Moskowitz, is a Professor of Medical Social Sciences and Director of Research at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern University. For the past 20 years she has conducted pioneering research on the adaptive role of positive emotion in the context of significant illness or other life stress. Her research demonstrates that positive emotion can help people, and their carers, cope better with significant physical illnesses and bereavement. Judith’s research lab is the recipient of numerous national grants and she is President of the International Positive Psychology Association.