How You Approach Hardship Could Tell You How Long You'll Live

How We Approach Hardship Could Tell Us How Long We'll Live

- Markham Heid

During World War II, an American woman named Shelley Smith Mydans reported on the conflict for Life magazine. Along with her husband, the photographer Carl Mydans, Shelley documented battles in both Europe and the Pacific.

Midway through the war, the Mydanses were captured in the Philippines. The Japanese held them in POW camps in Manila and Shanghai. But despite spending two years as prisoners of war, both Mydanses survived and went on to live long and productive lives. Shelley lived to 86, while Carl made it all the way to 97.

Many who survived the war were not so fortunate. A US serviceman named Philip was also in the Pacific theatre during World War II. Even before the war, Philip was prone to anxiety and catastrophizing’ always predicting the worst. After he returned home, these traits intensified. Philip drank heavily and separated from his wife. Frustrated and resentful about his time overseas, blaming it for his failed marriage, Philip escalated his drinking. He tended not to exercise, and he was occasionally depressed. He died at age 64 of a heart attack.

The Mydanses’ and Philip’s very different stories were recounted in The Longevity Project, a book that summarizes an 80-year study based on interviews and health data collected from approximately 1,500 people—each followed from youth until death. Its authors came to an unlikely conclusion. We found that many people who lived through hard times went on to live long lives,” says co-author Leslie Martin, PhD, a professor of psychology at California’s La Sierra University.