Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1047374
healthy living By Laura Owens H ave you ever met someone for the fi rst time, walked away, and assumed they didn't like you? There was no concrete reason to think the person thought you were boring or unintelli- gent. You just sensed it. Turns out when we have con- versations with new people we create "meta percep- tions." We try to fi gure out how the person feels about us. And the fact is they usual- ly like us more than we think. This common misperception is what researchers refer to as the "liking gap," and it can get in the way of developing new relationships. "We're self-protectively pes- simistic and do not want to as- sume the other likes us before we fi nd out if that's really true," explains coauthor of the 2018 study "The Liking Gap in Conversations: Do People Like Us More Than We Think?" Margaret S. Clark. "As we build new friendships, or try to impress new col- leagues, we need to know what other people think of us," lead authors Erica Boothby and Gus Cooney explain. "Any systematic errors we make might have a big impact on our per- sonal and professional lives." . I f you've ever struggled to lose weight (who hasn't?) you know the endless number of programs that promise results. It's not easy no matter how much you want to drop 5, 10, or 100 pounds. So what's the magic bullet? Visualization. Vividly picture yourself not only the way you want to look, but also do- ing specifi c things to get you there. Motivational Interviewing (MI), a technique where you work with a weight loss counselor to develop, highlight, and verbalize the reasons why you want to change can help — a little. But researchers at the University of Plymouth and Queensland University found that people who used a tech- nique called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) lost an average of fi ve times more weight than if they only used MI. In addition to talking through goals, FIT uses multisensory imagery (visualizing everyday behaviors, tastes, touch, sounds). You see and "feel" desired changes. Counselors teach you how to practice motivational imagery on your own until the visualizations become habit. Researchers began by asking people to visualize a lemon. See it, touch it, juice it, taste it, and then accidentally squirt the juice in your eye (you cringed right?). The idea is to show how emo- tionally tied we are to phys- ical sensations when we try to picture them. From there researchers asked people to imag- ine their goals beyond "I want to lose 50 pounds." They asked things like, "What would losing weight allow you to do?" "What would that look, smell, and sound like?" "So FIT comes in with the key aim of encouraging someone to come up with their own imagery of what change might look and feel like to them…even when challenges arise," explains lead researcher Dr Linda Solbrig. S ome patients diagnosed with breast cancer don't seek a second opinion because they're afraid they might offend their doctor. But a study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology study looked at the value of a second opinion for breast cancer patients referred to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer cen- ter with a board of tumor specialists. The study found that when a wide array of tumor medical professionals reviewed a patient's diagnosis, treatment, and progno- sis, the diagnosis changed for 43 percent of the pa- tients, which in most cases changed treatment. The board included a wide array of medical pro- fessionals including geneticists, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, and breast cancer navigators. The panel discussed a va- riety of questions including, does the patient have the right diagnosis, what's the best treatment, what are other lifestyle considerations, and what are the patient's wishes? "Our results show our second opinion really does provide value in potentially changing the diagnosis, which in most cases will eventually change treatment," she said. "I would hope this study would empower pa- tients to seek a second opinion at centers that special- ize in oncology," explains surgical oncologist Nancy DeMore, M.D., of the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. PEOPLE LIKE YOU MORE THAN YOU THINK SECOND OPINION BY TUMOR REVIEW BOARD FOR BREAST CAN- CER PATIENTS MAY CHANGE DIAG- NOSIS AND TREATMENT VISUALIZING YOUR WAY TO WEIGHT LOSS By Laura Owens Researchers began by asking people to visualize a lemon. See it, touch it, juice it, taste it, and then accidentally squirt the juice in your eye (you cringed right?). The idea is to show how emo- tionally tied we are to phys- ical sensations when we try to picture them. From there researchers asked people to imag- ine their goals beyond "I want to lose 50 pounds." They asked things like, "What would losing weight allow you to do?" "What would that look, smell, and ave you ever met someone for the fi rst time, walked away, and assumed they didn't like you? There was no concrete reason to think the person thought you were boring or unintelli- Turns out when we have con- versations with new people we create "meta percep- tions." We try to fi gure out how the person feels about us. And the fact is they usual- ly like us more than we think. This common misperception is what researchers refer to as the "liking gap," and it can get in the way of developing "We're self-protectively pes- simistic and do not want to as- sume the other likes us before we fi nd out if that's really true," explains coauthor of the 2018 study "The Liking Gap in Conversations: Do People Like Us More Than We Think?" "As we build new friendships, or try to impress new col- leagues, we need to know what other people think of us," lead authors Erica Boothby and Gus Cooney explain. "Any systematic errors we make might have a big impact on our per- sonal and professional lives." 14 wholelifetimes.com Rock Body YOUR