Knowledge can be the most effective means of preventing the problems of life. Preventive psychology can be the best way of dealing with the problems of life.When Harvard Medical School came out with a study that said most disease is psychological in origin, I thought that can’t be true. Heart disease is not psychological. Cancer is not psychological. Yet their reasoning is convincing.
Lung cancer is caused by smoking. What causes smoking? The number one cause of smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs, is the peer group you run with. Imitation, and subtle peer group pressure, determine whether you will smoke, drink or use drugs. No other factor even comes close.
Skin cancer is caused by prolonged exposure to the sun or a tanning bed. Often caused by wanting to look sexier or more handsome with a good tan.
Heart disease is caused by several things, including genes, yet a number one cause is the food we eat. What determines the food we like? What our mothers feed us and the extra salt and fat that food processors put in food to make us want more.
Type II diabetes is caused by the food we eat, and could be prevented by controlling the amount of sugar and carbs in the foods we eat.
In all these cases, education, or controls over the causes, could prevent many of the problems of biology in our lives. See Chapter Nine for details.
Yet our news media and the public are convinced that it is all biological.