I am not suggesting a false sense of bliss, but having a positive outlook does have health benefits. To him, life was a joyless, uphill struggle. He grew up on Long Island, the son of an industrial assembly line worker. I am proud to say that now with persistent counseling from myself and others he is a remarkably healthy and optimistic school superintendent. Depression is now regarded as a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Mental health is critically important to overall health.
In any way we can, we should model and promote positivity. The body and mind need to relax, and probably more often than just during sleep. The integrative medicine article reports on the benefits of meditation, or deep relaxation . As with exercise, we need to make time for this fundamentally healthy activity. Promote relaxation with patients.