Subj : Eccentrics Live Longer??
To   : All
From : Rachel L. Akers
Date : Sat Apr 21 2001 10:55 pm

Just got this gem <VERY evil grin> So much for the "good dying young"!!



        SCOTLAND  - Dr David Weeks, with the Royal Edinburgh 
        Hospital, and the author of 'Eccentrics: The Scientific 
        Investigation,' has found that those who march to the beat 
        of a different drummer live five to ten years longer than 
        those who attempt to keep up with the Jones's.  And not 
        only this, they are also healthier, happier and more 
        intelligent then the rest of the population.  He found, 
        for example, that on the average eccentrics visit a doctor 
        only once every eight years compared to about three times 
        a year for the general public. 

        In his research Dr. Weeks interviewed over 1,100 eccentrics 
        and found that they shared three primary characteristics:  a 
        keen sense of humor, creative imagination and a strong will. 
        He concluded that it was these characteristics which not 
        only set them apart but gave them the health edge.  Also, he 
        noted that they shared an over-riding curiosity that drove 
        them forward and often made them oblivious to the small 
        irritations and stresses of daily life that plagued the 
        general population. 

        In addition he found that they were often single, the oldest 
        or only child and poor spellers. They were generally aware 
        of their differentness from an early age, and happily 
        obsessed by their hobby-horses. They tend to be cheerful, 
        idealistic, and full of projects to improve or save the 
        world. They may tinker with perpetual motion machines, 
        discover how to assemble cars from rubbish, or, in the case 
        of John Chapman (better known as Johnny Appleseed), traverse 
        America planting zillions of apple trees. 

        'They don't try to keep up with the Jones's, they don't 
        worry about conforming and they usually have a firm belief 
        that they are right and the rest of the world is wrong,' 
        Week says. 

          'I am already using what I've learned from my study of 
          eccentrics in treating the patients referred to me for 
          depression,' Weeks says, 'and I'm certainly getting 
          better results than I was before. I tell them to loosen 
          up - to use their sense of humor and their imagination. 
          Neurotic patients are over-serious.' 

Contact Info: Dr David Weeks, Jardine Clinic, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, 
Morningside Terrace, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF 

(Source: Global Ideas Bank: http://www.globalideasbank.org/ from An article by 
Victoria McKee in the Times, and another in the Economist (Aug 
26th '95.) 

--- Msged/2 4.00
 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379)

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