Mind-Body Effect Confirmed by Blood Pressure Study

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In Positive emotions linked to lower blood pressure, Reuters noted that "having a positive outlook makes life more enjoyable, and it may also lower blood pressure in older adults."

Researchers have investigated spirituality before and concluded on the whole that religious expression can have beneficial health effects, including possibly on longevity.

In the present study: "Among more than 2,500 people aged 65 or older, the higher a person scored on a questionnaire measuring positive emotions, the lower was his or her blood pressure."

So feeling good and staying optimistic does create a physical feedback loop for health.

Quotes Reuters:

'"Our thoughts and emotions do affect our physical processes," Dr. Glenn V. Ostir of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. "The nice thing is that we have some control over that."'

Hopefully. It takes work to stay positive, but it may help to remind ourselves that the mind-body effect is becoming undeniable.

I'm reminded of something Ouspensky quoted Gurdjieff as saying: that one of the greatest struggles is to avoid expressing negative emotions. Of course, it may be healthy to grant a certain limited expression to the fact that one is having emotions that are difficult to handle, but perhaps he was alluding to the notion that too much expression recycles the negativity back into the body, and that promoting optimism might produce a calmer, clearer mind.
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