I wrote my recent newsletter whilst I was reading Henry Dreher’s book The Immune Power Personality: Seven Traits You Can Develop to Stay Healthy.

First published in 1995, Dreher draws on cutting edge science in the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. PNI is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body, also referred to as “mind-body science”.

As the book’s title suggests, Dreher outlines seven traits which have been proven by scientists to boost the body’s immune system. These are strengths which help people to cope with hard times. They are also traits which have an impact on individuals’ physical well-being and immunity.

Dreher addresses each trait in turn, identifying the scientist who has studied this trait, summarising his or her research, making links with other scientific research or wider (for example, religious) traditions and offering suggestions on how to develop the characteristics identified. Dreher is meticulous and highly effective in translating deep science into a highly readable and practical book.

One experiment described in the book intrigued me more than any other and has resonance in our times. In it, scientist James Pennebaker divided sixty laid-off workers into three groups and had one group write, for five days, about their deepest thoughts and feelings about the loss of their job. Another group kept a time management record and the third wrote about trivia. After four months Pennebaker called off the experiment. 35% of those people who wrote about their feelings had found jobs compared with none of the members of the time management group and 5% of the group who had written about trivia. This experiment was part of a wider body of research which suggests that the capacity to confide supports strong immunity.

overall, The Immune Power Personality is a valuable and thought-provoking resource for anyone who wants both to understand why certain traits provide immunity during hard times and to further develop those traits.