Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depresion-Proofing Young Children--for Life
(McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry

Creating Optimism:
A Proven Seven-Step Program for Overcoming Depression
(McGraw-Hill, 2004) by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry

12 March 2004

"Relationships are central to everything that makes life worth living," says Bob Murray, PhD.

Caring relationships can prevent illness and help heal it, according to new research from the University of Utah. A good support system protects women from heart disease and slows the progress of HIV infection.

While previous research showed that bad relationships lower the immune system and can cause a range of viral illnesses, this is the first proof that relationships also prevent illness. The research also shows that optimistic people gain more social support than pessimists.

In the newly released book, Creating Optimism: A Proven, Seven-Step Program for Overcoming Depression, authors Bob Murray, PhD, and Alicia Fortinberry, MS, explain why good relationships in all aspects of life are so essential to our health and mood, and show how to create fully supportive connections with other people.

"We humans are group animals, like dogs and birds," says Dr. Murray, "and our ability to relate to other humans is our strongest survival mechanism. Without that ability we become prone to illness, depression, low self-esteem, and unfulfilling or possibly failed careers. Shared beliefs and rituals are vital to our spirituality. In short, relationships are central to everything that makes life worth living."

"And the way to optimism is through relationships" adds Fortinberry. "We learn to be optimistic or pessimistic from the way that others react to us and from the ideas about ourselves that we gain from others-particularly in early childhood."

The authors emphasize that good relationships and optimism can be acquired at any age provided that a person is aware of the "how-to" of the process.

"We are genetically wired to form relationships, in the same way that we are wired for reproduction," said Dr. Murray. "But how you go about forming relationships is learned by observing how others-particularly your parents-relate."

Creating Optimism offers a simple seven-step program that has been shown to be 94% successful in helping people to form fully supportive relationships, create optimism and overcome depression (based on follow-up questionnaires up to 2 years later). The authors, who have been married to each other for over two decades, are currently touring the country to promote their latest book.

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About the Authors

Dr Bob Murray is a widely published psychologist and expert on emotional health and optimal relationships. Alicia Fortinberry is a psychotherapist, health writer and executive coach. Together they are the founders of the highly successful Uplift Program, and authors of Raising an Optimistic Child (McGraw-Hill, 2006) and Creating Optimism (McGraw-Hill, 2004).