If you enjoyed watching the transformation undergone by the elderly celebrities in the BBC's The Young Ones, then it is worth considering whether the lessons of the experiment can be applied to a wider range of people and experiences.
The six celebrities from the 70s and 80s, all aged over 75, spent a week in an environment where they not only had to fend for themselves, but were transported back to the world of 1975. The impact on their health and well-being was impressive and amazed BBC science expert Dr Michael Mosley.
If through the simple power of mind over matter we can actually reverse significant aspects of the ageing process, not just improving our mental state but also our physical well-being, then what are the impications for dealing with the kinds of problems for which people seek medical and psychological help? It's certainly encouraging for clients coming to us for hypnotherapy.
The purpose of the experiment was to discover whether by living in an environment associated with their heyday, the ageing celebrities could turn back the clock and literally think themselves young (see our previous article).
Actress Liz Smith, 88, went from using a wheelchair to walking unaided for the first time since having three strokes. Lionel Blair, 77, Sylvia Syms, 76, and Kenneth Kendall, 85, showed extraordinary improvements in flexibility, balance and stamina. And Derek Jameson, 80, and Dickie Bird, 77, underwent transformations in their memory and mental agility.
Astonished
'I was absolutely astonished by the results we got', says Dr Michael Mosley in the BBC's follow-up documentary The Science of the Young Ones. 'I went in expecting something, but what happened completely exceeded my expectations'.
Dr Mosely ran the experiment with Harvard University Psychologist Ellen Langer, whose original 1981 version of the experiment achieved similar results.
Comments