Pessimism Leads To Depression

Below is part of an interview dealing with optimism & pessimism. I guess it's better to be optimistic than pessimistic. There are so many health benefits. So be happy & don't worry too much. I guess many people are quite happy but why not be happier? To those who are sad or depressed, why not change how we talk about or perceive things into more optimism? Look at the bright side of things always. Don't give up! Try & try again. God bless!

Excerpted from: http://www.youmeworks.com/optimisminterview.html

Elissa: Why do you think studies have shown that pessimistic people are less healthy and more likely to die prematurely?

Adam: That's a great question. I have several good answers for that. First of all, pessimism affects your immune system. Here's how: Pessimism leads to depression, and depression changes certain brain hormones. That creates a chain of biochemical events that make your immune system less active and less effective.

But it's worse than that. You don't even have to be depressed. Pessimism, even in the absence of depression, can weaken your immune system.

For example, part of your immune system is T cells. They recognized invaders (like viruses) and make more copies of themselves to kill off the invaders. Pessimists' T cells don't multiply as quickly as optimists', allowing the invaders to get the upper hand.

Another part of your immune system, NK cells, circulate in the blood and kill whatever they come across that they identify as foreign (like cancer cells). Pessimists' NK cells can identify foreign entities, but they don't destroy them as well as the optimists' NK cells.

So that is one very direct way optimism impacts your health. There is also an indirect way: Optimists are more active in improving their health because they see potential health problems as fixable rather than feeling hopeless and giving up right away.

Lisa Aspinwall, PhD, at the University of Maryland, did an interesting study. She told subjects to read health-related information on cancer and other topics. She discovered that optimists spent MORE time than pessimists reading the severe risk material and they remembered MORE of it.

"These are people," says Aspinwall, "who aren't sitting around wishing things were different. They believe in a better outcome, and that whatever measures they take will help them to heal."

In other words, instead of having their heads in the clouds, optimistic people look. They do more than look. They SEEK. They aren't afraid to look BECAUSE they are optimistic.

And because they get more information, and they don't make themselves feel defeated, optimistic people are more likely to take ACTION, like eating better, exercising, and getting checkups at the doctor's office.

A nonoptimist is less inclined to take those kinds of actions because they feel it won't make much difference. They feel that way because of the way they explain events to themselves. And their lack of positive action makes them statistically more likely to die prematurely.

An optimist might say, "I can quit smoking." And if they try and fail, they would explain it as a changeable, fixable, specific setback. So they'll try again.

A nonoptimist would be less likely to try in the first place because the way they explain it is permanent and general and hopeless: "I can't help myself. The nicotine has me." But if they try anyway and fail, their explanation will not motivate them to try again: "I guess I just can't do it." They will accept their fate and die prematurely.