Why looking on the bright side is not good for your health
What pessimists have known for years is true – being positive is not good for your health and will shorten your life span.
This is the extraordinary finding of a 10-year study of 40,000 Germans aged 18 to 96 published by the American Psychological Association.
Those interviewed were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their lives and how satisfied they might be in five years.
More than two-thirds of older Germans aged 65 to 96 who thought life would only get worse actually had better health outcomes.
In contrast, those who were overly optimistic about the days ahead had a greater risk of disability or death within 10 years.
Professor Frieder Lang, the lead author of the study, says “pessimism about the future may encourage people to live more carefully, taking health and safety precautions”.
“The optimists are those who basically close their eyes, shut their eyes and don’t really want to know about the truth about the inevitable costs of ageing and death.
“These findings shed new light on how our perspectives can either help or hinder us in taking actions that can help improve our chances of a long healthy life.”
Of those interviewed, 43% of the oldest group were found to have under-estimated their future life satisfaction, 25% had predicted accurately and 32% had over-estimated.
As Victor Meldrew, the grumpy old man of One Foot In The Grave TV series fame might say: “Hope for the best, but expect the worst.”
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Comments and questions9
I don't believe it !
Finally at last positive proof that an adversarial approach and inherent dislike of those who interfere in my life is actually good for me. Hallelujah
If America funded a ten year study on this subject, it is no wonder they are in financial strife.
Stupid survey, You could counter it and say that pessimists are more likely to suicide when they don't see a way out.
Also the placebo effect in other things, if you think it's working then sometimes it does work better than the real drug! There are numerous cases where people are diagnosed with some sort of cancer and only have months to live, Positive attitude and the will to want to live makes them live for years longer and in some extraordinary cases after their treatment the cancer goes away entirely, If it was a pessimist they wouldn't last as they would just give up.
It works both ways, Optimism and pessimism both have pro's and cons, The main issue is "do you want to live" and have you got something to live for? Anything wether its a relationship, a pet, a hobby it don't matter what it is if you have nothing to keep yourself occupied then what's the point being here?
Older you get the more you need to find something, Staring at 4 walls in a nursing home is not exactly life wether you are optimistic or pessimistic, DO SOMETHING, Anything!
If you are fit and healthy enough to continue in an occupation - perhaps best to do that. The idea that we 'retire' as a pre death Western ritual is the killer.
this kind of 'statistic' may be skewed particularly if people late in life take an otimistic point of view relative to ailments they already have or know they might aquire. Looking on the 'bright side' knowing you may already have health issues, would be be a factor here.
Absolutely true. As a pessimist you expect the worst, and everything turns out much better than expected, thus each day is a joy. Why is that hard to understand?
I had breast cancer, butchered by a so called surgeon, refused chemo or radiation , totally pessamistic, still here after four years, this postitive crap just makes people feel guilty, like they have not tried hard enough, get over it ! We are all going to die, what is this obsession the western world has with keeping people alive no matter what suffering it causes?
It's the old "plan for the worst and hope for the bast" trick - it works every time. I'm not sure it required a survey to prove it though!
Gosh, that sounds good. I fear it just might turn out to be wrong though - damn it.