The Benefits Of The Bright Side: A Guide For How To Maintain Optimism
With the stresses of modern living weighing on us, it can sometimes be difficult to remain positive and not dwell on the negative aspects of life. It can often seem like cynicism and irony can sometimes are inescapable in today’s world. While it may seem obvious on the surface, maintaining an optimistic outlook on life is often more crucial for our mental health than we realize.
We may sometimes find it easy to slip into negative thinking patterns, and everyone has these thoughts from time to time, but persistent pessimistic thinking can be a huge detriment to our lives in ways we might not even realize.
This article will explore the benefits of maintaining an optimistic attitude, the consequences of negative thinking and how it can hold us back, and how developing a more optimistic outlook on life can have a huge positive impact on our mental health and improve our lives.
The benefits of positive thinking
Positive thinking can do more for us than merely put us in a good mood. In fact, the benefits of keeping an optimistic outlook on life are scientifically proven. A study showed that those experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) reported reduced anxiety after just a month of practicing deliberate positive thinking. The study’s findings even showed that practicing positive thinking that was completely unrelated to our stresses and worries produced these results.
Positive thinking can even improve our cardiovascular health. A study by John Hopkins found that optimistic people are less likely to have a heart attack and other heart-related incidents.
Those with pessimistic outlooks on life often have more anxiety and other conditions that increase their risk of heart disease. Positive thinking not only has a huge impact on our mental health, but on our physical health.
Some other benefits of positive thinking can include:
- Reduced stress
- Strengthened immune system
- Resilience
- Improved general wellness
- Increased motivation
- Realistic thinking increases. Many pessimists think of themselves as “realists,” yet positive thinkers are better at maintaining level headedness
The issue with negative thinking
While all of us experience bad moods or negative thoughts occasionally, it is important to recognize persistent pessimistic thought patterns and nip them in the bud before they get out of control. Just as our positive thoughts have the power to greatly influence us, so do our negative thoughts as well. If we repeat a negative thought enough times, our brain might start to accept what is actually a wholly irrational belief we have about ourselves or a situation.
A cycle of repetitive negative thinking is often referred to as rumination. Rumination often leads to depression and anxiety and can worsen the symptoms for those already experiencing these conditions. These negative thought patterns often create a self-fulfilling prophecy in which our pessimistic perception of our lives leads to more negative outcomes, creating a confirmation bias that only continues the cycle of rumination. When we ruminate, we dwell on the negative experiences in our lives and let these thoughts consume us.
One study even linked negative thinking to an increased risk of dementia. With these and other health risks exacerbated by the results of pessimistic thinking, it is crucial to maintain positivity in our lives. Persistent negative thoughts can increase the amount of detrimental protein deposits to our brain and decrease our cognitive abilities.
6 tips for being more optimistic
Having a pessimistic outlook on life can permeate every ounce of your being. It can be difficult to change our way of thinking from negative to positive, and it’s rarely an overnight change, especially if we are accustomed to negative thinking. However, there are some tools at your disposal for navigating negative thoughts and changing your way of thinking.
Some of these include:
- Express gratitude. It can be easy to forget the little things in life for which we should be thankful.
- Get adequate sleep. Sleep can play a significant part in our mental health, cognitive ability, and mood. Those who get little sleep are prone to irritability and general negativity.
- Practice acceptance. There are some parts of things in your life we cannot change. It can be difficult for negative minded individuals to “get over” or cope with certain things, such as past negative experiences.
- Live in the present moment. Meditation and practicing mindfulness can help with this.
- Find humor in the absurdities of daily life.
- Be aware of negative thoughts creeping in and learn to turn them around.
While positivity is beneficial to our lives, it is also important to remember not to give in to “toxic positivity.” Toxic positivity is a form of positivity that denies us of our natural human emotions and seeks to shame those who experience natural feelings such as anger or sadness.
The full spectrum of the human experience necessitates both positive and negative experiences, and part of becoming a positive person is allowing yourself the time to feel and process anger, shame, guilt, sadness, and other negative emotions that come along with life. If you seek to never experience these normal aspects of life, you will likely end up bottling up these emotions instead, which is far less healthy than acknowledging and processing them.
How therapy can help
While each of us likely understands the importance of positive thinking on some level, it can be hard to put this into practice. We often have past trauma and mental roadblocks keeping us from seeing the bright side of life.
Sometimes we might require help from a licensed mental health professional in our quest to become more positive minded. Online therapy can be a great resource in this scenario. A licensed therapist can help you be more positive, identify negative thinking patterns, and learn how to cope with negative thoughts and experiences.
Online therapy is also shown to be effective for a variety of concerns. One study demonstrated that online therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy for addressing mental health issues.
Takeaway
The concept of positive thinking is not just a new age mantra or popular buzzword. Maintaining an optimistic outlook on life is beneficial to our mental and physical health. There are a host of benefits to keeping a positive attitude in life, such as decreased anxiety, decreased risk of heart disease, and more. Those prone to negative thinking have higher rates of anxiety and depression, as well as increased risks of dementia. Online therapy can be a helpful option for those struggling to maintain positive thinking in life.
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