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Life Guide U.S. essentials
English

Treat thoughts like “things will definitely get worse” as a symptom, not as fact

  • Moderate value
  • Evidence B
  • Buys life
  • Disputed
  • Free
  • Takes minutes
  • Some willpower

In plain words

In a 20-year twin study, each step up in pessimism was linked to about a 13% higher chance of dying over the same period, and about a 20% higher chance of dying of cardiovascular disease. In the other direction, a high optimism score did not bring a matching benefit. So what needs handling is pessimism, not a lack of “positive energy.”

Cost

Free. The hard part is treating this kind of thought as a symptom rather than as fact.

What you get

2978 Australian twins aged 50 and over were followed for an average of 20 years, during which 1068 died. For each 1 standard deviation higher on the pessimism scale, the risk of death over the period was about 13% higher (hazard ratio 1.134). The plausible range for this figure is 95% CI 1.065–1.207, P=8.85×10⁻⁵. Cardiovascular death was about 20% higher (1.196, 1.045–1.368, P=0.0093). There was no link with cancer death. Optimism scores also had no clear link to mortality.

Notes

Disputed. This is observational, with no assigned groups. Some will say that people become pessimistic because they are already ill; the author counters that if so, cancer death should be linked as well. But there may still be factors that were not measured. Optimism showed no protective effect, so there is no need to force yourself to “think positive.” What to do is not treat a pessimistic expectation as an accurate prediction of the future.

Evidence grade
B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
Sources
  1. Whitfield JB, Zhu G, Landers JG, Martin NG (2020). Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective. Scientific Reports, 10, 12609. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69388-y

Mentioned in

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 3, tip 15. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer