‘If things drag on longer and we don’t have a vaccine, and life and the economy really go down the tube, it’s the optimists who are going to take a bigger hit to their well-being,’ says Fuschia Sirois
This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.If you’re a glass-half-full type who believes brighter days will soon be here, the pandemic could turn out to be worse for you than those who are bracing for catastrophe.
People have a genetic biological set point in terms of how prone they are to positive or negative emotions, Dr. Ryder says. If you’re temperamentally positive, for example, receiving bad news could temporarily put you in a negative mood in which you may imagine a gloomy future. But you’d likely eventually shake it off and return to your set point, he explains.
The collective mood of your neighbourhood and your culture can also influence your outlook, he says. In North America, for instance, people typically believe that when things go well, they will continue to go well. But in other parts of the world, such as China, people tend to hold a cyclical view, anticipating that good times cannot last and there’s bound to be a correction, he explains.
One of the benefits of optimism is that it’s linked with high levels of positive mood, and people who are optimistic tend to focus on taking steps to protect their expectations and self-esteem, Dr. Sirois says. But when things don’t turn out well, they can experience a negative downturn in their mood and possibly become more depressed, she explains.
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