{"id":3401,"date":"2020-05-06T07:57:19","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T13:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?p=3401"},"modified":"2020-05-06T08:00:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T14:00:45","slug":"optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/optimism","title":{"rendered":"Oh Happy Day! Optimism Is Good for Your Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optimism during crisis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3404\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/optimism\/img_6115\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1531,2042\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1587557156&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_6115\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-225x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-768x1024.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3404\" width=\"289\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115-624x832.jpg 624w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_6115.jpg 1531w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/><figcaption>Photograph by Deb Lutkevich<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>During this time of crisis,&nbsp;when&nbsp;normal seems long gone, will those who are optimistic fare better? Will they cope with the change brought on by the pandemic better than their pessimistic cohorts? Does a magic wand sprinkle&nbsp;fairy dust over those who&nbsp;believe, no matter what, that things will work out for the best? Even if that optimism is unfounded in reality? It turns out optimistic folks do better than those who are more pessimistic in their outlook.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an article&nbsp;in&nbsp;<em>Psychology Today<\/em>, July&nbsp;2016,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/experts\/utpal-dholakia-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Utpal Dholakia Ph.D.<\/a>&nbsp;said, discussing&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/journals\/hea\/4\/3\/219\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dispositional optimism<\/a>, or how much folks believe that things will have positive outcomes for their family, support systems, even&nbsp;for&nbsp;the economy and the&nbsp;entire&nbsp;world. \u201cMore than five decades of research have\u202ffound that optimism is a potent health tonic. Optimistic people\u202f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2941870\/#APP1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remain healthier<\/a>\u202fand\u202f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinicproceedings.org\/article\/S0025-6196(11)64184-0\/abstract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">live longer<\/a>.\u201d (Dholakia, 2016)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Dholakia believes there are four reasons that dispositional optimism leads to healthier people.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Dr. Dholakia&nbsp;says that&nbsp;optimistic people know more about their health conditions and how to improve them. If you know what to do to be healthy and overcome health&nbsp;challenges, you are ahead of the game. Optimistic people are willing to study their conditions and find ways to do what is best. Compliance is high.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Optimistic folks behave&nbsp;in a healthier way&nbsp;than those who are not optimistic. These behaviors lead to feeling better, which then lead&nbsp;to&nbsp;the continued practice of healthy lifestyle choices.&nbsp;They&nbsp;live longer and better&nbsp;than those who aren\u2019t so optimistic. Dr. Dholakia says, \u201cOptimists\u2019 healthier actions lead to more positive health outcomes.\u201d&nbsp;These,&nbsp;in turn,\u202fpromote healthy activities,\u202fproducing a virtuous cycle for good health.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Optimistic people&nbsp;have&nbsp;better coping skills. When&nbsp;faced with a setback,&nbsp;they&nbsp;know how to deal with it.&nbsp;They believe that if they follow&nbsp;their&nbsp;time-honored&nbsp;skills,&nbsp;all will be well.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Optimists believe they have better support systems both in and&nbsp;outside&nbsp;their family circle. Because they are usually likable folks,&nbsp;they often do have a larger group of supporters to call upon in times of need. They also believe that their support system will enjoy helping them deal with whatever difficulty they are facing.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cChoose to be\u202f<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/basics\/optimism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>optimistic<\/em><\/a><em>, it feels better.\u201d \u2013 the Dalai Lama<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Retrieved from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/the-science-behind-behavior\/201607\/4-reasons-why-optimistic-outlook-is-good-your-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/the-science-behind-behavior\/201607\/4-reasons-why-optimistic-outlook-is-good-your-health<\/a>&nbsp;on April 20, 2020.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-Written by Peg Johnson<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For resources that promote optimism and support uplift, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/self-help-books.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\">Self-Help<\/span><\/a> section and titles like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/power-of-story.shtml\">The Power of Story<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/kicking-your-stress-habits.shtml\">Kicking Your Stress Habits<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/dont-get-mad-get-funny.shtml\">Don&#8217;t Get Mad, Get Funny!<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/stressed-is-desserts-spelled-backward.shtml\">Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backward<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/yoga-nidra.shtml\">Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation &amp; Stress Relief<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"has-inline-color has-blue-color\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/store\/patterned-peace.html\">Patterned Peace<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Optimism during crisis During this time of crisis,&nbsp;when&nbsp;normal seems long gone, will those who are optimistic fare better? Will they cope with the change brought on by the pandemic better than their pessimistic cohorts? Does a magic wand sprinkle&nbsp;fairy dust over those who&nbsp;believe, no matter what, that things will work out for the best? Even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Oh Happy Day! Optimism Is Good for Your Health #optimism #wellness","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Oh Happy Day! Optimism Is Good for Your Health - The Wellness Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cMore than five decades of research have\u202ffound that optimism is a potent health tonic. 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