New Delhi, 23 February (IANS). According to a new study, it can help improve mental health, developing optimistic thinking and facing difficulties in a flexible way, no matter what the situation is.
Due to social distance, health concerns and economic uncertainty, fear and concern for many people have become everyday. The study was published in the “Journal of Research in Personality”.
Researchers at Serakuse University and Michigan State University tried to find out which personal features people could withstand problems like stress, epidemic.
Jeevon Oh, Professor of Psychology at Serakuse University, led the team. He focused on optimism and pessimism and saw how these thinking affects our health.
Researchers used data of “Health and Retirement Studies”. This is a major survey that includes people from all over America over 50 years of age.
This data showed how people’s thinking affects their mental and physical health in difficult times.
They found that those who were more optimistic, they stayed better even under stress like epidemic and their health was fine.
Jeevon Oh said, “The epidemic brought a lot of changes. We wanted to know which characteristics help people deal with such stress. We paid attention to optimism, because it inspires people to do something. “
Optimist people see stress in a positive way. They either try to solve the problem or try to mold the situation.
Both optimism and pessimism had different relations with mental health. Those who were more optimistic worried less, feel less stress and lonely, and were stronger.
This was because these people used to do more physical activity, they used to get more support and less stress than their relationship. Optimist people believe that things will be cured, knowing the reality. This positive thinking helps them to deal with problems and find solutions.
Researchers said, “Our study showed that optimistic people were even better in new difficulties.”
-IANS
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