Put On a Happy Face: Cynicism and Pessimism Can Kill

Cynicism: An attitude of negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others.

Would you believe that the mental attitudes of cynicism and pessimism have long-term negative effects on our cardiovascular and brain health and can shorten our lives?

A control group of over 6,800 people was given a test to determine whether they had heart inflammation, a marker for heart attacks and strokes.

At a later date they were given a psychological lifestyle test to determine whether they had a generally positive, optimistic nature or a cynical, pessimistic one. Pessimistic attitudes have already been shown to contribute to depression and chronic stress, also contributors to cardiovascular and brain health problems.

"The strongest and most consistent associations were observed for cynical distrust, which was positively associated with all three inflammatory heart disease markers," said study leader Dr Nalini Ranjit.

Researchers concluded that cynical, pessimistic individuals were more likely to engage in negative, unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, overeating, and physical inactivity, than their positive, optimistic counterparts.  “Cynicism clearly leads to a generally negative outlook on life and one’s interest in positive activities such as exercise,” notes Dr. Ranjit.


Source: BBC News