Contents:
- Medical Video: Top 6 Health Benefits of Positive Thinking - Health Sutra
- Benefits of positive thinking
- 1. Increases the possibility of longevity
- 2. Fighting depression
- 3. Strengthens the body's immune system
- 4. Beat various diseases
- 5. Overcome stress better
- 6. Make you more resilient
Medical Video: Top 6 Health Benefits of Positive Thinking - Health Sutra
Positive thinking does not mean you ignore unpleasant situations, but rather face discomfort in a more positive and productive way. You have to think that the best is what will happen, and not the worst. Positive thinking often starts with talking to yourself. If the thoughts running on your head are mostly negative, then your outlook on life might be pessimistic. Conversely, if your mind is mostly positive, then you might be an optimistic person. Some studies state that a pessimistic and optimistic personality can affect health and well-being in various aspects. Here, we will take some of the benefits of optimism, which will be explained below.
Benefits of positive thinking
1. Increases the possibility of longevity
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that postmenopausal women who have an optimistic nature experience a decrease in the duration of death and have only a small risk of developing diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), which is often experienced by their pessimistic friends. The researchers analyzed data from 100,000 women in an ongoing study, and the results were optimistic women who had a 30% lower risk of dying from heart disease, compared with pessimists. Pessimistic women also have a 23% chance of dying from cancer.
2. Fighting depression
Pessimistic thinking is one of the factors that causes depression, according to Psychology Today. By changing your thinking to be positive, you will be able to fight depression. Cognitive therapy that changes thinking patterns can increase a person's feelings, and also becomes a major part of the treatment of depression.
3. Strengthens the body's immune system
Positive thinking is believed to help people fight colds and other illnesses. However, according to a 2003 study in the New York Times stated that negative thinking can only weaken the body's immune response to the flu. This is because of the large electrical activity in the part of the brain when you think negatively, so that it can weaken the immune response to flu as measured by their antibodies.
4. Beat various diseases
People with positive thoughts will recover faster from surgery, and can also deal with serious illnesses better, such as cancer, heart disease, and AIDS, according to Psych Central, a mental health social network operated by professional mental health. A study of first-year law students found that people who were more optimistic than other students had better immune cells.
5. Overcome stress better
When faced with stressful situations, positive people can deal with the situation more effectively than negative thinkers. In one study, the researchers found that when optimists face disappointment (for example, if they are not accepted to work or fail to take office), they are more likely to focus on the things they can do in the situation.
Instead of being immersed in feelings of frustration or with things they cannot change, optimists will develop other plans and ask other people's opinions for help and advice. On the other hand, pessimists only assume that the situation is out of their control and there is nothing they can do to change it.
6. Make you more resilient
Resilience refers to our ability to overcome problems. Strong people can face crises or trauma with strength and determination. Instead of being crushed in the face of stress, they prefer to continue and overcome these difficulties. This proves that positive thinking plays a role in toughness. When faced with challenges, positive people usually see what they can actually do in solving problems.
The researchers also found that in the midst of crises, such as terror attacks, or natural disasters, positive thoughts and emotions encourage development and provide a shield against depression. By maintaining positive emotions, even when facing a terrible event, people can reap the benefits of both short and long term, including managing stress levels, reducing depression, and building the ability to recover which can be very beneficial in the future.
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