Hey! Don't Be So Down--Pessimism Can Harm Health

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Hey! Don't Be So Down--Pessimism Can Harm Health

Thu Jun 13, 1:38 PM ET

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pessimistic people report more knee pain and

worse functioning than those with similar knee problems who don't have such

a negative outlook, according to researchers.

Outlook, especially one that is negative and expecting the worst, " really

affects the physical health of a person, " lead author Dr. Gretchen A. Brenes

of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told Reuters

Health.

She and her colleagues measured physical pain, functioning and outlook in

480 patients at least 65 years old who were suffering from arthritis. All of

the study participants experienced pain in their knees on most days, which

caused a certain amount of disability.

The researchers measured physical functioning and disability from pain by

surveying patients and watching them perform day-to-day activities. Outlook

was measured by asking people to rate how much they agreed with optimistic

statements such as " I always look on the bright side of things " or

pessimistic statements such as " If something can go wrong for me, it will. "

The investigators found that people who appeared to be pessimistic were less

able than others to perform all of the measured daily activities, which

included walking, lifting an object, climbing stairs and getting in and out

of a car. Optimism, in contrast, appeared less connected to health, with

people characterized by a more cheery outlook appearing no better able of

performing most functions than others, the authors report in the June issue

of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Brenes explained that people who are

pessimistic don't believe things will work out for them, and so they never

try to achieve anything. " They don't get a chance to find out if they can or

can't do it, " she said.

As such, if pessimistic people don't even try to maintain certain health

behaviors, such as exercise, they are less likely to keep up their physical

conditioning, and so will feel more pain and function less well than their

more upbeat peers, Brenes added.

And when negatively inclined people do try to exercise, Brenes said, they

may be more likely to feel pain, which just reaffirms their expectation that

nothing works in their favor, so they might as well stop trying. It becomes

a type of " negative self-fulfilling prophecy, " Brenes explained.

Optimistic people may be more likely to try to exercise, Brenes noted.

Although their efforts might keep their condition from deteriorating, they

still may not actually improve, she added. " I guess optimists are more

likely to try, but they are not more likely to succeed, " Brenes pointed out.

Doctors who are faced with patients who appear to be overly pessimistic

should recognize the impact this attitude may have on their conditions,

Brenes recommended, and try to encourage these patients to challenge the

assumption that they can't succeed.

Get patients to set small goals for themselves, she advised, and encourage

them even in their small achievements.

SOURCE: Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2002;25:219-231.