Negative Outlook Leads to More Illness and Disease
Mind, body, and health are all interconnected. It doesn’t take scientific research or surveys to determine how the way we think, perceive, and taking in events is both directly and indirectly related to the quality of life and health, but recent research has done just that anyway. The survey found that those who perceive past, present, and future experiences in a negative way tend to succumb to the hardships brought on by illness and disease.
Negativity Breads Disease
The study performed by researchers from the University of Granada found that perception of experiences and occurrences across a lifetime did in fact influence perception on their own health and quality of life. Assessing 50 people, 25 of which were men, the researchers assigned a questionnaire and time orientation tests which described their attitudes toward the past, present, and future. In addition, the participants filled out a survey to measure mental and physical health.
Co-author Cristian Oyanadel states:
“According to what we have observed in our study, the most influencing dimension is the perception of the past. A negative view of the past is highly related to worse health indicators. Furthermore, they [those who tend to be negative] generally tend to be depressive, anxious and present behavioural changes.”
So is it that an unhealthy mental state breeds unhappiness? The way you perceive past experiences, handle current situations, and hope for the future has everything to do with how healthy and happy you are. Those who view circumstances as negative tend to struggle through the day while consistently accumulative health problems, when in fact the negative experiences aren’t negative at all — at least they don’t have to be. An experience is only as negative as one perceives it.
So how can you alter your perception of all these occurrences? First you must recognize that you have incredible power in the way situations make you feel based on how you view them. After this realization, don’t hesitate to master the art of re-framing, a trick to instantly make any bad situation better while moving up on the emotional scale. Re-framing applies to every single event and action that occurs, whether it be a flat tire, a mistake made in your business, or a problem with your spouse. These events are viewed as problems, but re-framing each occurrence so that they simply become challenges or opportunities completely shifts the way you feel.
The way you think is truly the cornerstone of reaching your health goals and ultimate happiness.
