How can optimism be harmful

Unrealistically optimistic subjects tend to perceive themselves as being less at risk compared to pessimists, as far as questions of health are concerned, and furthermore believe themselves more capable of preventing such problems from happening [ 4 ]. For example, comparing groups of students with a marked disposition towards risky behaviour and students having a low tendency to get involved in such behaviour, Todesco and Hillman [ 50 ] found that both groups assessed the possibility of damaging consequences of a given situation, but the first group was at variance for the fact that these students perceived themselves as invulnerable.

Smokers represent an important field in the study of the relation between unrealistic optimism and perception of risk for the health. These subjects consider themselves to be less at risk than others for developing illnesses associated with smoking which has been interpreted as a form of irrationality or rather, as an expression of optimistic bias. McKenna et al. More recent studies have indicated that smokers have a significantly lower perception of risk in comparison with non-smokers [ 52 ].

By way of confirmation of these data, it was observed that smokers with unrealistic optimism that is, those who perceived their own risk as lower than the effective risk tended to believe that smoking only for a few years they would not incur any risk of lung cancer and that developing lung cancer depends solely on genetic predisposition [ 53 ]. Furthermore, unrealistic optimists barely considered the hypothesis of giving up smoking in order to reduce the risk of cancer.

Optimism is a tendency to expect good things in the future. From the literature here reviewed, it is apparent that optimism is a mental attitude that heavily influences physical and mental health, as well as coping with everyday social and working life.

Through an adaptive management of personal goals and development and by using active coping tactics, optimists are significantly more successful than pessimists in aversive events and when important life-goals are impaired. Clinics should develop an application form of optimism concept in Applied Psychology and in Psychotherapy. As a matter of fact, application form of optimism concept should be integrated in treatments and prevention programs respectively in mental and physical health, to improve well-being.

The authors conceived the manuscript and drafted it. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U.

Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. Published online May Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Optimism, coping, and health: assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies.

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Optimism and immunity: do positive thoughts always lead to positive effects? Brain Behav Immun. We need to ask ourselves how far we can go about with rose-tinted glasses before it actually becomes detrimental to us. To answer that question, let us observe at the following pitfalls of positive thinking and of holding an overly-optimistic outlook on life:.

Sadly, so much focus has been given to the power of positive thinking that we no longer appreciate the goodness of negative emotions. Think about it. Without feeling the emotional pain that inevitably arises from various setbacks we encounter in our lives, we will never be driven to change things for the better for ourselves and for others.

Allowing oneself to feel a wide range of both positive and negative emotions helps one find meaning in life and grow as a human being amid adversities — an essential recipe for cultivating psychological flexibility.

At any rate, forcing negative or any thoughts out of our head is not only an attempt in futility; it can even backfire on us. In the classic "white bear" experiment , participants were told to ring a bell whenever a white bear flashes in their mind.

Suppressing thoughts appear to make things worse, as those who were specifically instructed not to think of a white bear actually rang more times than those who were told to think of one at the onset. Instead of having their mood lifted, the affirmations actually dampens it. They could have perceive them to be too far-fetched from how they truly feel about themselves, and saying them aloud may have even brought to attention their insecurity.

Over-optimism can cloud our minds and lead us to miscalculate risks and make unsound decisions. It cause us to falsely assume that positive things are more likely to happen to us than others , and that we are more invulnerable to negative events than the rest. It can spur us into taking that leap of faith to change our situation for the better, when everything seems gloomy.

The problem comes when we indulge in magical thinking , choosing to ignore the warning signs which our negative emotions are hinting to us and losing that grip on reality. Such a person tends to disregard counter-evidence in order to persevere on with his plans. A natural outcome of optimism bias is that we begin to think we have more control over the outcomes of events than there really is.

Coined the " illusion of control ", it is the reason why despite the fact that the winning numbers for a lottery are randomly selected, people are more confident of winning when they are given the liberty to pick the numbers. As a matter of fact, pathological gamblers often fall prey to such illusion of control. But, they are comfortable enough in their own skin to acknowledge their limitations, weaknesses, and failures.

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