Pessimism refers to the mental state of seeing the worst aspect of things or believing that the worst is going to happen.
It signifies lack of hope or confidence in the future.
According to studies, pessimistic people are prone to get physical and mental problems and they are susceptible to chronic pains and illnesses.
A study conducted by the Mayo clinic also suggests that people who maintained an optimistic view of life have lower incidence of illnesses that their pessimistic counterparts.
Here are some of the negative effects of pessimism:
1. It can cause depression and other mental and emotional problems.
The effects of pessimism are far greater than the development of negative outlook and lack of hope, for it can cause depression. The haunting feeling that things will go wrong or nothing good will ever happen can trigger depressive thoughts, and these can lead to more serious problems like chronic pain, anger, insomnia, poor diet and other mental and emotional problems.
2. It can lead people to neglect their health.
Aside from depression and other emotional issues, pessimism can also trigger health problems. This is because pessimistic people tend to be unmindful of their health and they don’t care much about their condition.
Heart problems, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol, smoking and lack of physical activity are some of the indications of pessimism. In contrast, people with optimistic views are better educated, in better physical, emotional and mental condition and holding stable jobs. This is because they take care of themselves, they exercise, they eat to stay healthy, and they believe in the future.
3. It can lead people to make poor choices in life.
Pessimistic people seldom make choices in their lives and if they do, it’s usually not out of concern for the future, because they don’t believe that things will turn out right in the first place.
It is one of the reasons why they are less concerned of their health, and so they indulge in unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, eating unhealthy foods, and living sedentary lives. All these can lead to their worsening health, which is what they expect in the first place.
