Optimism and Stress

Victor Perton

Research has reinforced the importance of optimism in managing stress, thus supporting good health.

The American College of Cardiology has concluded that optimism can positively impact heart health by helping people manage stress.

Optimists use problem-solving and planning strategies to cope with stressors, which can help prevent or reduce the adverse effects of stress on the body, including inflammation and increased blood pressure. In addition, most optimistic people can better balance their emotions more effectively and more easily bounce back from life's stresses.

A study of American college students found that optimism was associated with lower levels of perceived stress and better coping strategies.

Optimism is linked to greater resilience and less burnout among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Optimism is an essential protective factor in the face of chronic stressors.

Being around optimistic people can positively improve your mental health and well-being: Their positive energy and outlook can help reduce stress and anxiety and promote feelings of happiness and contentment.

University studies have shown laughter can improve your immune system, increase disease-fighting antibodies and lower inflammation in the body.  Endorphins are released during laughter, which helps to relieve pain, reduce cravings and stress, and slow the ageing process.

Gary D. Moyer, Author of “Opting for Optimism

 “An optimistic outlook though, by lowering stress, can be very therapeutic and healing. When you learn to see the bright side of life, you’re more at peace, which is better for your health and well-being. Optimism is optimal for our health, both physically and emotionally.”

Professor Jan Blacher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 "It's in the face of stress when optimism really becomes important. A mom that has a high level of optimism is going to be able to better weather stress and be better prepared mentally for the challenges ahead."

Professor Rosalba Hernandez

"Optimists are more likely to engage in active problem-focused coping and to interpret stressful events in more positive ways, reducing worry and ruminative thoughts when they're falling asleep and throughout their sleep cycle…Dispositional optimism—the belief that positive things will occur in the future—has emerged as a psychological asset of particular salience for disease-free survival and superior health.”

Shanna Tiayon in "How Optimism Helps You Achieve Goals With Less Stress"

"Optimism appears to fuel our efforts in achieving personal goals, and also improves the overall quality of our experiences while doing so, by increasing happiness and reducing stress. Less stress also reduces the likelihood of mental distress, a common side effect of striving."

Dr John Medina, Author of “Brain Rules”

“Optimism is not just emotional insulation against the freezing wastes of mortality. We now know that elders who have positive, even optimistic, attitudes toward their own aging live longer than those who don’t. What do I mean by optimistic aging? A twenty-five-year-old who forgets somebody’s name seldom considers it a harbinger of Alzheimer’s disease. But if you’re older and your memory transmission slips a gear, you might very well worry about Alzheimer’s. You may become stressed, even depressed. As other roadside attractions of age come into view—from hearing loss to aching joints—your attitude may turn increasingly pessimistic. The data say: don’t go there. Seniors who take it in stride, convincing themselves the glass is still half-full, live a healthy 7.5 years longer than seniors who don’t. Optimism exerts a measurable effect on their brain. The volume of their hippocampus doesn’t shrink nearly as much as the glass-half-empty crowd’s does. That’s an important finding. The hippocampus, a sea-horse structure located just behind your ears, is involved in a wide variety of cognitive functions, including memory. My guess is that dopamine levels are affected, too. These seniors avoid the trap of what would otherwise turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Curt Fowler, Values-Driven Results

 “Optimism and gratitude are the keys to a happy and successful life. They are antidotes to stress, greed and fear. Whenever you feel any of those negative emotions coming on you replace those thoughts with gratitude. Your gratitude will lead to optimism which leads to happiness which leads to success.”

Mini Dewan

 "Gratitude means a feeling of appreciation, thankfulness, counting your blessings and considering your smallest achievements as a success. It enriches humans with optimism by allowing to shift focus from what we lack to little pleasures and joys we actually have. It has some really positive and productive effects on us which includes a happy mental and physical state, less stress and a positive aura."

William Vanderbloemen

 "Giving thanks is the doorway to true optimism."

 "Studies have shown that a spirit of gratitude and regularly giving thanks can lower our stress, improve our relationships, even improve our overall health. A person who is grateful is motivated to face challenges with optimism. With that, they keep the momentum of motivation going. Perhaps more than any other, a grateful person is a motivated person, and the key to sustained motivation may be regularly giving thanks."

Emily Esfahani Smith, Author of The Power of Meaning

“Far from being delusional or faith-based, having a positive outlook in difficult circumstances is not only an important predictor of resilience—how quickly people recover from adversity—but it is the most important predictor of it. People who are resilient tend to be more positive and optimistic compared to less-resilient folks; they are better able to regulate their emotions; and they are able to maintain their optimism through the most trying circumstances.

“This is what Dr. Dennis Charney, the dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found when he examined approximately 750 Vietnam war veterans who were held as prisoners of war for six to eight years. Tortured and kept in solitary confinement, these 750 men were remarkably resilient. Unlike many fellow veterans, they did not develop depression or posttraumatic stress disorder after their release, even though they endured extreme stress. What was their secret? After extensive interviews and tests, Charney found ten characteristics that set them apart. The top one was optimism. The second was altruism. Humor and having a meaning in life—or something to live for—were also important.”

Stephen Ibaraki, Futurist and Entrepreneur

 “In collecting more than 200 attributes that define success with entrepreneurs, there are four that stand out—one is optimism. When looking at the related area of happiness, prior to 2000, it was believed that people were born with a happiness set point—immutable thus setting your course for the future. However, when studying Tibetan monks and their brain activity, it was discovered that this could be raised through technique. The same is true of Optimism; you can increase your optimism by reframing everything into opportunities or key lessons for growth. This is similar to stress hormones, they are produced in relation to how you frame workload and challenges—think optimistically about opportunities and skill growth—the stress levels go down thus improving your life quality. Finally, there is this definition of success related to Grit most recently defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth which I’m modifying based upon my experiences:

 Talent x  hyper effort = skill

 Skill x hyper effort = achievement

 Achievement x passion x perseverance x optimism (squared) = Grit applied over long-term goals = Success”

Dr Andreas Kappes and Dr Tali Sharot

“Entrepreneurs are more optimist than the average person. Is being an optimist a helpful thing for entrepreneurs and innovators?… It turns out optimism can be a blessing and a curse. Optimism enhances the likelihood of identifying creative solutions. It also induces over-confidence in the ability to successfully implement these solutions, which makes it more likely that entrepreneurs will take the plunge. It also makes entrepreneurs more persistent in the face of setbacks, protects against stress and makes networking easier.”

Nizar Juma, Kenyan businessman and founder of The Blue Company Project "focused on fighting corruption”

"Optimism? I was not born with it. For the early part of my life, I was a very intense, angry young man, full of stress. And it made life difficult for me because I managed so many things with anger and anxiety. Positiveness came much later to me. I found spirituality at the age of 48, and I think that spirituality brings optimism to your life. And I don't mean that you sit in a corner wearing coloured robes and sit in the lotus position. Spirituality is positive power. Positive power brings many benefits. I found that more and more and more, as I became more positive, I became more optimistic, enthusiastic about what I was doing. I now find that I cannot do it if I don't have a passion for something. I need to believe in what I'm doing. And once I believe, I become passionate. Once I become passionate, I become optimistic. And so I do lots and lots of things because I'm positive. I'm optimistic."

Dr Mandy Deeks, Jean Hailes Psychologist

“Exercise can also provide an extra boost to your self-esteem, confidence, and feelings of self-worth – and all these factors are related to optimism. What’s more, exercise can increase endorphins and decrease stress, depression and anxiety – exercise is often social and outdoors, and this can also help to build your levels of optimism.”

Read more of these inspiring quotable quotes in "Optimism: The How and Why" by Victor Perton, CEO of The Centre for Optimism.

Project Optimism has produced "The Optimist's Gratitude Journal: 100 days to share and develop your gratitude" which is very helpful.

See https://www.amazon.com/Optimists-Gratitude-Journal-develop-gratitude/dp/B09MC5ZNPX