Why do optimists live longer?

I asked an expert who is very familiar with the profession.

Michaela Brohm-Badry is a professor for empirical teaching-learning research and didactics at the University of Trier and President of the German Society for Positive Psychological Research e.

V. She says: »Anyone who is optimistic has a high degree of hope that a situation will have a positive outcome.

Optimistic people do not find situations that are stressful or annoying for others as stressful because they believe things are more likely to work out for the better.”

This serenity works like magic on the body.

Optimists have lower levels of stress hormones - making them less prone to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and other ailments.

If they do get sick, they believe that things will get better.

In this way, they trigger a placebo effect - and heal themselves to a certain extent. In addition, optimistic people have a greater incentive to be physically active - and this is the best way to prevent many diseases.

Now the pandemic has occupied us for years, Putin has invaded Ukraine, inflation is becoming a problem.

"Of course it's very difficult to be optimistic at the moment," says Brohm-Badry.

“But it's not about looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.

Optimists still feel that they have control of action in their area, that is, that they still have influence;

that they can still be active in a self-determined manner.«

The genetic influence of having an optimistic nature is only 25 percent;

so a lot is in our hands.

We could write down in the evening: What was good today?

"Two or three good things: my neighbor gave me a friendly greeting, I had a good conversation with my colleague, and the food in the canteen was great," advises Brohm-Badry.

»Or you can ask yourself: What am I grateful for right now?

This is an exercise that leads to good feelings very quickly.«

The personal environment also plays a major role.

Because we tend to become like the people we spend our time with.

"Anyone who surrounds themselves with life-affirming people has a much higher probability of becoming life-affirming themselves," says Michaela Brohm-Badry.

With this in mind, I wish you a weekend with confident people.

Yours sincerely,

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