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Positive thinking: does it work?
“Every day, from all points of view, I’m getting better and better,” psychologist and pharmacist Émile Coué repeated every morning, urging others to do the same. But is this really what we call positive thinking? And if so, does this power of thought over reality really work?
Distinguish between positive thinking and positive psychology
We often tend to confuse positive thinking with positive psychology. However, these are two different things.
La Positive thought is a concept that consists of see the bright side, to appreciate situations from a positive angle, to modify their perception of things in order to improve their well-being, by using positive affirmations.
La positive psychology, according to the definition of Martin Seligman, researcher in psychology considered as one of its founders ” is the scientific study of the optimal functioning of man, which aims to discover the factors that allow individuals and communities to flourish “. A kind oflearning happiness through behavior and mental disposition.
How to practice positive thinking?
Positive thinking is therefore to adapt your way of thinking so as to change your perception of reality through different techniques d’autosuggestion.
The oldest and most famous positive thinking technique is the Coué method, which involves repeating the following sentence 20 times in the morning and 20 times in the evening: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. better “.
L’autosuggestion positive adapts to each person’s needs and situations: “I am getting better and better at my job”, “I have confidence in myself”, “I am surrounded by love and everything is fine”, “I am in good health” … The idea is to choose one or more affirmations to be repeatmentally, aloud or even in writing, from regular way, to somehow “configure” his brain in positive mode.
What does science say?
Positive thinking is often decried by the scientific community who believes that it is mainly based on popular works, which are not scientifically validated.
However, several experiments have indeed shown the beneficial effects of positive thinking on mental and physical health.
A study, conducted over two years on 6044 adults over 50, for example showed that people who think that life has beautiful things in store for them, indeed presented reduced risk of heart attack[1]. For Eric Kim, lead author of this study and doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan, “ this suggests that optimistic people are taking action to promote their health ».
Another American study, conducted among 660 people, showed that optimism and positive thinking led to longer and healthier lives[2]. All of the study participants who had a positive outlook on aging lived on average 7,5 years longer than the more pessimistic participants about aging.
Another study, on a smaller scale this time, conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and published in 2003, showed that positive thinking could have beneficial effects on the immune system[3].
About the Mental Health, an experiment carried out at the University of Lorraine, on a sample of 44 students, proven effectiveness of repetitions of positive sentences as a tool in the treatment of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress. For this experiment, the researchers sent positive texts every morning to the students. They had to repeat these sentences to themselves three times. After two weeks, a significant decrease in anxiety and depressive symptoms was observed in the study participants.
You should still be careful with the principle of positive thinking, because according to other research, while positive affirmations work well in people with high self-esteem, on the other hand, they do not benefit those who lack confidence and even worsen their state of mind [4]. They could also lead to irresponsible behavior, especially in terms of financial decisions[5].
Make sure to see the good side of things, yes, but be careful not to fall into the trap of the injunction to happiness, or even “the tyranny of happiness”, denounced in particular by the sociologist Eva Illouz in her book Happycracy. Sadness, anger or fear is a part of life and it is important to live your emotionseven negative.
Read also: The benefits of optimism on psychological health
Marie Desbonnet
[1] Eric S. Kim, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson. Health and Retirement Study. Stroke, 2011; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.613448
[2] Levy Br, Slade MD, Kunkel SR, Kasl SV. Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging.2002 Aug: 83(2):261-70.
[3] Rosenkranz MA, Jackson DC, Dalton KM, Dolski I, Ryff CD, Singer BH, Muller D, Kalin NH, Davidson RJ. Affective style and in vivo immune response: neurobehavioral mechanisms. 2003 Sep 16; 100(19):11148-52.
[4] Wood, J. V., Perunovic, W. E., & Lee, J. W. (2009). Positive Self-StatementsPower for Some, Peril for Others. Psychological Science, 20 (7), 860-866.)
[5] University of Chicago Press Journals. «When Positive Thinking Leads To Financial Irresponsibility Like Compulsive Gambling.» ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 April 2008.