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The Power of Positive Thinking

Dr. Aafia Malik

3 min read

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Positive thinking is a state of mind that focuses on the positive aspects of life and hopes for positive results. Positive thinkers anticipate health, happiness, and success and believe that they can overcome any difficulty. Positive thinking can help with stress management and improve your health. Thinking positively doesn’t mean being oblivious to the problems around you, it just means taking a more positive approach towards unfavorable situations. Still not convinced? Here are some benefits of positive thinking to get you motivated:

1- Better Stress Management:

When positive thinkers are confronted with a problem, they focus on the solution instead of worrying about the things that are beyond their control. Since they do not focus on their negative thoughts, they are less subjected to stress. If you find it hard to cope with stress, try this approach.

2- Improved Health:

People who think positively tend to live longer. They also feel better than people who do not think positively. Our body is affected by our negative emotions and when we are stressed out or depressed, our sleep gets disturbed, our muscles get tensed, and we feel anxious. This stress sometimes also becomes a precursor to physical illness. According to a research, negative emotions can weaken the immune response to medicines and vaccines. Optimism, on the other hand, improves your immunity.

3- Resilience:

Resilience is the ability to cope with a problem. Instead of falling apart in stressful situations, resilient people stay strong which helps them eventually come out of their problems. Positive thinking and resilience are interconnected. When faced with a problem, positive thinkers focus on finding a solution instead of giving up. It has also been shown that during crisis situations, such as a terrorist attack, optimism helps people thrive and acts as a buffer against depression.

4- Better Relationships:

Optimistic people usually make better first impressions and do not find it hard to make friends. People naturally gravitate towards people with positive vibes and make an effort to maintain these friendships. Also, they are not as quick to negatively judge and nitpick every flaw in those around them, which gives way for more friendships. This is the reason why positive thinkers usually have a better social life.

5- Happier Life:

Positive thinkers usually live a happier life. They are also more productive as they try not to make a big deal out of things that are beyond their control but rather stay focused on what’s important. This increases their satisfaction levels too.

Try to have faith in your abilities and take a positive approach towards challenges. Make the best of bad situations by looking at them realistically and seeking ways to improve them.

6- Increased Immunity

In recent years, researchers have found that your mind can have a powerful effect on your body. Immunity is one area where your thoughts and attitudes can have a particularly powerful influence. In one study, researchers found that activation in brain areas associated with negative emotions led to a weaker immune response to a flu vaccine.

Researchers have also found that people who were optimistic about a specific and important part of their lives, such as how well they were doing in school, exhibited a stronger immune response than those who had a more negative view of the situation.

7- Greater resistance to the common cold

Whether it’s the result of meditation or singing, having an upbeat outlook will help you fight off illness.

Researcher conducted a study, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, to investigate the connection between optimism and immunity. They recruited 124 incoming law students and had them complete five questionnaires and immunity checks over the course of a year.

They found that when a student displayed optimistic thinking, he or she also showed greater cell-mediated immunity. A pessimistic outlook, on the other hand, had an actual negative effect on the response of immune cells.

That means that negativity may make you more vulnerable to illness. So when you encounter co-workers with a cold or your children catch the flu, try not to stress over it.

7- Better social life

This benefit is fairly intuitive. Think of the people you typically want to be around. Are they negative, always complaining, or frequently in a low mood? We’re willing to guess that’s not the case. It’s natural to want to be around people that are cheerful, upbeat, and optimistic. Therefore people that laugh a lot and tend to see events in a positive light are more likely to have more friends.

8- More success

In general, optimists are more successful – making more money – at their jobs. In a study of insurance salesmen, optimistic salespeople sold 88% more than pessimistic salespeople. They were also less likely to quit their jobs, less likely to give up when they encounter work-related struggles, and more likely to describe a hopeful future when it came to their careers.

If you have been under a lot of stress lately and are finding it hard to cope, it is recommended that you visit a specialist doctor and get help. You can book an appointment with a top psychiatrist in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Islamabad through oladoc.com. You can also call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT doctor for your health concerns.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are intended to raise awareness about common health issues and should not be viewed as sound medical advice for your specific condition. You should always consult with a licensed medical practitioner prior to following any suggestions outlined in this article or adopting any treatment protocol based on the contents of this article.

Dr. Aafia Malik
Dr. Aafia Malik - Author Dr. Aafia Malik is a Psychiatrist. She has a M.B.B.S and F.C.P.S degree along with an experience of 8 years. She is also a member of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). Dr. Aafia Malik practices as a Psychiatrist at Psych Intellects and Online Video Consultation and charges 3000 and 3000 respectively. Dr. Aafia Malik is also offering online video consultation and you can book an online doctor video consultation with her by pressing the red video consultation button.

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