Bruce Jenner Issue
Bruce Jenner Interview
Habitat and Ability Homes
Optimizing Optimism
Optimizing Optimism
The United States
was born in the spirit of `optimism.' Thomas Jefferson wrote...` life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.' Both religious and secular
elements of our society offer concepts of spiritual and material success.
The Puritans favored self-help; working hard and living a Godly life. Benjamin
Franklin espoused that success and wealth could be achieved by industry,
perseverance, and personal initiative. The whole concept of the self-made
man entailed the continuous possibility of improving oneself and creating
a better life, no matter what one's station in life was. It is more than
obvious that these initiators of the `American scene' were steadfast optimists.
Knowing the hardships that lie ahead, these innovators stood firm with their
convictions, and endured the many obstacles that endangered their success.
They were optimists in the truest sense of the word.
Mary McCarthy, an American author and critic states `the happy ending
is our national belief.' According to McCarthy, optimism is the `American
way.' The majority of Americans believe that happiness is attainable, and
it is inevitable that we will eventually experience it. She underscores
the fact that there is a tremendous emphasis on optimism within our culture.
In referring to our earliest personal recollections of optimism, McCarthy
makes reference to children's stories. She notes The Little Train That
Could reciting `I think I can, I think I can,' as it chugs along with
self-assurance.
So, what does it mean to be optimistic? We've
all heard the word, and most of us have used the word `optimism' in routine
conversation. Optimism entails viewing the positive side of a situation.
No matter how dismal a dilemma we face, one can always find a way to make
it more palatable. We may even learn to grow as a result. An integral part
of optimism is the `sense of hope' that is necessary to see the positive
side of a sometimes non-negotiable situation. Some say that optimism grows
out of pessimism; that pessimism must be present so that the individual
can clearly see the alternatives that are available in lieu of viewing things
in a negative and powerless manner.
Most individuals have experienced powerlessness, and have suffered tragedies;
some physical, some emotional, some both. This is an ongoing peculiarity
of the human condition. It is difficult to compare and measure the importance
of problems that effect us individually. It's all relative. Some individuals
address problems more effectively than others. The term `mind-body connection'
manifests at various levels of physiology. For example, an individual who
has lost a limb might be addressed more sympathetically than an individual
who is suffering from a bad knee. Initially, most might consider the individual
with the lost limb to be in a dire situation when compared to the individual
with the afflicted knee. However, if the limbless individual is able to
accept, work with, and grow from this loss, and the individual with the
afflicted knee falls into a deep depression, who's actually suffering the
most? Again, it's all relative.
Optimists have a general tendency to expect a good outcome. This disposition
reflects expectancies that individuals have for the future. The future is
often determined by whether or not the individual strives or yields. A person's
mind remains lucid when he or she believes that goals are attainable.
The individual feels better, works more efficiently, and is not encumbered
by negative emotions. According to experts, a feeling of happiness or elation
allows the body to function in a healthier state, and creates an energy
that empowers the individual to function more productively. Only ten years
ago, the concept of mental activity being linked with physical effects and
conditions was considered scientifically impossible. (Dana: `Positive
Thinking') This concept is now universally supported.
Some individuals are able to find the energy to prevail more easily than
others. In 1979, Robert Shuman was a practicing psychologist at a children's
hospital. Married for 11 years, and a father of two, he began to experience
a real phenomenon that changed his physical and emotional view of life forever.
After experiencing numerous substantial impasses, Shuman was finally hospitalized
for a severe back spasm. After several years of excruciating and undiagnosed
discomfort, Shuman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He realized feelings
of helplessness and isolation, and began to understand how others in similar
and more critical conditions felt when faced with devastation and torment.
He understood that many would be faced with this anguish for the rest of
their lives, and decided to document his difficulties and other's difficulties
with chronic illness. These manuscripts resulted in his book entitled The
Psychology of Chronic Illness. Shuman's definition of `chronic illness'
is as follows: a chronic illness is one in which a person's symptoms
continue over a long period of time to impair his or her ability to continue
with significant activities and normal routines.
According to Shuman, approximately thirty million Americans have been diagnosed
with chronic illnesses that limit normal day-to-day activities. Twenty-five
per cent of the 30 million are between the ages of 45 and 60, and 45 per
cent are over the age of 65. It's possible that as many as sixty million
people are directly affected by chronic illness. These statistics are based
on a `two-person' household. He further states that many of these individuals
will seek out professional health care providers for relief from physical
and psychiatric distress. Health care professionals are often able to fill
a void for the chronically ill individual, as doctors are frequently insensitive
to the suffering realized by their patients.
The inability of the individual to function in the same manner prior to
the illness plays a powerful role for those with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
As difficult as life may seem at times, the road is a much more challenging
undertaking. Many individuals faced with these challenges view their new
lives as burdensome. Some might feel the day to day `grind' of existence,
and others might see themselves as a burden. Others might ask the very common
question, `why me?'
Human nature requires answers for the unanswerable, and day to day Life
is usually connected to the medical establishment that places a tremendous
emphasis on `getting well' or a `cure.' The search for healing
the person or the soul often goes unnoticed. Shuman unmasks the fact that
many do not receive the reassurance that they are seeking. The medical establishment
frequently treats the external person, and ignores and neglects the inner
life or world of the individual. Both the psychological level and the spiritual
level are in need of the same attention given to physiological issues.
The concept of optimism has prevailed for centuries, however, it has only
been formally and scientifically researched for the past 30 years. Martin
Seligman is one of the foremost leaders in `optimism research.' While the
majority of his work can be found in scholarly journals, he wrote a national
bestseller entitled Learned Optimism.
In the 1960's, Seligman introduced the concept of `learned helplessness'
to describe the giving-up reaction of people who are experiencing stressful
events which they believe to be out of their control. His first studies
on this subject used three groups of dogs. The first group was given repeated
electric shocks with no opportunity to escape. The second group was given
the opportunity to perform some action that would stop the shock from occurring.
The third group was a control group that received no shocks. All three groups
of dogs were then placed in a new situation where they had the opportunity
to escape the shocks by jumping a small barrier. The group that had been
previously unable to escape stood helplessly enduring the shocks. The other
two groups easily jumped the barrier to safety. The first group had learned
to be helpless. They had developed the expectation that no attempt at avoiding
the shocks would work; there was no point to even trying, so why bother?
Seligman went on to perform this experiment with people. He explained that
learning helplessness in humans is modified by their explanatory style.
In other words, what we tell ourselves about an event will determine our
reaction to the event. Explanatory style is what we tell ourselves about
the causes of our successes and failures. According to Seligman, there are
two explanatory styles: the optimistic explanatory style and the pessimistic
explanatory style. The pessimistic explanatory style can be based on three
characteristics. When experiencing failure the pessimist believes s/he is
responsible for the event. The pessimist also believes that the event will
prove to be a permanent situation, and this negative event will spread to
other situations. Pessimistic thinking might lead to learned helplessness
because the individual is blaming her/himself. The situation might be viewed
as a permanent one (I don't have the ability), or pervasive in spreading
to other situation (no wonder I don't have any friends). The individual
who does not experience helplessness does not take blame, and views the
situation as a temporary one. The situation would then be confined to one
aspect of the individual's life, and is, therefore, not pervasive. A pessimistic
explanatory style changes learned helplessness from brief and local to long-lasting
and general. Full-blown depression could result when the person who fails
is a pessimist. The optimist, however, experiences only a brief period of
demoralization.
Recent research studies indicate that college students with a pessimistic
explanatory style of coping, experience more psychological and physical
problems than those with a positive explanatory style. Alternatively, college
students who are optimistic experience less stress and depression, and are
more likely to seek social support. The optimistic student does not experience
the `loneliness' that is often experienced by the `pessimistic' student,
and is able to function in a more independent manner. Additionally, recent
studies of cancer patients reflect that the optimists were more likely to
engage in active attempts to deal with the stress of cancer and its treatment
through an optimistic explanatory style. They were less likely to dwell
upon negative emotional experiences, and did not employ avoidance strategies
or disengage from active coping. Based on existing studies, it appears that
optimism is likely to be related to psychological and physical well-being,
by means of its relation to active versus inactive coping strategies.
In Learned Optimism, Martin Seligman discusses optimism as the antithesis
of pessimism. It embraces a harboring quality which reflects the following
phenomenon: fewer infectious diseases are incurred by optimists; preferable
health routines are practiced by optimists; optimists experience better
immune systems; and, an optimist's life span is normally longer than a pessimist's.
He proposes four ways that optimism can influence health. He first notes
that in studies with animals, learned helplessness contributed to a weakness
of the immune system. An optimistic explanatory style prevents helplessness,
and contributes positively to the body's natural immune defense. Secondly,
Seligman believes that an optimist is more likely to stay with a suitable
health regimen, and will swiftly seek medical advice. The optimist will
cultivate healthy eating and exercise, and will seek early treatment for
illness. Seligman's third way of influencing health through optimism, is
through taking action in one's life, and to avoid negative situations or
events. The fourth and last way views the seeking and maintaining of social
support systems and associations as contributing greatly to maintaining
good health. A `passive behavioral' style could easily lead to isolation
and a lack of a solid support system.
Seligman and others have demonstrated that the explanatory style is responsible
for predicting good or bad performance in academics, athletics, recovery
from illness, and work performance. Optimistic candidates are the ones most
likely to be elected.
Alice McAndrew is a Ph.D. candidate in Adult Learning and Human Resource
Development at the Virginia Tech Graduate Center, located in Falls Church,
Virginia. Her extensive preliminary dissertation research on the topic of
optimism brings additional support to existing writings advocating optimism
as an antidote to pessimism.
McAndrew, who worked 20 years as a counselor, observed that people sometimes
go into a `negative spiral' of emotional response upon receiving a life-threatening
diagnosis. For instance, an individual who has been diagnosed HIV+ often
regards this as a death sentence. The negative emotions they experience
upon learning that they are HIV+, often propels them into increased hopelessness
and self-destructive behavior. The negative spiral occurs when an individual
continues to experience and accumulate negative feelings. This downward
spiral causes the individual to create yet more troubles for him/herself,
and, therefore, continues to plunge lower and lower into that potentially
futile abyss of depression. With some HIV+ patients, it is not uncommon
to see some individuals engage in the type of self-destructive behavior
that would include unprotected sex and abusive alcohol and drug use.
McAndrew states that the negative spiral is particularly self-defeating
for the AIDS patient. By taking care of oneself through proper diet, continuous
intake of prescribed medications, and the practice of stress management
techniques, there is always the possibility of living longer in order to
experience a cure in connection with the rapid rate of medical advances.
She states that those who become entangled in the `negative spiral' syndrome
are often deceased within a shockingly short period of time, while optimistic
patients who follow prescribed treatment programs are likely to live longer.
Studies confirm that optimistic patients diagnosed with HIV+ report less
stress than pessimistic patients with the same diagnosis.
Carver and Schier, in their studies of coronary bypass surgery, reflect
that optimists who were diagnosed prior to surgery correlated with a faster
rate of physical recovery, a faster rate of return to normal life activities,
and an overall better quality of life six months after surgery. A five year
follow-up study revealed that the optimistic coronary patients were taking
their vitamins on a more regular basis; eating healthier foods; were committed
to a high rate of exercise; and were enrolled in cardiac rehabilitation
programs. Another study of optimistic cardiac patients, actually enrolled
in a rehabilitation program, revealed that these individuals had greater
success in lowering their levels of saturated fat, body fat and coronary
risk. Optimists, in situations that have little chance of changing, enjoy
the advantage of accepting the situation, placing the situation in the best
possible light, and growing personally from the experience.
Furthermore, research shows that through the use of different coping strategies,
challenged individuals not only think differently, but also act differently.
The optimist tends to focus on, and plan for the `problem' at hand. The
optimist uses `positive reinterpretation.' In other words, the individual
is most likely to reinterpret a negative experience in a way that helps
s/he learn and grow. This individual is more like to accept a situation
that offers little or no control to the individual, and, therefore, the
person will often seek support from others. The pessimist is more likely
to engage in denial, through the suppression of feelings and disengagement
from set goals.
We must be aware of psychological pitfalls and irrational beliefs that contribute
to pessimism and self-image. Many cognitive psychologists have warned against
the following stumblingblocks that can easily contribute to pessimism: (Dana:`Positive
Thinking'):
All or nothing thinking views things in black or white categories;
situations are all good or all bad.
Perfectionism suggests that if something is not perfect , then it
is a complete failure.
Overgeneralization views a single incident as a never-ending pattern
of defeat.
Mental filtering highlights the negative aspect, and discounts the
positive.
Catastrophizing blows negative instances way out of proportion.
Comparing entails comparing oneself to others. This is considered
to be an extremely destructive behavior.
Unquestioning acceptance of criticism involves the acceptance of
unwarranted criticism.
Mind reading encourages jumping to conclusions, and involves interpreting
other people's actions incorrectly.
Personalization applies to individuals who take affront to something
that has nothing at all to do with them.
Fortune-telling is jumping to conclusions, and assuming that things
will turn out badly.
Emotional reasoning assumes that negative feelings reflect reality.
("I feel like a failure, so I must be a failure").
"Should" statements entail punishing oneself for mistakes of the
past.
Labeling involves the individual labeling himself or herself a loser
as the result of one small failure.
When the individual exhibits any of these very common, yet irrational behaviors,
it is best to confront them with optimistic thinking. (Dana: Positive
Thinking).
Some experts on biological/cultural evolution suggest that hope is a survival
trait. It ensures a continuous effort by the individual to achieve goals,
even under adverse conditions. According to Walter Common in his book Power
of Mind, some researchers indicate that pleasure from sexual intercourse
has guaranteed the reproduction of the species. So it is that thinking pleasurable
thoughts is, likewise, necessary for human evolution. Science appears to
have validated what mystics and spiritual traditions have been saying for
centuries.
The road to optimism starts at different places for different people. For
those experiencing a disability or chronic illness, a sense of loss is initially
experienced by the individual. These feelings might include what life might
have been like had the individual not experienced the situation and lost
potentialities. According to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, unless the individual
has truly faced the situation, and has accepted the change in his or her
life, various stages of grief will be experienced: denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and finally, acceptance. Moreover, Mills states that in addition
to experiencing feelings of happiness, it is essential to learn to recognize
and understand feelings of sadness. This is a means to avoiding prolonged
depression (1997, Harry L. Mills, Ph.D.).
Experts have alluded to the fact that there are ways for the individual
to work towards reinterpreting and viewing a non-negotiable situation in
a unique light. Some of these methods might include individual therapy,
group therapy, support groups, discussions with others with similar experiences,
reading, spirituality and prayer, and organizations that encourage people
to connect and network. Let's highlight group therapy as an example of reinterpretation.
The individual's awareness of the illness/ disability may manifest through
the eyes of the group. He or she may also develop a new appreciation of
what is important in life. This new recognition and appreciation can lead
to the following: personal growth, a kinder and more understanding attitude
towards life and humankind, the ability to live with the here and now,
and the evolving of a stronger, more independent individual. Although an
individual may be on the road to understanding loss, he or she might find
professional help a useful regimen. Through this type of help, the individual
may be more compliant to the concept of reinterpretation, which would allow
he or she to see the situation in a new light. Then the person might find
new meaning in the immediate situation, and could, therefore, achieve new
growth through the experience.
When is the appropriate time for optimistic thinking? Martin Seligman
cites the following examples as appropriate conditions for optimistic thinking:
use optimism in 1) achievement situations; 2) if you are concerned about
how you are feeling; 3) if a situation is apt to be prolonged and physical
health is an issue; 4) if you want to lead and inspire others. Although
Dr. Seligman is obviously a tremendous advocate of optimism, he does reveal
that there are times when optimism is not appropriate. He states that`
if the cost of failure is high, optimism is the wrong strategy. If you are
planning for a risky and uncertain future, optimism will not pay. The pilot
deciding whether or not to de-ice the plane one more time, or the partygoers
deciding whether or not to drive home after drinking, should not use optimism.
The risks are too high.
As we swiftly move into the twenty-first century, it becomes evident that
increasing credence is being given to the study of optimism. Society is
now, more than ever, willing to recognize and accept other ways of `knowing'
our world. Globally, humanity no longer depends on scientific validation
as the omniscient authority. Humankind has always been drawn to other methods
of perceiving the world: religious, philosophical, mystical, psychic, etc..
Many now view the scientific approach as displaying many limitations. They
have established that the scientific world has tried to devalue the spiritual
and psychic abilities of humankind. As we near the end of the 20th century,
it has been acknowledged that alternative approaches could prove to be viable
methods of learning. Society is viewing them more pensively, and in a more
systematic way. Many will agree that, globally, we are moving into a new
era of awareness. Humankind may very well be ready to take conscious control
of life through mind development. Subsequently, `optimizing optimism’ via
an enthusiastic and hopeful demeanor, greatly diminishes the opportunity
for despair and pessimism to manifest. This discussion of optimism can
be summed up in a simple thought:
"Two men look out through the same bars: One sees the mud, and one sees
the stars."
----Frederick Langbridge, A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts
Gale Alexander Kamen and Alice E. McAndrew are educators
and doctoral candidates at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia
State University.