Positive Psychology; Positive Thinking

TiredSam said:
I have found my grumpy cynical outlook to be a source of great comfort and credit the improvements I have made since getting ME to it. I would recommend skeptical grumpiness to everyone.

I would also like to note that the universe is a cold dark place where random shit happens. It could happen to you tomorrow for no reason. If you have trouble accepting that and want to wrap yourself up in positivity it won't make a blind bit of difference, but be my guest by all means.

I do not acknowledge the benefits of having ME. I may have learnt a few things and have more understanding and appreciation of a few things, but without ME I would be learning and understanding a lot more different things. I had to give up voluntary work teaching homeless kids in favour of lying on the sofa having a headache. I think I was getting more "personal growth" from the first thing.

Other people appreciated me more when I did more. No-one comes round to sit at my feet listening to my wise insights now that I'm ill, and if they did I'd have to boot them out after 20 minutes. I appreciated life before my illness. ME did not give me a new start in life, it put my life on hold. A cure would give me a new start in life, not being presented with a questionnaire full of positivity platitudes.
I would like the option of posting an infinity of likes on what you wrote TiredSam.Where's the infinity emoji when you need it?
Maybe next they'll be asking those who are being tortured to see the positive side in the most extreme horrible nightmare that anyone can imagine.Some things suck period.It would take a sicko a pervert to pretend otherwise.If some psychologists lack common sense I don't see how they can be of any use to anyone.


Why did they call it "Silver lining"? Doesn't giving the questionnaire that title introduce bias before you've even read the first question? Why didn't they just call it the "Cheer up luv!" or "Look on the bright side!" questionnaire?

I wonder if calling it "Life sucks" or "Shit happens" or "What's the fucking point?" would influence the answers given? Now that would be a much more interesting paper.



No shit. But there are really, aren't there?

I feel much better after that little rant. Did me the world of good. Be grumpy.
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Times article "Positive thinking is the best way to get a grip"

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/...nking-is-the-best-way-to-get-a-grip-h97dqfhnj
Paywalled but if you 'join' you get 2 free articles a month

The power of positive thinking has been backed up by science.
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Researchers from University College London found that people who saw the things they did as being worthwhile were healthier as they aged. They had a higher concentration of vitamin D in their blood, healthier cholesterol and lower levels of inflammation.
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They were asked, on a scale of 0-10, how worthwhile they thought the things they did were.
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Those with ratings of 9 or 10 walked 18 per cent faster than those with scores of 0-3 and had a 13 per cent higher concentration of vitamin D, which boosts bone and muscle strength. They were 40 per cent more likely to report good sleep and had stronger hand grips, a measure of frailty and risk of mortality.
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Four years on, they were faring better than those with low ratings. They were less likely to have developed chronic pain or depressive symptoms, or to feel lonely. They were more likely to exercise, spend time with friends and family, and work or volunteer.
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However, it was not clear whether people participated in those activities or had those characteristics because they felt their lives were worthwhile, or whether those activities and characteristics made their lives feel worthwhile.
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Well Duh! How do they get funding for this bull?!

Those who were healthy were able to get out & about more, exercise, spend time doing meaningful, fulfilling things, & building meaningful relationships... instead of wasting away suffering at home or confined to their beds unable to participate like those forced to be chronic illness... and guess what? those healthy people believed the 'worthwhile' things they were doing, were 'worthwhile', and those too ill/frail to do much that they wanted to do or felt was worthwhile, were aware of that fact & said so.

But of course it's the thinking thats responsible for the :banghead:


Andrew Steptoe, the lead author, said that the findings could help efforts to “tease out better ways to promote a good life in middle and older age”.
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Hmmm.... can anyone sense an Aylward-like agenda to blame elderly people who are ill & miserable, & surreptitiously drip feed the idea it's their thinking that's to blame for the increase in care costs of an ageing population, .... lovely....how convenient - those pesky old people living in isolated misery in sickness & poverty, can just be swept away with some positive thinking.
 
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JemPD said:
Those who were healthy were able to get out & about more, exercise, spend time doing meaningful, fulfilling things, & building meaningful relationships... instead of wasting away suffering at home or confined to their beds unable to participate like those forced to be chronic illness... and guess what? those healthy people believed the 'worthwhile' things they were doing, were 'worthwhile', and those too ill/frail to do much that they wanted to do or felt was worthwhile, were aware of that fact & said so.

But of course it's the thinking thats responsible for the :banghead:
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Whilst reading your post it occurred to me to say ... exactly what I then read further in your post :).
 
So - people with better overall health were able to do more fullfilling activities.......? Yeah, big surprise.

Other, alternative conclusions - People with better hand grip - or people with higher vitamin D levels, feel their activitites are more worthwhile!
 
Circular "logic". If you're healthy, you do healthy things, and feel your life is worthwhile, and then you do more healthy things. No mention of fortunate genetics, comfortable financial position, or any number of other things that effect one's ability to get out and boogie. And, many, many disabled people are disregarded in this article.
 
JemPD said:
But of course it's the thinking thats responsible for the :banghead:
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I am thinking that pseudoscience is alive and well in modern times. I am positive about that.

Positive thinking is dangerous New Age cultism, that has wormed its way into academia. I wont say its wormed its way into science, as pseudoscience is an academic position that claims to be science, but fails to adhere to effective scientific principles.

There is nothing wrong with a positive outlook. How this is presented though is its mandatory to have a positive outlook, and this will fix things. When the sick and disabled do this and nothing changes it can be severely demoralising, and can lead to depression and suicide.

I have another angle on this kind of pseudoscience that I am looking at in established academia, where this is a recognised problem. I might blog on this if I am well enough to think through the issues. Hint - this is nineteenth century thinking, and there are multiple cases.
 
I thought it might have been better had they asked the son to write the article. Then it transpired that this is the son. I thought the name familiar.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Steptoe

He has also advanced the theoretical underpinning of psychobiological processes, building on allostatic theory to formulate a taxonomy of autonomic, neuroendocrine, inflammatory, and immune pathways through which life experiences influence disease risk. Steptoe is involved in research on the determinants of healthy lifestyles, the relation of depression to physical health, and links between mental health and physical activity
 
chrisb said:
I thought it might have been better had they asked the son to write the article. Then it transpired that this is the son. I thought the name familiar.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Steptoe

He has also advanced the theoretical underpinning of psychobiological processes, building on allostatic theory to formulate a taxonomy of autonomic, neuroendocrine, inflammatory, and immune pathways through which life experiences influence disease risk. Steptoe is involved in research on the determinants of healthy lifestyles, the relation of depression to physical health, and links between mental health and physical activity
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uh, well 'say no more' then!
 
I'm positive thinking that feeling better gets you out in the sunshine more often, therefore increasing vitamin D levels:emoji_thinking:
 
BBC Health news - Looking on the bright side 'means you live longer'
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49447685

While a lot is known about the risk factors for disease and early death, far less is understood about what the researchers call "positive psychosocial factors" that could enable healthy ageing.
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"Evidence from randomised control trials suggest that interventions, such as imagining a future in which everything has turned out well, or more intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy, can increase levels of optimism."
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BBC News (looks like they couldn't even find a journalist to put their name to it this time, it's usually James Gallagher) hosting an advert for the psychosocial agenda and CBT.

Still, look on the bright side ...
 
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It's a strategy used by US companies - send everyone on a positive thinking course a few months before you fire them in their droves. That way they've been brainwashed into seeing opportunity in adversity etc and won't cause so much hassle about being fired in their droves. I wonder what the BBC has lined up for us around the corner?
 
It just teaches people to act out 'happy' and fill in questionnaires saying they are thinking positive thoughts, when they are miserable and angry inside because of circumstances. Reminds me of resilience training for bullied and downtrodden employees - teach them to toughen up and put up with the bullying, rather than tackle the bullies.
 
TiredSam said:
It's a strategy used by US companies - send everyone on a positive thinking course a few months before you fire them in their droves. That way they've been brainwashed into seeing opportunity in adversity etc and won't cause so much hassle about being fired in their droves. I wonder what the BBC has lined up for us around the corner?
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Not the BBC but........oops ........not going there
 
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