With the cold, damp, and grey, the winter months make it hard to stay optimistic, especially when work and the holidays only add to day-to-day pressure and exhaustion. Unfortunately, the negativity that often accompanies stress and pessimism can result in an inadequate immune response, which is not great during prime flu season. While you can combat symptoms of viruses with cough control tablets, it is often best to take on a more positive mindset. People often underestimate the power of positivity, but research is continuously pointing to the mind-body connection and its benefits for both physical and mental health.
Stress Relief
While you may get tired of hearing optimistic friends telling you to think on the bright side, there is a reason for their exuberance toward positive thinking: It works. When your body is in fight or flight mode, your brain produces stress hormones, such as cortisol. These chemical responses lead to higher blood pressure and other anxiety symptoms. Homeopathic medicine for anxiety and depression is useful for treating symptoms, but learning how to live with positivity is a more manageable treatment option. With positive thinking, you reduce the production of stress hormones and limit your body’s fight or flight responses.
Immune System Support
It may sound hard to believe, but positive thinking has a real and measurable effect on your immune system. Time and time again, research demonstrates that negative thinking leads to weaker immune system responses. The point of view does not even need to relate with health; for example, researchers, Segerstrom and Sephton, found that students who thought and were more confident with their academic performance exhibited a more robust immune response than those with a negative attitude of the same information. The research even persists when measuring a treatment’s success, like flu shots or over the counter flu meds.
Longevity
Living with a positive mindset can lead to longer and happier lives. The Mayo Clinic associates optimism with reducing cardiovascular problems, depression, anxiety, and other life-diminishing conditions. The idea is that people with a more optimistic persona tend to lead healthier lives and exhibit better coping behaviors than those with pessimistic viewpoints, ultimately leading to a longer life.
Resilience
Resiliency is challenging to measure, but optimistic people tend to bounce back from proverbial bumps in the road quicker than those with more negative-leaning views. Seeing the bright side of a situation, or having the capacity to see beyond one setback, means a person can cope with temporary discomfort. A person who has trouble seeing beyond a current uncomfortable situation prolongs their suffering because they fail to see a way out or beyond the momentary displeasure. Therefore, optimism provides an individual with a metaphorical thicker skin, allowing them to move fluidly through rough patches, getting to the other side with less resistance.
Combining positive thinking with homeopathic remedies and over-the-counter treatments can help you in your journey to a more habitually optimistic life. Trying to alter your perception of the world is not something that will happen overnight. Positivity and a mind-body balance take time, but the benefits are too numerous to count.