Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life How a positive outlook may buffer us from stress and ward off health problems
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By Bob Holmes – Q&A — Psychologist Sarah Pressman – Knowable Magazine
A sunny disposition isn’t just good for your mental health. It’s good for your body, too. It can even add years to your life. Sarah Pressman, a health psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, has spent her career investigating the link between positive emotions and physical health. In the 2019 Annual Review of Psychology, she and her colleagues explore why a positive outlook generates physical health benefits. Knowable asked her about some of the high points, and how doctors and their patients can make use of the knowledge. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you get interested in studying this? For decades, researchers have been studying all the detrimental ways that stress can make us sick and lead to pain, and minor and major illness. As a graduate student, I got interested in the opposite: What can protect our bodies against the harmful effects of stress? At that time, in the early 2000s, the field of positive psychology was really just starting. I saw a natural synergy there — there are these positive factors, and maybe they could be protective against stress and have health benefits, or at least protect us against health harm. Conscious Life Magazine
