Optimists Blessed with Better Health

Optimists² Blessed with Better Health

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Trying to answer “why?”

 

It could be that a propensity³ for pessimism⁴, anxiety and these brain diseases share a common risk factor—a gene⁵ or some quirk⁶ of brain chemistry.

 

Another possibility, Rocca says, is that a pessimistic outlook leads to more anxiety, which can disrupt levels of stress-related hormones⁸, or knock the body’s endocrine or nervous systems out of whack⁹. Then, theoretically at least, this could trigger some cascade¹⁰ of events that damages the brain and leads to Parkinson’s or dementia.

 

It’s premature¹¹ to start testing whether anti-anxiety drugs could prevent these diseases, Rocca says. But it’s easy to imagine why a pessimist⁷ might suffer more from stress than an optimist¹.

 

Pessimists¹²’ double whammy of anxiety

 

First, pessimists often interpret events as more stressful. Say a friend is late for a dinner date. An optimist might think: Oh good, I’ve got a moment to catch my breath. But a pessimist might fret¹³: Did she forget? Was she in an accident? Does she think my time isn’t as valuable as hers?

 

Second, when faced with stress, pessimists often don’t cope as well.

 

Optimists have a curious habit of seeing stresses as challenges and forging ahead. Pessimists obsess¹⁴ or give up, so daily stresses build up. Chronic¹⁵ stress is rough on the body. It weakens the immune system and contributes to higher blood pressure, migraines, sleep deprivation¹⁶, stomach problems and even skin breakouts.

 

Self-help books have pushed the “power of positive thinking” for decades. However, a growing area of research suggests the connection between attitude and health has more to do with the ravages¹⁷ of stress than the triumph of happy thoughts. That means, whether you are a pessimist or an optimist, learning to cope with anxiety constructively¹⁸ may be more important – or at last more helpful – than simply trying to look on the bright side.

Vocabulary Focus

propensity (n) [prE5pensiti] a tendency towards a particular way of behaving, especially a bad one

out of whack (idiom) not operating correctly or looking right

interpret (v) [in5tE:prit] to decide what the intended meaning of something is

 

Specialized¹⁹ Terms

endocrine (adj.) 内分泌（腺）的 relating to the organs of the body, such as the pituitary gland²⁰ or the ovaries, which produce and release hormones into the blood to be carried around the body

 

保持乐观，拥有健康

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试着找出原因

悲观倾向、焦虑和这些脑部疾病可能有一个共同的危险因子，也许是基因或某种奇怪的脑部化学变化。

若卡表示，另一个可能性是，悲观的想法导致更严重的焦虑感，可能使与压力相关的荷尔蒙浓度发生异常，或导致身体的内分泌或神经系统动能失调。至少在理论上，焦虑可能会触发一连串损坏大脑的状况，进而导致帕金森症或痴呆。

若卡说，现在就开始测试抗焦虑药物是否能预防这些疾病还言之过早。不过，我们不难想象悲观主义者为何比乐观主义者遭受更多压力。

 

悲观者的双重焦虑诅咒

第一，悲观主义者常将一些事件解读成较会带来压力的情况。假设一个朋友约好一起吃晚餐却迟到了，乐观主义者会想：太好了，我有时间来喘口气，可是悲观主义者就开始发愁：她忘了我们有约吗？她发生了什么意外？她认为我的时间没有她的宝贵吗？

第二，面对压力的时候，悲观主义者通常无法妥善处理。

乐观主义者有一个奇怪的惯性，他们视压力为挑战并奋力前行。悲观主义者则会想不开或放弃，因此每天的压力不断累积。慢性压力对身体的伤害很大，会削弱免疫系统，造成高血压、偏头痛、失眠、肠胃问题，甚至皮肤突然长满痘子。

几十年来，自我成长类的书籍一直在推动“正面思考的力量”。然而，愈来愈多研究显示，就心态对健康的影响而言，压力的负面后果比愉快思考所产生的益处，影响更大。也就是说，不管你是悲观主义或乐观主义者，学习建设性地处理焦虑可能比只努力看光明的一面更重要，或者至少比较有帮助。

1 optimist   

n.乐观的人，乐观主义者

参考例句：

• We are optimist and realist.我们是乐观主义者，又是现实主义者。
• Peter,ever the optimist,said things were bound to improve.一向乐观的皮特说，事情必定是会好转的。

2 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

4 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 quirk   

n.奇事，巧合；古怪的举动

参考例句：

• He had a strange quirk of addressing his wife as Mrs Smith.他很怪，把自己的妻子称作史密斯夫人。
• The most annoying quirk of his is wearing a cap all the time.他最令人感到厌恶的怪癖就是无论何时都戴著帽子。

7 pessimist   

n.悲观者；悲观主义者；厌世

参考例句：

• An optimist laughs to forget.A pessimist forgets to laugh.乐观者笑着忘却，悲观者忘记怎样笑。
• The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.悲观者在每个机会中都看到困难，乐观者在每个困难中都看到机会。

8 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

9 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

10 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

11 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

12 pessimists   

n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说，我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网

13 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

14 obsess   

vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰

参考例句：

• I must admit that maps obsess me.我得承认我对地图十分着迷。
• A string of scandals is obsessing America.美国正被一系列丑闻所困扰。

15 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

16 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

17 ravages   

劫掠后的残迹，破坏的结果，毁坏后的残迹

参考例句：

• the ravages of war 战争造成的灾难
• It is hard for anyone to escape from the ravages of time. 任何人都很难逃避时间的摧残。

18 constructively   

ad.有益的，积极的

参考例句：

• Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented, with no time for boredom. 如此富有意义地利用业余时间来进行收藏，会使人怡然自得，无暇烦恼。
• The HKSAR will continue to participate constructively in these activities. 香港会继续积极参与这些活动。

19 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

20 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。