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Can Negative Thinking Make You Sick?

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Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    sr03u1lsnj79.jpg

    o:)

    Frankly, I've always found these facts quite comforting. No matter how much I screw things up, the universe is gonna be OK . . . so I can relax. ;)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    sr03u1lsnj79.jpg

    o:)

    Frankly, I've always found these facts quite comforting. No matter how much I screw things up, the universe is gonna be OK . . . so I can relax. ;)

    Same here. That's how I got that reputation as a pessimist.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    As for negative thinking making one ill, hell if one keeps claiming they're always sick, IMO they will be sick. If they are always filled with dread, then they will never be happy. And as mentioned, it's stress so it compromises the immunity system if done enough.

    I keep forgetting I have Lupus and bad scoliosis and can't do things I always did until my body reminds me. Doesn't have anything to do with negative thinking. So negative thinking, I content, is not the origin of all or most disease states.

    However, living with my mom, who has Cushing Disease, I see the effects of high stress Hormones daily... And boy do they ever take a toll on a body. She can do very little because her produces tons of cortisol like a runaway train of stress, but I'd say that the physiological damage of chronic stress is very, very real. It destroys entire organ systems, interferes with the immune system, and makes you miserable.

    I would recommend not letting stress control a person's life, it's got some nasty long term problems.
  • CoachBrafford
    CoachBrafford Posts: 27 Member
    Grey_1 wrote: »
    Title from the article:
    http://news.health.com/2015/06/26/can-negative-thinking-make-you-sick/

    I've always thought that this is one of those things that everyone knows, or was aware of in some aspect or another. I'm generally a very upbeat and optimistic person, but I'm around people all day who are not. I'm also aware there are many here who deal with negative emotions in one form or another. I thought maybe revisiting the subject may call some more awareness to it?

    We live in a time where bad vibes and hostility abound - I'd like to submit that it does not always have to be that way for most individuals. With some, it may simply take a reminder or kind word. Others may need medication and/or long term help, depending on the issues at hand.

    Personally, I find that if I choose to not let myself sweat the small stuff, I do tend to feel less exhausted at the end of the day. One small quote from the article:
    All this said, there is a big bright spot for every Negative Nancy out there: by simply changing your perspective, you may just improve your health. “We know that neural pathways are changing every minute of your entire life and that your brain is generating new cells throughout your life. And this neurogenesis is not only associated with the formation of new memories, but with mood stability, as well,” Simon-Thomas says.

    So cynics take heart—you have control over your attitude (and your well-being). As Simon-Thomas put it: “We can be deliberate about shifting our habits of feeling and thinking in the world.”

    I dunno - worth discussing good people of Myfitnesspal? :)

    In short it does... the brain IS connected to the stomach by a very small system in the body, one controls the other. But you want the whole breath of research herw it is
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/term=negative+thoughs+and+obesity

    But yes, negative thinking rebuilds the brain in a temporary way... often creating pathways that breakdown. Couple that with no sleep & now you can't tell if you're hungry.

  • chdawg23
    chdawg23 Posts: 2 Member
    I strongly believe negativity will make you very ill. Negativity is only one factor in something larger going on inside a person. Typically high stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition which all makes you feel exhausted and unhappy. When you are unhappy, human nature falls to the negative side because its easier, less work then training your brain to look at the good.

    I believe this is one of the major factors why I am now dealing with a very serious medical condition. I'm discoverying the importance of mindfulness, nutrition, meditation and the most difficult for me...making me the priority.

    Negativity is not good for anyone and life is short, we need to try to be as happy as we can be...for us, our loved ones and even those strangers we have brief encounters with. See how many people you can simply share a smile with, it will make one another's day
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    The stress response is supposed to work short-term to get us out of danger. Long-term unhappiness, stress, negative thinking results in a long-term stress response, which is definitely not good. Just happened upon a TED talk that talks about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drv3BP0Fdi8
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