Introduction
Positive thinking has grown to be seen of having great power in improving and curing illnesses. There are larger effects that positivity empowers. The interest that I gained to learn more of positive thinking and its effects stemmed from my family. With having two members suffer from cancer and witness what treatments, cures and hardships that they endured gave me a good insight of what cancer can do and what can disintegrate it. Positivity was strongly enforced among my family. This made me wonder, what can it actually do? During this outcome, it will be looked at what is positivity, the public’s understanding of positivity, the impacts of positivity, how positive thinking has affected carers of cancer patients, professional’s perspective of the effects of positive thinking and if it really impacts the results of cancer.
What is Positivity?
Positive thinking is defined to be the mental attitude that leads to expecting good results in the present or future. It is the development of processing thoughts into energy and then applying it to reality. This means allowing the thought of mind to process feelings to act positive to have a greater outcome. Negativity is the opposite of positivity. It is the denial and refusal attitude towards situations and thoughts . Depending on lifestyles, there are a variety of ways in which people choose and how they apply positivity into their lives. An important stage is to believe. Believe that positivity is true and that it
(Myers and Dewall, pg.30). If I wake up and I am thinking to myself that this is going to be a bad day, it affects me and I will usually have a bad day. It has been said that positive thinking will produce a positive outcome. According to Darshan Goswami, “Some long term studies on positive thinking and health have been conducted that confirms positive thinking strengthens the immune system and assists in healing.” (The Power of Positive Thinking) By my own observations, I agree with this statement. When I have gone to work thinking that I do not want to be there and that it will be a bad day, I end up having a bad day. The opposite holds true as well. My emotions can have an influence over my health. When I get too upset about something at work, it will literally make me sick to my stomach and end up giving me a headache. If I dwell on not feeling well it can literally make me feel sick. This is another example of how negative and positive thinking can affect health. This gives way to our body’s neural communications and how they send messages to other
Positive concepts view health as a state of well-being as an individual might feel well even if they have a disease. When asked how they feel they might express that they 'feel great today' even if they are suffering from a serious illness.
I believe that in life you have to have a positive mindset on the things you do. Having a positive mindset will influence the things that you do. If you are constantly being negative then negative things will happen to you, but if you are positive, positive things will happen to you.
In his article, The Power of Negative Thinking, Oliver Burkeman discusses the realities behind excessive optimism and the benefits to negative thinking. Specifically, Burkeman argues that positive thinking hinders the preparation and motivation necessary to tackle actual real world problems whereas negative thinking allows for such preparation. His argument’s strengths come from his constant use of logic in regards to his evidence whether it be the “fire walkers” in the first paragraph or the opinions of Barbara Ehrenreich in the paragraph nine. In short, Burkeman does a superb job of championing the benefits of pessimism through his criticism on positive thinking.
Scientists have begun to realize that positive thinking can not only help during conflicts,but during everyday life. An article from the Huffington Post gives insight into this,”The benefits of positive emotions don’t stop after a few minutes of good feelings subside. In fact, the biggest benefit that positive emotions provide is an enhanced ability to build skills and develop resources for use later in life” (Clear). James Clear (taking insight for notable psychology experts) explains how positivity improves emotion and life quality. He also states that positivity is a useful resource in all social situations as well as
In the strength of positivity, an individual is often smiling, praising other people for their accomplishments, smiling and always keeping a positive attitude in every situation (Rath, 2007). The eager for enjoyment in life is very attracting, as an individual with positivity strength views the world in a better place. As this person comes in contact with other people in this world, a positive vibe is transformed into their lives. Even if negative things are happening around this individual, the positivity strength defeats and overcomes the negative energy (Rath,
There are skeptics who believe positive thinking practices are a mere trend and wants society to stop encouraging it. Myth buster and author of Bright-Sided, Barbara Ehrenreich, goes as far as saying positive thinking has damaged America. In her book she comes down on positive thinkers insisting they need to be more realistic about the struggles that undoubtedly are coming into their lives. Disagreeing with certain peoples’ beliefs about the method of simply thinking goals into existence.
Thinking positively can be a difficult task, no matter the circumstance. When negativity fills you up like helium in a balloon you should always try to find the light in the darkness. Thinking positively doesn’t make the hard times disappear, it helps you survive negativity and the daily conflicts that challenge you. Looking on the bright side of things increases attentiveness, improves your ability to think, and leads to happier thoughts (Psychology Today). No matter what you are going through, you should always stay optimistic. “Man’s Search for Meaning” and “Dear Miss Breed” are great examples of how having a bright outlook can help you survive conflict.
For example, I attend college and I have to write this essay, struggling to get ideas out of my head. I always tell my parents that school is difficult and I want to quit college. They tell me this isn’t the right way to think of college, of course it will be tough, but it takes you to a better future. Without the knowledge of positive thinking, there would be so much negativity and people struggling to find definite answers to their own questions and concerns.
Winch takes a personal turn on this statement, his brother was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and his cancer was aggressive. Winch explains that he couldn’t stop thinking about everything his brother was going through, but his brother was extremely positive throughout it all. He explains what he did to continually break the negative thinking, “An so each time I had a worrying, upsetting, negative thought, I forced myself to concentrate on something else until the urge passes. And within one week my whole outlook changed and became more positive and more hopeful.” This is the kind of information that needs to be taught at a younger age along with
The Power of Positive Thinking Annotated Bibliography Smith, Dr Curtis E. Applied Power of Positive Thinking. Inspiring Voices, 2014. People struggle with issues of which they seem to be lacking adequate solutions to them. In this book, Dr. Curtis presents a formula that can help us to transform hopeless situations into opportunities.
treatment continuum, as clients transitioned through the use of mindfulness to hope and then to setting goals, certain results were noted; negative affect began to decrease, while positive affect and quality of life in regards to one’s mental health began to increase (Thornton, et al., 2007). It could be assumed that the use of mindfulness and hope would also demonstrate similar results for those individuals who are experiencing the cancer diagnosis for the first time.
Positivity is about always looking at the bright side of things. For instance, when walking in school, and seeing a student with their head down, could possibly mean that they are upset. Going up to them and sharing a positive quote or telling them that everything will be alright, could change their attitude. They might feel much better about themselves, or what they were upset about. Positivity could also be a changemaker in your community. For example, if a member of your community was stressed, or just going through a tough time, you could share some positivity with them. When sharing with them all of the good things in life, they might just feel much
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help you notice the discouraging thoughts that make you feel bad. These thoughts are sometimes called irrational or automatic thoughts. Using Cognitive-behavioral therapy you can learn to stop these thoughts and replace them with helpful thoughts. Positive thinking, or healthy thinking, is a way to help you stay well or cope with a health problem by changing how you think. Its based on research that shows that you can change how you think. And how you think affects how you feel. If you think in a positive way, you may be more able to care for yourself and handle lifes challenges. You will feel better. And you may be more able to avoid or cope with stress, and depression.
POSITIVE THINKING IS A MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ATTITUDE THAT FOCUSES ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE AND EXPECTS POSTIVE RESULTS.