An important aspect of understanding the relationship between a person’s psychological tendencies and his physical health:
1) Optimism – a psychological tendency to concentrate on positive results, expect good things and believe in successful overcoming of difficulties;
2) Pessimism reflects persistent negative expectations, a sense of helplessness or a high probability of future failures.
These psychological tendencies not only affect a person’s daily behavior, but also extend to the nervous, immune and endocrine systems, making them directly related to the development or exacerbation of psychosomatic disorders. Optimistic people are more resilient to life’s stresses and use effective coping strategies – finding solutions, finding social support, and positively rethinking events. This reduces the excessive activation of the autonomic nervous system and the secretion of stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline). This protects them from the detrimental effects of chronic stress on the body and reduces the likelihood of developing physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, chronic headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and stress-related heart disease. In contrast, pessimistic people experience more intense physiological responses to psychological stress. Their nervous and endocrine systems are constantly activated, the secretion of stress hormones increases, and self-control and emotional regulation are weakened. These conditions lead to the accumulation of psychological stress, increasing the risk of developing chronic psychosomatic symptoms. In addition, their ability to adapt is reduced, and their sense of helplessness and loss of control increases, which exacerbates the negative impact on mental and physical health.