Hope, optimism and delusion

McGuire-Snieckus, R (2014) 'Hope, optimism and delusion.' Psychiatric Bulletin, 38 (2). pp. 49-51.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1192/pb.bp.113.044438

Abstract

Optimism is generally accepted by psychiatrists, psychologists and other caring professionals as a feature of mental health. Interventions typically rely on cognitive-behavioural tools to encourage individuals to ‘stop negative thought cycles’ and to ‘challenge unhelpful thoughts’. However, evidence suggests that most individuals have persistent biases of optimism and that excessive optimism is not conducive to mental health. How helpful is it to facilitate optimism in individuals who are likely to exhibit biases of optimism already? By locating the cause of distress at the individual level and ‘unhelpful’ cognitions, does this minimise wider systemic social and economic influences on mental health?

Item Type: Article
Subjects: R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Divisions: School of Sciences
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Date Deposited: 02 Sep 2014 16:27
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:37
ISSN: 2053-4876
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/4149
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