Sandrine Thuret talks about the relationship between neurogenesis and mental health, and how they now think they have enough evidence to say that neurogenesis is a target of choice if we want to improve memory formation (capacity and quality) or mood, or even prevent the decline associated with ageing, or associated with stress.

How best can we do this?

According to the research, learning, sex, and aerobic activity all increase neurogenesis. Conversely, stress, lack of sleep, and ageing all reduce the natura l rate of neurogenesis. In terms of diet/nutrients, the following graphic indicates those elements, shaded in white, that increase the production of new nerve cells (e.g. blueberries), with the opposite applying to those things not shaded (e.g. high saturated fat) .

Not asking you to go around all 'doom and gloom' here, or to 'catastrophize', just to consider how we can use negative thinking creatively, and to positive effect. Julie K Norem, a professor of psychology from Wellesley College in the US, has done a lot of research into 'Defensive Pessimism', and has shared her findings in her book The Positive Power of Negative Thinking . She considers two approaches/perspectives on how we think and how we deal with life situations: that of the 'Strategic Optimist', who believes that things are always going to work out, and who doesn't dwell on potential failure, and the 'Defensive Pessimist', who does just that, becomes anxious about the 'what ifs', and needs to consider all eventualities. It's those in the latter category that we're most interested in here, and how we can harness this anxiety and perform well.

Whilst we will have a tendency - a disposition - towards optimism or pessimism generally, which will influence our overall outlook on life, the two are not mutually exclusive, and rather than being at opposite ends of the same scale, they have their own distinct dimensions. And as Julie Norem says in her book, "people may be high in optimism (or medium or low), but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are low (or medium or high) in pessimism". Furthermore, we can apply strategies discriminatingly in an optimistic or pessimistic way depending on the specific circumstance/situation.  

Optimism quite rightly gets a 'good press' with all the potential benefits that will accrue: it's useful for motivation, expectations, health, meeting challenges, performing at our best and so on. But what if you tend more towards a 'pessimistic' viewpoint, and an anxious temperament? This isn't a refutation of positive psychology, more it's a guide/reference work if you have a tendency to anxiety, when 'thinking optimistic' can be counter-productive. The book explores how we can benefit from defensive pessimism - which means using this pessimism in a helpful, productive way.

Which category do you fall into? You can take Professor Norem's 2-minute test here.

Typically, strategic optimists will have a sense of control/of personal agency; be unrealistically optimistic; have overly positive self-evaluations and discount or ignore criticism. These 'positive illusions', in effect distorting reality, help to maintain a positive self-concept, and avoid anxiety, not dwelling on potential negative outcomes etc

With defensive pessimism, one learns to tolerate negative emotions, accept that things may be difficult, have low expectations, but consider all the options, identify the issue and come up with a plan for dealing - mentally rehearsing how to deal with an anxiety-inducing situation for example - and as a result feeling more in control. There is hope for a defensive pessimist, as in 'hope for the best, but prepare for the worst' (this 'worst' is the defensive pessimist's version of distorting reality).

Here's Julie Norem talking about her research: "The basic finding that we've shown over and over in different contexts in our research is that people who are anxious do better when they use defensive pessimism than when they try to be optimistic. Even if you talk yourself into being upbeat and cheerful, you could still be crippled by anxiety when actually faced with the situation you have been dreading."

So, whilst we will have a tendency towards an optimistic or pessimistic outlook generally, the use of one or the other of these strategic 'strands' can be context-specific, and it's helpful to be so - i.e. it doesn't do to be overly optimistic in all circumstances. It's worth noting too that others can influence our strategic approach, according to our family environment/dynamic or the dynamic in a relationship with a partner (and what their approach is) for instance.

To recap, if you tend towards optimism, then great. But if you're a (defensive) pessimist, then great too!!

Take a look at some more on optimism and pessimism here.