Seven ways to strengthen optimism to feel good in difficult times

The pandemic of the new coronavirus It has left psychological damage on the world population due to the rigid measures to prevent contagion, such as mandatory confinement or curfews. Besides the economic crisiswhich brought massive layoffs and the loss of thousands of lives.

All of the above has made many people not see the future with optimism and focus on difficult times. However, don’t worry because the optimism it can be learned, as explained by Maria Elena Escuza, director of the Norbert Wiener University School of Psychology.

“Optimism is a mental way of seeing things in a positive way. Each person usually acts with levels of optimism that have been given from his first years of life, by his genetics, the environment where he has developed or his family. Optimistic people, when faced with problems, are usually serene, they do not see things as fatalities but as opportunities to improve”, specified the specialist.

The specialist also comments that there are people who, due to their life history, have become pessimistic and tend to always see things from the negative side. However, being an optimist is a decision, because one can want to be an optimist and learn to be so. Therefore, Escuza shares seven ways to strengthen our optimism and feel good even in the most difficult moments:

1. Stay close to optimistic people.
2. Focus on the here and now don’t focus only on the future, because that creates anxiety.
3. Play sports: running, swimming, cycling, walking, etc., all this generates endorphins, substances that give pleasure to the body and release tension.
4. If you feel that you are a pessimistic person and recognize it, you have won half the battle.find ways of personal growth, practice meditation, relaxation or group therapy.
5. Go to a psychotherapist, it is always better that others help us to see the aspects of our life in which we want and must improve.
6. Meet with people who have interests similar to yours: reading, sports, etc. Socializing will always give us profits.
7. Accept the different ways of seeing other people’s lives, Not all of us think or feel the same. Always respect the opinions of others.

“Being optimistic is always very good, but the fact of being optimistic should not take away the perspective of reality. We cannot fail to recognize the reality we are facing in order to, from there, modify what we consider appropriate. Being optimistic does not mean seeing everything positive and that there are no negative aspects. The idea is to see things in their right dimension”, pointed out the specialist.