Being cynical is bad for your health, said a leading psychologist.
Cynics are not only less healthy mentally and physically than positive thinkers, but they also die younger, said Dr. Jamil Zaki.
The psychologist, a professor at Stanford University, stated that pessimists are more likely to suffer from depression and loneliness because they are “isolated” from the “food” of the social world.
And he said that despite the popular belief that cynics are better at making better decisions or spotting liars, that’s actually not the case, so the “glamorization” of negative opinions is “harming” us.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, cynicism is the belief that people only do things to help themselves and not for good or sincere reasons.
Dr Zaki told the Instant Genius podcast: ‘There is data from many studies that find that cynics die younger than non-cynics.
‘I think that cynicism is separating us from the food of the social world.
“If you can’t be vulnerable with people, if you can’t open up, if you can’t make connections, you lose a lot of what makes life beautiful in the first place, but also what makes us healthy.”
Dr. Jamil Zaki is a psychologist and author at Stanford University. He said that cynics are not only less mentally and physically healthy than positive thinkers, but they also die younger.
“I really think this is hurting us.”
Dr. Zaki said that cynical people are not only worse at making “better” or “more accurate” decisions, but they are also “less mentally healthy.”
“Cynics suffer more from depression and loneliness than non-cynics,” he added, “and this also worsens our physical health.”
The psychologist, director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory in California, USA, said that misanthropes often “want more power” than non-cynical people, but fail to achieve it.
“In fact, they achieve less because it turns out that success is usually not a matter of trampling on our colleagues, of trying to hurt everyone as we climb to the top,” he continued.
‘Often getting to the top is a function of being able to cooperate and build coalitions.
“So cynics think they can succeed by acting competitively and sometimes cruelly, but it turns out their view of success is too narrow.”
The psychologist stated that “cynicism is spreading” because we are “instilling it in our children” and that Generation Z is “the most cynical ever recorded” in the United States.
The psychologist said that “cynicism is spreading” because we are “instilling it in our children” – and that Generation Z is “the most cynical ever recorded” in the US (file image)
“Research from around the world finds that parents believe that to keep their children safe and help them succeed, they must teach them that the world is dangerous and competitive,” he said.
“In other words, we want our children to live a better life than we did.”
But Dr Zaki said this is a “backwards strategy” and we need to find an alternative.
He said that for many people this negative view of the world is “welcoming” and that by escaping it, people will be “healthier” and “happier.”
The psychologist added: “There is a feeling that if I never expect anything from anyone, no one can disappoint me.”
“I think a big source of cynicism is people who have been betrayed and hurt and who reasonably don’t want to feel that way again.”