Coping With a Pessimist
BRby SusanBRBRCoping with a pessimist can be frustrating to say the least.nbsp; When we have a tendency to be depressed,nbsp; pessimistsnbsp;pose anbsp;real threat to our own mental health.nbsp;nbsp; We may even find ourselves becoming more negative and pessimistic in our own thinking thus increasing our depression.nbsp;nbsp; It can also increase our anxiety as we worry whether the pessimist was right andnbsp;whether the sky will fall ifnbsp;we continue on this path.nbsp; BRBRAccording to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, pessimism from the Latin Ipessimus/I (worst), is a painful state of mind which negatively colours the perception of life, specially with regard to future events.nbsp;Value judgementsnbsp;may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "is the glass half empty or half full?" situation. The degree in which situations like these are evaluated as something good or somethingnbsp;bad can be described in terms of one'snbsp;optimism or pessimism respectively. Throughout history, the pessimistic disposition has had effects on all major areas of thinking. BRBRI can remember my dad being pessimistic about many things.nbsp; He was always telling us things like, "don't climb the trees, you might fall out and get hurt".nbsp;nbsp; My husband also has a real tendency to be pessimistic and thereby put a damper on some of the things I have wanted to do.nbsp;nbsp; I try to consider his point of view and weigh it against my own.....being careful not to automatically discard my own.nbsp; This keeps me on the ball and makes me think....sometimes more than I wanted to.nbsp; Sometimes it would be nice not to listen to warnings of doom and gloom. BRBRI suppose a balance of optimism and pessimismnbsp;makes for good judgements.nbsp; I believe we have to stay on our toes and keep our wits about us in order to remain optimistic when we are trying to cope with a pessimist.nbsp; Don't let their negativity start coloring your thoughts and bring you down.nbsp; It can be a battle so stay alert!nbsp;