How being cynical can be bad for your health: expert warns that ‘glorification’ of negative views ‘harms us’
Being cynical is bad for your health, claims a leading psychologist.
Not only are cynics less mentally and physically healthy than positive thinkers, but they also die younger, said Dr. Jamil Zaki.
The psychologist, a professor at Stanford University, claimed that pessimists are more likely to suffer from depression and loneliness because they are ‘cut off’ from the ‘nourishment’ of the social world.
And he said that despite the popular belief that cynics are better at making better decisions or spotting liars, this is in fact not the case – and that the “glorification” of negative views “harms us”.
According to the Oxford dictionary, cynicism is the belief that people only do things to help themselves and not for good or genuine reasons.
Dr. Zaki told the Instant Genius podcast: “There is data from many studies showing that cynics die younger than non-cynics.
‘I think cynicism cuts us off from the nourishment 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 so much 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 from depression and loneliness more often than non-cynics,” he added. ‘It also worsens our physical health.’
The psychologist, director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab in California, US, said misanthropes often “want more power” than non-cynical people – but they don’t achieve it.
“In fact, they achieve it less because it turns out that success is usually not a matter of stepping on our peers, of trying to bruise everyone else as we climb to the top,” he continued.
‘Reaching the top is often a function of the ability to work together and build coalitions.
“So cynics think they can succeed by acting competitively and sometimes cruelly, but it turns out their view of success is far too limited.”
The psychologist said that “cynicism is spreading” because we are “teaching it to our children” – and that Generation Z is the “most cynical ever” in the US.
The psychologist said ‘cynicism is spreading’ because we are ‘teaching it to our children’ – and that Generation Z is the ‘most cynical ever’ in the US (file image)
“Research from around the world shows that parents believe that to keep their children safe and help them succeed, they need to teach their children that the world is dangerous and competitive,” he said.
“In other words, we want our children to live better lives than we did.”
But Dr. Zaki said this is a “backward strategy” and we need to find an alternative.
He said that this negative view of the world is “comfortable” for many people and that by escaping it people will be “healthier” and “happier.”
The psychologist added: ‘I feel that if I never expect anything from anyone, no one can disappoint me.
“I think that’s a huge source of cynicism: people who have been betrayed and hurt and don’t reasonably want to feel that way anymore.”