What characterizes a pessimistic personality?

Do you wonder if it is necessarily negative to have a pessimistic personality? Some authors like Jean Cocteau say that “my pessimism is nothing but a variety of optimism.” Is it something normal? Or maybe there are different ways to be pessimistic?

Pessimism has a reputation for being one of the worst filters that we can incorporate into the perception of reality, both internal and external. More than one believes that it is a way of thinking where everything is bad, dark and sad.

However, this is a cliché that we must combat. This personality should not be associated with sadness in a mandatory way.. Although there are certain common characteristics in pessimists, not all of them are sad. Let’s find out why.

What is a pessimistic personality like?

We can define a pessimistic personality as a form of behavior and thinking characterized by judging everything in the worst way.. That is to say, whatever happens or could happen will always be interpreted from a perspective that does not predict a good outcome.

But now we must think if this is really related to sadness. That is to say,This way of seeing the world really implies that the individual is depressed or suffer emotional pain of a certain magnitude?

The truth is, no. That is to say, There are pessimistic people who really have no hope. in which a specific situation or all of them can improve. In this case, symptoms such as depression or learned helplessness may appear. They do not fight and they do not make an effort because everything will go positively.

However, there is another type of pessimistic personality that does maintain hope. Even though your experience leads you to think negatively or put yourself in the worst-case scenario as a form of defense, it does not mean that you really believe that everything will always go wrong.

Characteristics of a pessimistic personality

Be that as it may, A person with a pessimistic personality, whether more or less sad, usually always presents a series of common characteristics that defines it well. Do you think we see the best known ones?

In search of the truth: a pessimist comes face to face with the truth, without restrictions or hot towels. They prefer an unpleasant reality to being treated in a condescending way or to being sugarcoated in a situation that is really not pleasant.Your attention will always go to the negative: Individuals with this personality type emphasize the bad. For this profile, it is assumed that what is good works as it should, so it does not attract their attention. But when faced with any problem or something that is not right, they do not normalize it, but rather they detect it and report it.Your expectations are always low: As we said, a pessimistic personality can be a form of defense. Thus, these people create their own shield that defends them from frustration. With this protective shell, they logically do not have great hopes for the future. Their expectations are very low and they know that to improve them they need to make sacrifices and work hard.They are very resistant: In the face of complex processes, such as grieving or losing a job, they show enormous resistance. They experience bad moments as a logical part of life. They are aware that bad things are going to happen no matter what they do, so they accept it, cushion the effect and show fairly high emotional stability.It is not a pathology: Many believe that pessimism is a pathology or part of it, but it does not have to be that way. Sometimes it’s a simple pattern. Also for many profiles it is part of a way of being realistic. Now, it may be part of a psychological disorder such as depression, and may be found as a symptom.

Some people hide pessimism: It is not strange, given that it is not seen well socially, that many hide it. In a world in which personal improvement and the path to success seem to be what prevails, many individuals hide their true way of being, more realistic and pessimistic. However, it goes against their nature and can cause stress.

You know what If they call you a person with a pessimistic personality, you don’t have to take it as something negative.. In fact, it is not synonymous with sadness and could even be an example of emotional stability and realistic thinking. There are those who think that it could even be a tool to create a more positive future, although that is another story…

Is there a middle ground?

In the same way that there are pessimistic people, there are overly optimistic people who suffer when things don’t go their way. So finding a middle ground could be a great advantage. From the Buddhist Psychology they talk about the Equanimity. What does it consist of? Is about Do not cling to the positive or add fuel to the fire of the negative. It’s not about being a “plant” either. Taken to a practical point of view, it would translate into not expecting the worst result but also not the best, simply not forming expectations, or at least, not clinging to them.

This way, whatever happens, it will not affect us in such a negative way. Nor is it about becoming nihilistic. We can fight for what we want, but aware that it can turn out the way we want or in a different way. Accepting that not everything is under our control takes a great weight off our shoulders.. If we give our best at work but the result is not what we expected, knowing that setbacks can always occur will free us from great discomfort.

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