Stress makes people better at processing bad news

[Judi Lynn]

Date:
August 6, 2018
Source:
University College London

Feeling stressed or anxious makes people more able to process and internalise bad news, finds a new UCL-led study.

The Wellcome-funded research, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, reveals that a known tendency of people to take more notice of good news than bad news -- the optimism bias -- disappears when people feel threatened.

"Generally, people are quite optimistic -- we ignore the bad and embrace the good. And this is indeed what happened when our study participants were feeling calm; but when they were under stress, a different pattern emerged. Under these conditions, they became vigilant to bad news we gave them, even when this news had nothing to do with the source of their anxiety," said co-lead author Dr Tali Sharot (UCL Experimental Psychology).

Previous studies have shown that people are more likely to incorporate information into their existing beliefs if the information is positive. Such optimism can be good for well-being and keep people motivated, but can be unhelpful when people underestimate serious risks, so the researchers were seeking to understand if the general human tendency to prioritise good news might vary depending on other conditions.

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180806152034.htm

[qazplm135]

1. my poor kitty is in the hospital right now

with heart disease and probably lymphoma.

doc removed fluid from her heart and chest, and she's doing MUCH better and he's going to start her on some drugs and I can take her home tonight.

Doesn't mean she's out of the woods, but should mean she's ok in the short term (that and when I visited her last night she had more energy than she'd had in a week and seemed like her old, feisty self).

but I can attest to the fact that the stress and bad news of the last week (she almost died yesterday morning before making a strong recovery) has me on edge and ready for more bad news. The vet calls this afternoon ostensibly to confirm what we already 99% suspect, that she has lymphoma, but I'm definitely on edge and expecting to hear some new fresh bit of bad news...even though intellectually, I know I've probably received all the bad news I'm going to get in the short-term.

And I am generally a very optimistic person. So this studies rings true to me.