Psychology says some people keep expecting the worst even when life is going well because..
You finally get the promotion you've worked towards for years. But instead of celebrating, a thought appears: "What if I can't live up to expectations?"
You finally get the promotion you've worked towards for years. But instead of celebrating, a thought appears: "What if I can't live up to expectations?" Your medical tests come back normal. "Maybe they missed something." Your relationship is going well. "What if it suddenly falls apart?" For some people, good news is quickly followed by the feeling that something bad must be around the corner. Read Full Story Psychology suggests this isn't always a sign of negativity. Researchers say the brain may be responding to uncertainty, learned experiences, defensive pessimism, negativity bias and hypervigilance, all of which can make it difficult to fully relax, even when life is going well. DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM CAN FEEL LIKE A WAY TO STAY PREPARED One explanation comes from Defensive Pessimism, a concept developed by psychologist Julie Norem. Defensive pessimism describes a strategy where people deliberately imagine possible problems before important events. Rather than expecting disaster because they enjoy worrying, they believe preparing for the worst will help them cope if things go wrong. Imagine someone flying overseas for a long-awaited holiday. Instead of simply looking forward to the trip, they mentally prepare for delayed flights, lost luggage and missed connections. Most of those things never happen. Yet imagining them creates a sense of being prepared. Research suggests this strategy can sometimes reduce anxiety, although relying on it constantly may also increase unnecessary worry. NEGATIVITY BIAS MAKES THE BRAIN PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THREATS Another explanation comes from one of psychology's best-established findings: negativity bias.
Researchers, including Roy Baumeister and colleagues, have shown that negative events generally have a stronger psychological impact than equally positive ones. From an evolutionary perspective, overlooking danger carried greater consequences than overlooking good news. Imagine receiving ten compliments at work and one piece of criticism. Many people remember the criticism first. The same bias can make people focus on what could go wrong even during happy periods of life. The brain isn't trying to spoil the moment. It's trying to protect it. INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY MAKES "WHAT IF?" QUESTIONS HARD TO IGNORE Psychologists studying Intolerance of Uncertainty have found that some people experience significant discomfort when outcomes remain unknown. Even when everything is going well, uncertainty still exists. Will the new job work out? Will the relationship last? Will this success continue? Because the brain cannot answer those questions with certainty, it sometimes keeps searching for possible risks instead. For some people, the unknown itself feels more stressful than the possibility of bad news. PAST EXPERIENCES CAN TRAIN THE BRAIN TO STAY ALERT The brain is constantly learning from experience. If someone's life has involved repeated disappointments, unexpected setbacks or unpredictable situations, the brain may gradually become more alert to signs that something similar could happen again. Psychologists often describe this as hypervigilance, a state of heightened awareness where people continuously scan for possible problems. Imagine someone whose previous jobs ended unexpectedly.
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