Can positivity help you shift a cold quicker?

[C1239]

I know it sounds stupid but do you think if you are generally a positive person or think I’m not going to come down with that cold the rest of the family have it can help shift it quicker or not catch it in the first place?!

I’ve never heard this before and can’t begin to understand why it would be the case? Is there any science behind that @Nimbostratus100 ?

With certain types of illness it is because "positivity" and "mind over matter" is actually just plain old denial of reality.

So people will ignore serious symptoms for as long as possible, for example.

Or they will not keep appointments, dismiss regular tests to monitor their condition as negative worrying.

Happens regularly with type 2 diabetic men who lose toes, for example, because they ignore and put off going to the doctor because of course they don't need it, it's just a nonsense and mind over matter...and then when they do go, things are bad.

No-positive mental attitude can't stop a cold.

I don’t think it’s quite as clear as “being positive” or “having a positive mindset”, but being depressed can suppress your immune system to some extent and so you will be more susceptible to viruses. Since people who are depressed tend to be more pessimistic, there is probably a correlation between being more positive and not getting so sick.

That doesn’t mean you can make yourself healthier by trying to will yourself to be more positive and telling someone to “be positive” as some sort of health advice is not at all helpful.

First Defence works well! It you catch it early enough.

Positive thinking no - but being stressed can run down the immune system. As does lack of sleep. So on a general level - if you are not stressed, sleep well, eat well (which I guess makes you feel happier) then that can help the immune system. But on a long term basis.

I think sometimes you feel better if you just keep your chin up and crack on rather than wallowing. Actual recovery time will be the same.

I'm ill now, flu that has turned into pleurisy. I've more chance of flying to the moon than feeling better through positive thinking, I'm fucked.

Annoyingly when you have cancer people constantly tell you to keep positive. That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the OP. I’m sure a positive attitude helps you cope to an extent but I felt like lamping people that kept telling me to be positive about my stage 4 cancer 🙄.

I think it can affect how bad you feel/how you cope with the illness, but not getting it or the actual symptoms.

If you're generally enjoying life you're more likely to be able to push on through a cold that might see you staying on the sofa for a few days when things aren't going so well.

I dont know, but I would suspect that people who are more optimistic about the outcomes of their condition are perhaps not so conscientious about taking all precautions and advice, maybe, I dont know.

But there has never been any evidence that a positive mindset helps improve outcomes, and several studies that indicate the reverse, in studies on cancer patients, etc

First day of cold is a duvet day for me. Just sleep as much as possible. I stayed in bed a lot today with my cold. OH on the other hand pushes on, his colds last longer sometimes to chest infection levels.

No.

I find taking to my bed, or at least the sofa, for a day or two seems to make a cold go away more quickly. If I try and "soldier on", they seem to last 3 times as long.

100% - positivity can help beat a cold! I say this as an educated PhD student who is aware of the mind-body connection. More of this research will come to light in the next couple of years. Your subconscious mind is very powerful. There are many stories about ‘miraculous’ survivors of cancer and other diseases through the power of the subconscious mind.

So people who don’t survive cancer just don’t have a positive enough mind?

Hahaha. Of course if you think positively enough, you can fight off cancer too. Succumbing to illness is for the weak and negative.

No.

@DanceMonster I’m not implying that a positive mindset alone is directly linked to cancer survival . However, I am stating that an individuals thought process along with their behaviour is associated with an improved prognosis and outlook. this is cited in highly reputable journals :)

hmm, so why is all the evidence pointing the other way? A more positive mindset is linked to poorer outcomes in cancer

no, all respected research shows the exact opposite

I rarely catch the colds my family get, and I'm quite a positive thinker in that way, but it's probably more down to my strong immune system

Can you point me in the direction of them?

@DanceMonster The power of the Subconscious mind by Dr Joseph Murphy, 67k reviews very highly rated

Also https://amp.theguardian.com/uk/2000/apr/16/theobserver.uknews2

This research was presented at the BPS (British psychological Society)

NO

This is utterly medieval.

You said "respected"? no it isn't

you implied "scientific"? no it isn't

stop your stupid pathetic "victim blaming" and try using a few critical thinking facilities if you have any

This is not an organisation that commands any respect, or a publication that is capable of any evaluative analysis.

Anyone can call themselves a "psychologist" anyone at all. Anyone student with any gap in their honours programme can plug it up with easy worthless psychology units, it is the least respected and least restricted academic discipline. I should know, I have seen many students through proper science degrees in hard disciplines in recent years, and seen them patch gaps with easy worthless psychology units when they need to, to make up a full programme - it doesn't impact too much on their employment prospects, as long as most of their units are really genuinely scientific, in fact it can be seen as an advantage to experience and understand the poor quality of scientific thinking in this sector, so yo are better able to evaluate wild and baseless claims like this when you come across them.

This means absolutely nothing at all, other than a few nutters who think they are so superior to everyone else who are scientifically illiterate think it is ok to dial back literally a THOUSAND years to blame patients for their illnesses.

This is NOT science

This is NOT medical research

You need to be seriously ashamed of yourself for pedalling this crappy woo