New health research directed toward Cynicism defines a cynic as a person with little faith in human nature. A cynic is someone who is critical, skeptical and inclined to doubt all accepted opinions. A cynic is someone who expresses harsh criticism of others, scoffs at things and distrusts people and their ideas and proposals.
It is a well-known and accepted fact that a person’s view of life and their attitude and personality have an impact on their health. It has been found, in the past, that a cynical outlook is linked to heart disease. Now, this new, most recent, research points to a link to dementia as well.
The new study characterized cynicism as; “a dismissive or contemptuous attitude towards other people’s beliefs, ideals, hopes and values, a tendency to believe only the worst about people such as believing that everyone is basically devious, and motivated purely by selfishness, criticism that is openly expressed in the form of distrust fault-finding and mockery. Cynics have pessimistic expectations and believe that the most likely outcome of any situation is the opposite of what everyone else is hoping for.”
There is a Cynical Distrust Scale that contains items that you rate to determine your degree of cynicism. Here is a sample you can use for yourself.
“I think most people would lie to get ahead. Most people inwardly dislike putting themselves out to help other people. Most people make friends because friends are likely to be useful to them. It is safer to trust nobody. Most people are honest chiefly through fear of being caught. I commonly wonder what hidden reasons another person may have for doing something nice to me. Most people will use somewhat unfair means to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it.” No one cares much what happens to you.”
Do you agree with any of these statements? If you find that you are cynical, make every effort to change, if you can, for the sake of your health.
Patricia Frank is a Licensed Psychotherapist. She can be reached at 305- 788-4864, Psychotherapy.a2z@gmail.com
