It turns out that 'looking at the future, not the past' is important for improving mood in a pandemic
In 2020, the pandemic of the new coronavirus will cause billions of people around the world to experience urban blockades, and even in 2021, severe infection prevention measures may be implemented. In order to cope with such uncertain situations and make them feel good, the research result that 'it is better to look at the future instead of the past' was reported.
Why living in the future, rather than the past, is key to coping with lockdowns – new research
The blockade of cities against pandemics creates uncertainty, fear, and isolation, which puts a lot of stress on people. Professor Jane Ogden, a professor of health psychology at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, is anxious and bored when she can't go out casually, and can't imagine the future, so many people pandemic by looking back on what happened once. Pointed out that he tends to deal with his anxiety.
It's not surprising that many people look to the past to deal with anxiety. Positive psychology researchers previously believed that there were three ways to improve well-being by incorporating them into treatment or daily self-care: nostalgia, gratitude, and the best possible self . .. Looking at one's past applies to 'nostalgia' in this.
All three means are characterized by having a specific time direction. 'Nostalgia' is accompanied by a sentimental admiration for the past by remembering an event, and 'thank you' focuses on the present self by thanking today's experience, 'the best possible self' Thinks about the best results in the future. Ogden and his team conducted a study to find out which of these three methods was the most effective in dealing with a pandemic.
The research team recruited 261 women between March and May 2020, the first city blockade in the United Kingdom, to investigate the impact of three different time directions on well-being. The subjects were 18 to 63 years old, and the research team instructed the subjects to think about 'nostalgia,' 'gratitude,' and 'the best possible self' in a two-minute session.
After the session, subjects were asked to evaluate their positive and negative emotions, social connections with others, self-esteem, and the meaning of life, and compared the results with those who did not have the session.
Then, it turned out that the subjects who thought about 'the best possible self' and 'gratitude', that is, the future and the present, felt a stronger social connection than the subjects who looked at the past through 'nostalgia'. They also found that subjects who thought about the future were more positive than those who thought about the past.
In an uncertain situation like a pandemic, memories of the past may feel nostalgic, but the research team said, 'Our research may feel lost when people compare the wonderful past with the uncertain present. It shows that there is no such thing. ' Instead of looking to the past, he said that gratitude for the present and hope for the future may be a good way to deal with the pandemic.
People often say when they are in pain, 'Thank you for your little happiness,' 'find joy in the little things in life,' and words that look at your current happiness, 'this will also pass,' and 'the end of the tunnel.' There are words that are oriented toward the future, such as 'there is light in.' The results of this survey support these words that emphasize the importance of the present and the future.
Compared to the city blockade in the first half of 2020, which the research team had hoped that 'if you endure the present, it will end by the summer', the city blockade that was implemented again after November is climatically and mentally severe. He pointed out that many people feel that they cannot see the future. Still, people have hope in the news that vaccination has begun, and argued that it is important to look to the future, 'what should we do next,' even in difficult situations.
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