How to Overcome Negativity Bias
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About the Show
On this episode, Chuck Gaidica is joined by Dr. William Beecroft, Medical Director of Behavioral Health for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. Together, they discuss negativity bias and ways to overcome it.
In this episode of A Healthier Michigan Podcast, we explore:
- What negativity bias is and how it develops
- Ways to overcome negativity bias
- How negativity bias impacts our health
Transcript
Chuck Gaidica:
Are we hardwired for negativity? This is a Healthier Michigan podcast, episode 147, and coming up we discuss negativity and the impact it can have on our wellbeing.
Are we hardwired for negativity? This is a Healthier Michigan podcast, episode 147, and coming up we discuss negativity and the impact it can have on our wellbeing.
Welcome to a Healthier Michigan podcast. It's a podcast dedicated to navigating how we can improve our health and wellbeing through small, healthy habits we can start implementing right now. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica, and every other week we'll sit down with a certified expert and we'll discuss topics that cover nutrition, fitness and a lot more. And on this episode, we're diving deep into how negativity can impact well our relationships, decision-making, and even the way we perceive things. With me today is Medical Director of Behavioral Health for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Care Network, Dr. William Beecroft. Good to have you back, doctor.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Good morning and thank you for your time. Appreciate it.
Chuck Gaidica:
Oh yeah. Well this is interesting because as you look at this information that's out there and our personal experience, as we know, it's kind of odd how negative moments in life can outweigh positive ones. And we always talk about that in our family about how some of the best memories from vacations are when the things go wrong, not necessarily the vacation when things go right. So there's that, but we could experience a great day overall and just one small negative experience can make us fixate on that moment where we forget the rest of all the positive stuff that happened during the day. And according to Columbia University research, it shows that we often remember negative or traumatic experiences over positive ones. Why is it that we put so much focus on negativity?
Dr. William Beecroft:
Well you pose a really good question. And one of the things to think about is evolutionarily, it's in our advantage as humans, as animals, to be thinking in negative terms. What can go wrong? Is there something behind that rock? Am I going to be killed? What's going to happen? So for survival, it probably at some point in our past was a real advantage to be thinking about what are the bad things that could happen rather than more Pollyannish thinking, everything's going to be fine and then get eaten by the saber tooth tiger. So it probably is something left over from our distant past in how we evolved. But you're absolutely right, people look at the negative and that destroys all of the positive things that have happened many times in their environment. Being able to turn that around though, and we'll talk about this more I'm sure, but turn that around into a positive of, "Well, wasn't that kind of an adventure that we ran out of gas in the middle of the desert in Nevada?" That kind of stuff. Looking at it from a different perspective.
Chuck Gaidica:
And the impacts that that negativity can have on us can affect us for a much longer period of time really than just that moment. It can stick with us for a while. Whether we laugh at it later because we got out of it, the tiger didn't jump out from around the rock or it turned into a big problem. It can really have an impact on us.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Oh, absolutely.
Chuck Gaidica:
So can you describe negativity bias? What that actually is, and then give us some other examples of it.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Well negativity bias would be more of that having the predisposition to think of things in negative terms. Goes without saying, it says it in the description itself.
Chuck Gaidica:
Right.
Dr. William Beecroft:
But being able to, as you pointed out, sometimes a positive experience can be negated by that negative thinking that it's always going to be bad. Going into a new event thinking you're going to fail, that would be a real common example of that. Public speaking, thinking that people are going to laugh at you or something's going to be odd or you're going to freeze up and not say the word correctly. So not looking at the positive potential outcomes, but the negative only. And that can be detrimental to you, it can be anxiety provoking, which can cause on a long-term chronic basis, if you're negative at work all the time, you're not going to like your work, you're not going to be as productive, you're not going to probably have as happy a demeanor. Consequently, people aren't going to like to be around you. The whole negative cascade that can really start up.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well that's where we get that phrase negative Nelly, right? I mean, we've been around people where that's all they're doing is looking at the other side of the story all the time.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Yeah. And in some work situations there is real need for that counterbalance. That you're not just going into it thinking everything will be fine, but really looking at all the bad consequences that could happen, the unintended consequences, to be able to then mitigate those before you launch a new program or before you launch a new product. So there is that balance and some people get rewarded substantially for that negativity and that kind of a circumstance.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well you talk about reward, that's very interesting. I spent a lifetime in the news business and it's not called the good news business, right doctor? It was the news business and it tends to focus on, they would probably say the unusual, and yet most of the things that happen in the day that are unusual that become lead stories and newscast are pretty negative things. I mean, there's something on fire, there's somebody got hurt, there's a lot of negativity that it doesn't all go back to the beginning of time when we're walking through the jungle. It may be that we are being programmed that bad news or negativity is something we should turn our heads and look for.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Oh, absolutely. In my usual morning routine, I check a couple different news outlets and it's all pretty negative. I didn't see any positive things on that this morning at all.
Chuck Gaidica:
And that's not just our perception, right? I mean obviously you've studied this, you deal with it with a lot of people that you've spoken to over the course of your career, but this isn't just our perception that it's negative. What you even experienced this morning, it truly was negativity.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Oh, absolutely. Again, we can talk about some ways of mitigating that, but with people with depressive disorders, that tends to be something that you have what Albert Ellis called stinking thinking a lot, and that really kind of flavors your day. It is really the negative aspect of life when you're depressed, things aren't going to get better. So you have to turn that around to be able to get more positive if you're going to make some improvement for that particular disorder and some anxiety disorders as well.
Chuck Gaidica:
How can then that issue that you may have, a personal issue, start to radiate out and affect one's relationships and interactions with others. You talked about it in a work setting, but it can obviously affect people in your own household.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Oh, absolutely. Whatever significant others you have in your house, your kids, other friends, if you're always negative about things kind of down in the mouth, always talking about the bad things that can happen. People don't really want to be around you that much. They may love you, they may care about you, but they're going to avoid you to a certain extent. They're going to be talking to other people that are more positive and that have something good to think about. So that can make you more isolated, which then becomes a negative cycle itself.
Chuck Gaidica:
I remember reading a few years ago an article about some of the talk shows, the Jerry Springer type shows, and the article pointed out that by research, a lot of people would say out loud that they watch that kind of show because they just want to see someone who's having a worse relationship or a problem in their life worse than their own. In other words, they're living in a negative situation, but they found that entertaining because at least there's somebody who's worse off than me. And I found that to be so peculiar that for many people they're attracted to negativity. This becomes an attraction. In this case, they're trying to find the kernel of, "Well, that guy's got it worse, so at least I'm not as bad off". It's a very interesting psychological dynamic of what made those TV shows ratings winners.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Yeah. I could see how that would work. And I firmly believe that that's probably very true because people want to be able to judge themselves against others.
Chuck Gaidica:
So if you recognize this in yourself, if you're self-aware enough to recognize that you've got a negativity bias of some kind, or somebody in your family has it, how do you start to overcome that? Let's start with just ourselves. We're aware of it. We've become, Hey, get off my lawn. I'm the grumpy old man syndrome. I'm kind of negative about stuff. But if I'm aware of it, what can I start to do to turn that around?
Dr. William Beecroft:
I think you can set, just like any habit, you can set some goals for yourself of being able to say one positive thing to another person every day and that's your goal. And then you get six months into it, you're making 100% of the time you're doing that every day. Now it's two. And work it up from there to be able to see that. And you'll see the rewards that come back from that. People will smile at you, they'll seek you out more frequently. They'll be more positive themselves when they interact with you if you're not always negative. And if people get positive feedback from you, if you say their name, say, "Hi, Joe, how are you doing today? Looks like your lawn's really nice". That's going to be something that will really have Joe want to talk to you more frequently, won't he?
Chuck Gaidica:
And I think that that's something too, that it ties in a way in my mind, I don't know if I'm correct in this, it kind of ties to that idea of us individually focusing on gratitude. Some people will journal during the day what they're grateful for. And so while I know it's a positive thing to do, just understanding that there's a lot in your life when you physically can look at what am I grateful for today? That can take away some of the negativity in the way that I would suspect I would be thinking if I'm looking at how many great things happen today right?
Dr. William Beecroft:
Absolutely. And that can really kind of, again, give you a positive reinforcing cycle. But the other piece of that may be rather than just doing issues of keeping track of it yourself, do something for someone else. Volunteer, give someone else some of your time, do a reading for a person that's shut in, those kinds of things can give a lot of positive reward to you and be positive thinking. It also can be the contagion, I guess, if you're going to think about it that way.
Chuck Gaidica:
No, that's great advice because we're in the season of giving. A lot of people think of it as a seasonal thing, and here we are. And I suspect that when we do focus on something bigger than self, it kind of makes time disappear for many of us. You kind of get in that flow state where you're just having fun with kids or seniors or whatever you're doing. You're helping at a warming center and you kind of lose track of time. And isn't that one of the things that can all take us away? We can sail away into a place that can be filled with many more positive experiences.
Dr. William Beecroft:
You're right. The negativity is really a two component part of it, and you hit one of them on the head there. Time, if you're negative all the time, you're going to think of the world in a very negative way. Whereas if you're negative only 50% of the time, then you're much less negative than you were before. So trying to be able to break up that time, break it up that you're not always thinking that way, that's going to be something that can be very helpful. And one of the things that I've helped with my depressed patients especially, is having them take a 3x5 card put down when they're feeling good, put down a activity that's going to move them from their physical location. They got to get up and move to do something that's positive, do the laundry, go do the shopping, go for a walk, take the dog for a walk, whatever it is that is going to get you physically moving and is positive to get a task done that is rewarding for you.
And when you start feeling that negativity and that discomfort with that, you go to the first one, you do that. You still feel negative, go to the second one. And that really breaks that cycle. And you don't have to think about it because it's stuck on your refrigerator. You go to the first one, go to the second, third, fourth, fifth, and by that time you're usually feeling a lot better.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah. That's interesting because that gives you a little muscle memory there too, as to where to look for those techniques or those things even in your past that have helped you get past those particular moments of negativity or depression. So we've talked about being self-aware and trying to work on ourselves. What if there's somebody in the immediate family or maybe your immediate workplace who's exhibiting this negativity bias? What is your suggestion of how do we now approach them? We can tell them well just start filling out a 3x5 card, but that may not go very well. What can we do to impact somebody who we care about, could be a coworker, could be your spouse, how to get through this, how to get past it, because it is affecting me. I feel down because you're negative. Now we need to fix it. How can I help somebody?
Dr. William Beecroft:
Right. It's important in those relationships to label behaviors, not to make it a personal attack. And I know that's a distinction that's hard to make sometimes. But the behavior, "John, you seem really down. You seem negative a lot. Is there anything positive that you can think about today?" Rather than saying, "You're always a downer, I don't like being around you because" you're downer all the time. It's like, well, that didn't do any good because it didn't help them to understand what the issue is. The issue is the behavior that they're showing you. So if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. If you're going to be negative all the time, don't tell me negative things. I want to hear something positive once in a while. If you can give me three negatives and one positive, I'm happy. Those kinds of things are behavioral focused that are going to be able to help that person move in a positive direction.
Chuck Gaidica:
I can see what you're talking about though with that distinction of not making it personal. Because for some of us, if you've encountered that negativity, you may not have mentioned it directly until you're ready to pop a gasket. You just get to the point where you're like, "Oh my gosh, I can't take it anymore". And that's when I suspect I look at, I'm trying to think back in my own life where I maybe have it turned personal. I didn't mean it to, but I just got to a breaking point where I was like, "Oh my gosh, you got to stop this". So I think that there is a way to practice that technique of helping someone where you're turning it toward being inquisitive, you're wrapping it in love, so it's not coming off as a personal attack.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Well, in that you also develop that communication. It's really important for couples, especially, to spend 15 minutes a day uninterrupted time together. Even if they don't talk. Just being close to each other and in the same room is really helpful to be able to strengthen the relationship. And being able to then talk about these kinds of behaviors really then chips away at that intimacy, that relationship building to be able to have it more solid. And ultimately the rewards of the individual that changes is pretty substantial. They've got a person that loves them, cares about them, wants to be with them. That's pretty warm and fuzzy stuff.
Chuck Gaidica:
So you talked about this 3x5 card hack way of dealing with something, which if someone's depressed this is an important thing to use, but what are some other practical techniques or exercises you would recommend for ourselves or helping somebody else to get through negativity bias?
Dr. William Beecroft:
Going back to identify one thing each day and then eventually that will grow to more frequently. Being able to look at the rewards that you do get when you say something positive. And I think the biggest one that I can think of is the issue of doing some volunteer, doing something for someone else. That gives you so much feedback. The 10% of effort you get that you do by giving to someone else, you get 100% of good feelings back about what you did. Even if they don't say thank you, you know you did it. And you know you went out of your way to do something positive for that person. And that itself is rewarding for the individual.
Chuck Gaidica:
You know what I find so powerful about that advice, doctor, is that oftentimes I've seen in my circle of not even intimate friends, someone who's serving at a shelter or something, they just started in a small way coming to volunteer and then they caught the fever. Whatever it is that they're doing in their lives to help other people becomes a thing where you talk to somebody and they say, "Oh, I've been coming here for 12 years now". It's like, wow, this isn't just, I did this for a day and tried to feel better. They caught the fever and it really became something in their lives that can give them purpose, passion by helping other people. So I think that's fantastic advice.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Yeah. Becoming a docent at a library or a museum, those kinds of things, it may tap into your own intellectual curiosity that you may learn more, but the people that you teach really makes a big difference. So that's kind of another example of that, how to be able to tap into those good things. And it's going to push you from being, you'd be at least neutral, not negative, and the positive feedback you get, "Thank you for teaching me that. That was really helpful". That's going to leave you, for the rest of the day, feeling pretty good about yourself.
Chuck Gaidica:
So when we talk about negativity bias, there are obviously ways that this can impact us physically, right? I mean, somebody will say, oh, I got to pit in my stomach from the way you're being negative or however that works out. The impacts on our health can also be something important. How can we overcome that relative to negativity bias?
Dr. William Beecroft:
Well I think that you point out a good issue there because if you're always looking at the negative aspects, you're going to get some abrasion from people close to you that's going to cause stress. You got issues of long-term stress can lead to heart problems, can lead to hypertension. You may eat too much. You may eat too many fatty foods or comfort foods that then you're going to gain weight, which is then going to have a consequence of hypertension, heart disease, possible strokes. So there's a lot of negative spiral that can happen physically to us if we do that over years especially, and don't change that attitude.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well as we wrap things up, give us some takeaways from all the good stuff we've talked about today relative to negativity bias.
Dr. William Beecroft:
Well it is something that you can do something about. You can change your attitude. Being able to develop that insight that most of the time I'm always negative, that's not a really good way of looking at things. Being able to have a different view of the world, that the glass is half or three quarters full, not almost empty. Those kinds of things make a huge difference. Being able to look at even a gray day that's rainy and cold is still a better day than being sick or a better day that you're not able to get up and around. So there's an awful lot of people, you talk about the Jerry Springer shows and that sort of things, awful lot of people worse off than you are in many cases, in most scenarios. So looking at what you have as positive things in your life, which you are happy for and fortunate to have. It doesn't take much to be fortunate to be up and moving around and walking, because a lot of people are in wheelchairs. A lot of people are unable to do those kinds of even physical activities. So you can get to the microcosmic kind of level if you want to think about it that way.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, Dr. Beecroft, it's good to have you back again. Nice to see you, and thanks for the great advice and all the info on this idea. It's an important one.
Dr. William Beecroft:
You're welcome and thank you for the time.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah, take good care. Dr. William Beecroft is Medical Director of Behavioral Health for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the Blue Care Network. And we want to thank you for listening to a Healthier Michigan podcast. It's brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. If you like the show, you want to know more, you can go to our YouTube site. You can find lots of episodes there. You can also check us out online, just go to ahealthiermichigan.org/podcast. You can leave reviews or ratings on Apple Podcast or Spotify, and you can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. You can get all the new episodes, old episodes. We're up to what episode 147. So we've got lots of great stuff for you there and you can take it with you, with your smartphone or tablet. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. I'm Chuck Gaidica. Be well.
