I saw a piece of research saying that it is true, that depressed people see outcomes more realistically, while non-depressed people are in a state of constant self-delusion where they convince themselves things are better than they are
People that don't know me will initially assume that I'm the negative one on the team. A year later I'm the one dragging the others across the finish line, telling them that it's not that bad, even though my predictions did come true, right on schedule.
I was just being accurate, and a successful outcome despite predicted failures along the way is a pretty good result, even if it seemed negative to naively a optimistic person.
We foresaw the traps, stumbled, and yet we overcame! What's not positive about that?
Given the complexity of the universe, it pays to be self-deluded...you may experience more failure than the pessimist, but you will most likely benefit from a completely chance encounter that works out positively, when the pessimist will have written off the outcome and lost out on chance.
Both optimism and pessimism can be healthy or self-destructive, but on average it's probably easier to have healthy optimism than to have healthy pessimism.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42041926-the-scout-minds...
Very interesting examples and points being made.
If these traits were balanced, then we could be better prepared for the modern world.
At the same time, it can be argued this bias would provide some protection against having nothing to eat for far too long in the wilderness, which could prove fatal.
This is only true, I feel, under capitalism.
Pessimism saves lives when you are living close to nature. Only the positive idiot does not tread lightly over a frozen lake or a bear infested forest. And they usually end up dead.
Depression can often be masked by an overly cheerful go-happy and optimistic personality.
This is especially true in societies that frown on "negativity" and require people to look happy and smile often.
The character Mr Peanutbutter in Bojack Horseman is a good example.