Being able to see a negative experience as an opportunity for growth and improvement not only reduces depression, but also has health benefits, a new study suggests.
A Stanford study found that people who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic and reframed their experience as an opportunity for personal growth showed measurably lower levels of inflammation in their blood three months after making this mental change. The findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet that mindset can directly alter human biology.
The research, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, shows that maintaining optimism in the face of hardship not only protects mental health, but also supports physical health by reducing inflammation, a process tied to depression, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.
Maintaining optimism in the face of hardship doesn’t just protect mental health; it also supports physical health by buffering against stress and inflammation, which are key drivers of chronic disease.
The trial, conducted two years after the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset by researchers from Stanford’s Mind and Body Lab, tested whether a brief mindset intervention could shift how people framed their COVID-19 pandemic experience.
A total of 379 participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Those in the control group watched short videos recapping the COVID-19 pandemic’s timeline and answered questions to test their knowledge. Those in the intervention group watched videos promoting the idea that “catastrophes can be opportunities in the long term” and citing research on how people often grow after disasters through deeper relationships, stronger resilience, renewed spirituality, and a greater appreciation for life.
Participants also reflected on ways to promote a growth mindset. Three months after the intervention, their C-reactive protein—a marker of inflammation linked to depression and chronic disease—dropped from 2.02 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to 1.88 mg/L, while the control group’s rose from 2.05 mg/L to 2.17 mg/L.
Depression scores also improved more in the mindset group, indicating that changes in mindset directly mediated these biological effects.
Why This Matters
Major catastrophes such as wars, pandemics, and natural disasters are well-known triggers for mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In fact, during the first year of COVID-19, global rates of depression surged by 25 percent.
Mental health problems, in turn, can feed into physiological problems.
Prolonged stress floods the body with cortisol and adrenaline, weakening immunity and driving chronic inflammation. In turn, this persistent inflammation is strongly linked to depression, anxiety, and a host of chronic diseases.
Yet while catastrophes are known to leave lasting scars, they can also spark what psychologists call post-traumatic growth: positive shifts in identity, meaning, or relationships forged in the aftermath of hardship. These mental growths, as the Stanford study suggests, may also improve physical health.
The Healing Power of the Mind
The idea that the mind shapes health, for better or for worse, isn’t new. Across cultures, from traditional Chinese medicine to modern psychology, it’s long been observed that thoughts and emotions influence the body in profound ways.
“Chinese medical traditions follow the belief that everything in the body is connected, and this includes the mind and the body,” Jamie Bacharach, a medical acupuncturist at the Acupuncture Jerusalem Clinic, told The Epoch Times.
In this view, the mind and body are never considered separate but part of a broader system, meaning that a problem in one will inevitably affect the other.
In traditional Chinese medicine, emotions are believed to shape the flow of “qi,” or energy, through the body.
“Negative emotions, like anger or worry, can weaken or disrupt this flow, leading to physical health issues,” Bacharach said.
Modern research echoes this ancient perspective. Mindsets—the deep-seated beliefs we hold about ourselves and the world—can tilt our physiology toward either health or disease. For instance, a growth mindset, the belief that difficulties can be opportunities for learning and resilience, is linked to lower stress levels and reduced risk of mental health problems.
Positive emotions such as forgiveness and love also have physiological effects.
In one study, patients who were asked to recall injustices they hadn’t forgiven showed constricted blood flow to the heart.
“Once they forgave, they experienced more blood flow through their hearts than patients who were given typical heart health information,” Robert Enright, one of the study’s researchers, told The Epoch Times.
Eric Goodman, a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders who was not involved in the study, illustrated the point with a simple experiment: Think of your least favorite person and notice the tension or racing heart. Now picture someone you love. Almost instantly, the body calms, stress hormones drop, and oxytocin begins to flow.
“You created that shift, and it didn’t take long,” Goodman said.
Long-Term Health Effects
Negative mindsets can have lasting consequences. Lingering emotions such as resentment and regret can keep the body locked in a state of chronic stress.
A 2018 longitudinal study found that people who habitually held on to negative feelings about daily stressors—from arguments to secondhand stress over loved ones’ struggles—were more likely to develop chronic health conditions a decade later.
Enright said unresolved wounds from trauma such as abuse and betrayal can trap people in cycles of rumination and stress, which over time weaken the immune system and leave people more vulnerable to illness.
Meanwhile, maintaining a positive mindset can improve health outcomes. For instance, cancer patients undergoing treatment who have a hopeful, proactive mindset report fewer side effects and respond better to treatments.
Dr. Yusuf Saleeby of Carolina Holistic Medicine suggested embracing integrative health care, in which healing is achieved by connecting the body, mind, and soul.
How to Cultivate a Positive Mindset
The Stanford researchers emphasized that cultivating a mindset is not the same as blind positive thinking or ignoring hardship. Their intervention highlighted that “acknowledging trauma can coexist with identifying opportunities for growth.”
Goodman noted that toxic positivity can lead people to suppress painful emotions. That may work temporarily, he said, but eventually, “something snaps.” Others may fall into threat-based self-talk—“I’d better think positive thoughts, or else!”—which only backfires.
A more helpful approach, Goodman said, is cultivating “mental flexibility, the ability to direct your mind toward the bigger picture instead of being trapped in the tunnel vision of threat.”
Another powerful shift is directing attention toward compassion, becoming aware of suffering in yourself and others and committing to easing it. Goodman noted that with practice, we can extend compassion to even our least favorite people by remembering that life is hard and that all of us are doing the best we can.
However, Enright cautioned that mindset shifts must be rooted in reality. Using forgiveness as an example, he said it isn’t about pretending everything is fine to feel better, but about seeing the offender in a broader, more compassionate light.
The experts suggested simple ways to put these mindset shifts into practice:
- Keep a gratitude practice, even for a few minutes daily.
- Stay present and grounded in the current moment.
- Practice self-compassion and nonjudgment of yourself and others.
- Strive for balance with nourishing food, movement, rest, and clear thinking.
- Use breath work or meditation to reduce stress responses.
- Remember the bigger picture and that we are all energy having a human experience.
