Optimism helps

Columns like the ‘Doomslayer’ series by Marion Tupy, and similar ‘rational optimism’ projects such as Steven Pinker’s ‘Enlightenment Now’ or Matt Ridley’s ‘The Rational Optimist’ are explicitly designed to counterbalance the daily flood of negative news. Human attention is naturally drawn to threats, disasters, and crises, a phenomenon psychologists call negativity bias. Media outlets amplify this by focusing on conflict and catastrophe, which can make the world feel far worse than it actually is.

Mario Tuby’s ‘Doomslayer’ columns help to correcting misperceptions. Many people believe the world is getting worse, when long-run data on poverty, health, literacy, violence, and technology shows steady improvement. Highlighting these trends doesn’t ignore real problems, but provides context that things can and often do improve.

The good news boosts a sense of agency and hope. Pessimism and helplessness are linked to depression. Seeing evidence of progress can foster a sense that human effort matters, problems are solvable, and individual or collective action isn’t futile.

Columns such as ‘Doomslayer’ help to rebalance mental focus. Consuming too much doom-scrolling content fuels anxiety and hopelessness. Reading evidence-based optimistic perspectives can function as a counterweight, helping people maintain a healthier mental balance.

They encourage constructive engagement because people who believe improvement is possible are more likely to innovate, invest, and engage socially or politically, which itself supports well-being and resilience.

That said, optimism columns are not a cure for depression or mental illness. Clinical depression involves biochemical, psychological, and social factors that often require therapy or medical treatment. But in the broader public mental health landscape, these positive narratives do appear to help combat the ambient pessimism that can worsen anxiety and despair.

Tupy’s Doomslayer columns and similar optimism-focused projects don’t replace professional care, but they can serve as an important cultural antidote to negativity bias, thereby helping people feel less hopeless and more resilient.

Several studies show negative effects from excessive exposure to worrying or negative news. Participants shown negative news for brief periods showed increases in anxiety, sadness and depression.

Optimism, on the other hand, correlates with better mental and physical health.

There is substantial evidence that people with more optimistic outlooks tend to have better mental health, with less depression and anxiety, better coping strategies, higher resilience, and also better physical health outcomes.

Optimists tend to perceive stress as more manageable, use more adaptive coping, and report more social support. It is associated with fewer negative health outcomes (e.g. cardiovascular), possibly because optimistic people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviours.

Madsen Pirie