Do you set low expectations for yourself?  Do you create a detailed assessment of every possible thing that could possibly go wrong?

If you do, those are good things.

Really.

Do you feel comforted?

Julie K. Norem, PhD a professor of psychology at Wellesley College, has done seminal research on this subject and calls it “defensive pessimism.” It appears, she has determined, that “once people have imagined the full range of bad outcomes, they start figuring out how they’ll handle them, and that gives them a sense of control.”

Don’t you just love it? For every person that has said to you “look on the bright side,” you can now, without hesitation tell them to piss off. Research, you can tell them, supports your pessimistic outlook on life making you, ultimately, a happier person.

For your mental health pleasure I have included a “pessimism quiz” that will help you evaluate whether you are a defensive pessimist — your decisions leading you to positive outcomes — or simply the poster child for antidepressants.