People who don't give up on their goals (or who get better over time at not giving up on their goals) and who have a positive outlook appear to have less anxiety and depression and fewer panic attacks, according to a study of thousands of Americans over the course of 18 years. Surprisingly, a sense of control did not have an effect on the mental health of participants across time.

The study was published by the American Psychological Association in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Perseverance cultivates a sense of purposefulness that can create resilience against or decrease current levels of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder,? said Nur Hani Zainal, MS, from The Pennsylvania State University and lead author of the study. Looking on the bright side of unfortunate events has the same effect because people feel that life is meaningful, understandable and manageable.

Depression, anxiety and panic disorders are common mental health disorders that can be chronic and debilitating and put a person?s physical health and livelihood at risk, according to Zainal and her co-author, Michelle G. Newman, PhD, also of The Pennsylvania State University.

?Often, people with these disorders are stuck in a cycle of negative thought patterns and behaviors that can make them feel worse,? said Newman. ?We wanted to understand what specific coping strategies would be helpful in reducing rates of depression, anxiety and panic attacks.?

Zainal and Newman used data from 3,294 adults who were studied over 18 years. The average age of participants was 45, nearly all were white and slightly fewer than half were college-educated. Data were collected three times, in 1995 to 1996, 2004 to 2005 and 2012 to 2013. At each interval, participants were asked to rate their goal persistence (e.g., When I encounter problems, I don't give up until I solve them), self-mastery (e.g., I can do just anything I really set my mind to?) and positive reappraisal (e.g., ?I can find something positive, even in the worst situations?). Diagnoses for major depressive, anxiety and panic disorders were also collected at each interval.

People who showed more goal persistence and optimism during the first assessment in the mid-1990s had greater reductions in depression, anxiety and panic disorders across the 18 years, according to the authors.


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