Are you a pessimist? Is your glass half-empty rather than half-full? Do you recognize or do people tell that you have a negative outlook on life? If so, you may actually be doing long term damage to your brain.

People with a particularly pessimistic outlook are often socially isolated to some degree simply because others don't enjoy their company. Offered the choice of associating with a positive person or a negative person, few choose the latter.

If you are a pessimist who can live with that fact and your attitude is "so what?", you may want to reconsider. A Mayo Clinic study revealed that people who had a high score on the pessimism scale of a personality test were much more likely to develop dementia and its array of symptoms that impact intellectual and behavioral function, including Alzheimer's disease.

Now we aren't talking about dementia bringing about personality changes such as pessimism. This study actually identified pessimism as a risk factor, not an early manifestation of disease. Back in the 1960's, the researchers first conducted personality tests covering thoughts, feelings, attitudes, physical and emotional symptoms and life experiences on 3,500 people ages 20 to 69. Then, in 2004, the researchers followed up with interviews of the same individuals or the relatives of those who were impaired or deceased to determine the impact of personality characteristics on development of dementia later in life. They discovered that pessimists had a 30% increased risk for dementia, and that for those who scored high on anxiety as well as pessimism, the increased risk rose to 40%.

What of the risk that pessimists will turn the findings into self-fulfilling prophecy? It's possible, but no one has to be stuck in pessimism, says Chris Peterson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and expert in how personality relates to health and longevity. Dr. Peterson says that, fortunately, some aspects of personality are contagious and that positive and negative outlooks are in that category.

So pessimists who want to substantially reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias can turn themselves around. The first step is to evaluate the types of people in your life. Surround yourself with the ones who are upbeat and cheerful, and you will find yourself moving in that direction as well.

Next, according to Dr. Peterson, when faced with decisions, instead of asking yourself the despairing "Why?" turn it around and replace it with "Why not?" The third step is to enjoy and savor your successes. Excessive modesty robs you of your good feelings about yourself and life. You might even want to write down your successes, big and small, as you go along and refer to them when you're feeling bleak.

Finally, rather than assume that situations will have negative outcomes, step back, look at the evidence and make realistic determinations. Include in that a realistic assessment of your personal setbacks. Mostly you'll find that the evidence shows most are nothing but minor bumps on the road of life.

So there you have it. The ways in which the brain (organic matter) and the mind actually work are fascinating. Whether your aim is to dramatically reduce your risk of dementia or not, eliminating pessimism and negative thinking by replacing it with optimism and positive thinking will be very good for your wellbeing and thoroughly life enhancing. It's your life, you can do it.