Did you know that if you want to live a long, healthy life, it’s more important to have good relationships than to exercise regularly? Did you also know that, if you’re optimistic about the future, this can protect you from mental and physical illness?
There are many types of psychology facts out there, and they’re not only used to help you when you’re in therapy or working through a traumatic experience.
The study of psychology can also change the way you live your life.
If you’ve found that you’ve been struggling recently, feeling depressed, lonely, or unmotivated, knowing the right psychology facts can be key to improving your life.
Once you understand these facts about basic psychology, you can start to improve your life. Finally, you can start enjoying your life, feeling connected, and treating yourself with self-love and self-care.
Read on to learn more about how these facts about the human mind can change your mind and your life.
1. If You’re Negative a Lot of the Time, It May Be Genetic
If you find that you often experience negativity, this may be because you’ve inherited a gene that makes you more predisposed to being negative. If depression, anxiety, or other similar mental health issues occur in your family, then the chance of you having the gene is even higher.
So, the next time you’re feeling negative, don’t make the situation worse by saying to yourself, “What’s wrong with me? I’m always so negative.”
Instead, take a step back and remember that this negativity may be caused by a gene. Then, try to assess the situation objectively.
After all, it may be your mental process making the situation seem negative when it isn’t actually that bad objectively.
2. Usually, Laughter Comes From the Person Making Jokes
Have you ever noticed that, after you’ve made a joke, you laughed at your own joke? Even though this is considered a faux pas in many social situations, it’s what usually happens. In fact, the speaker telling the joke laughs 46% more than the people listening to it.
So the next time this happens, don’t be ashamed of laughing at your own joke.
If your friends make fun of you for it, inform them of this fact. Then you can say, “Who’s laughing now?” and keep laughing.
3. When You’re Tired, Your Brain Gets More Creative Work Done
If you’re a creative person, then you might have found yourself feeling creative when it’s late at night. Despite the bleary eyes and incessant yawns coming out of your mouth, your creative mental processes seem to be running at high speed.
This is because your brain gets more creative work done when you’re tired.
So if you’re feeling inspired and don’t have to wake up too early, we recommend sacrificing an hour of sleep or relaxation to get creative.
4. The Music You Listen to Impacts How You Perceive the World
If you need to change how you perceive the world, it might help to change the music that you listen to. This is because whatever tunes you put on most often will end up having a pretty big impact on how you perceive the world.
Need to get energized in the morning? Listen to something fun and upbeat. Want to work up a sweat at the gym?
Listen to techno, intense rap, clubbing music, or a song that’s rising up through the charts.
If you need to relax at the end of the day, then listen to some Mozart, Debussy, or a Chopin piano piece. If you struggle with mental health issues, listening to classical music can be helpful, too.
5. When It Comes to Future Events, We Overestimate Their Emotional Impact
If you’ve ever struggled to make a decision, knowing this fact can be helpful. For example, if you’re afraid that quitting your job will make you absolutely miserable, but you hate your job, then you could be wrong.
Maybe quitting could be the right decision for you.
The same goes for positive emotional impact. If you think that getting a romantic partner will solve all your emotional problems, maybe that isn’t true.
Instead of imagining how events in the future will impact you emotionally, it’s a better idea to step away and look at the results objectively. If you aren’t sure how to get started, write up the pros and cons of the potential future event.
Objectivity is important in every element of our lives, including scientific research. This is why John Arnold is waging a war on bad science.
Then, speak with a friend or family member. They can provide you with advice and be a sounding board while you express your possibilities to them.
6. Stress, Fear, and Physical Pain Can Be Alleviated by Loving Hand-Holding
If you’re facing a stressful event like a job interview, or you’re afraid whenever you fly, you can alleviate those negative feelings by simply holding the hand of someone you love. Even more amazing is the fact that loving hand-holding can alleviate physical pain.
So if you have a friend or family member who’s been in the hospital recently for surgery, take their hand.
In addition to providing them with love and support, you’re alleviating their pain.
7. You’ll Be Happier if You Spend Time With Happy, Positive People
If you’ve been feeling down lately, it will help you to spend time with happy, positive people. This is because happiness, like laughter, is infectious. You’ll pick up on their happiness and positivity and start to experience these feelings too.
Right now, many of us are dealing with isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you can’t see your happy, positive friends in person, connect with them over the phone or on Zoom.
If you’re able to, meet them for socially-distanced walks, since seeing them in person will have a more profound impact on your mood.
8. Being Lazy Can Be Inherent to Your Personality
If you find that you aren’t always motivated, or you like to spend extra time in bed, maybe it’s time to stop blaming yourself. Being lazy can be inherent to your personality, so there’s no need to feel negative about it.
Additionally, people who are lazy are usually much more satisfied with their lives. They’re less obsessed with results than type A people, so they’re happier with less.
Next time one of your parents complains about how lazy you are, tell them it’s inherent to your personality.
However, if being lazy is a result of depression, or you’re feeling unmotivated because you don’t believe in yourself, then you shouldn’t accept this laziness.
Instead, confide in friends, family, or a therapist to find out how you can get excited about life again.
9. Volunteers Have Much More Life Satisfaction Than Non-Volunteers
Have you been feeling down lately? Has it seemed like there isn’t much meaning in your life? Then, you might be able to improve your situation by becoming a volunteer. This is because volunteers have much more life-satisfaction than non-volunteers.
If you can help a nearby homeless center, this can improve your life satisfaction.
If you’re more of a creative person, you can teach your creative skills to children or adults yearning to get back in touch with their creative selves.
10. How You Dress Affects Your Mood
If you’ve been feeling down lately, it might help to change how you dress. This is because how you dress affects your mood. If you’ve been wearing PJs lately, working from home, then you might be feeling a bit sluggish or unmotivated.
For this reason, it may be smart to wear clothing that’s more conducive to being productive.
However, if you really feel comfortable in your pajamas and enjoy not having to dress up when working from home, consider getting cute ‘working-from-home’ pajamas. They will make you feel both comfortable and productive.
As for how you dress when you’re out, it might help to wear bright colors and outfits that make you feel cool and fun. This way, you’ll feel like you’re strutting and enjoying the world anytime you go out.
Other Types of Psychology Facts
Now that you’ve learned about the types of psychology facts that can help you improve your life, you might want to learn about other types of psychology facts. Maybe you want to learn psychology facts that can improve your love life.
Or maybe you want to use them to improve your relationship with your friends and family.
In our blog, you can find more information on all these types of psychology facts. To learn more, check out all our curious topics and the people sections of the blog.
