How to Spot the Subtle Thinking Patterns That Can Accelerate Dementia
Excerpted from a post by Dean Burnett for ScienceFocus.com
25 January 2026
A recent study suggests that constant, repetitive patterns of negative thinking, a ‘fatalistic attitude’, could lead to earlier onset or amplified symptoms of dementia. In short, constant negative thinking could cause or amplify dementia.
How could a negative mindset lead to actual physical harm to the brain? With the caveat that it’s by no means confirmed that it does (and even if it were, there are many complex factors at work), one possible mechanism is via the stress response.
A typically functioning human brain produces an optimism bias in our thinking. We tend to assume we’re right about stuff, that fairness is paramount and that things will go our way.
This keeps us confident and motivated, and prevents us from worrying about anything and everything. It’s a psychological defence mechanism, of a sort.
But when we lose this optimism, as often happens in depression, we experience far more stress and negativity. And the chemical element of stress is known to cause biological stress to the brain, often resulting in the more familiar mental disorders.
Just “food for thought” and action?
https://www.sciencefocus.com/wellbeing/negative-thinking-dementia
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