Have you ever interviewed for a job that you didn’t get? 

Afterwards, you might have rationalised that the role was unsuitable anyway. Or that the interviewers weren’t a patch on your current colleagues.

It might be that you’ve recently catastrophised an inevitable event. When it occurred, you might have felt reassured that the effects weren’t as traumatic or far-reaching as you’d feared.

Your thoughts and feelings in these challenging moments could well be the subconscious result of your brain’s conscious efforts to soften the blow and look for the positives in difficult times.

This is known as our “psychological immune system”. Not only does it help us to make sense of unfortunate events, but it can also teach us to focus on our next steps. What’s more, this system can be boosted, helping to make you even more psychologically immune in the future.

Keep reading to find out how.

3 ways to boost your psychological immune system

1. Be aware that your brain is hardwired for negativity but that it doesn’t have to be

Popularised by psychologists Daniel Gilbert and Tim Wilson in the early 2000s, the idea of a subconsciously activated psychological immune system has been growing in popularity ever since.

We know from behavioural finance that humans are hardwired for negativity. That’s why we have loss aversion bias and, to a certain extent, availability bias. 

With the former, we experience the negative feelings of a financial loss more strongly than the positive effects of a comparable gain. The latter explains why if asked whether the losses from the 2008 global financial crisis or Covid were worse, many investors would say Covid, even if this wasn’t the case. We remember a recent event more strongly, and so more negatively.

Evolutionarily, this makes absolute sense. It keeps us on our toes and stops us from sleepwalking into complacency – potentially fateful for our hunter-gatherer forebears. 

But strong feelings of negativity can put us into fight or flight mode, often unnecessarily. Instead, we should be looking to find the area of calm known as “rest and digest” mode.

Missing out on a job or experiencing an unexpected shock can make us feel down. We might want to rally against an interviewing board or run away from a challenging situation. But we can train our brains to look for this rest and digest space.

It might mean keeping a journal of things to be thankful for, leaving yourself life-affirming Post-it note messages around the house, or just taking the time to be mindful and put things into perspective.

This can help you move away from a default negative space into a calmer, neutral one.

2. The art of acceptance and living in the moment

The key to acceptance is taking the time to understand which elements of a situation are within your control and which are not.

This is another area where mindfulness – and living in the moment – can help. 

Take time out of your day to relax. This might be with a coffee and a book, a walk in the woods, or talking to a friend. Shifting your focus can allow your subconscious mind to begin processing your negative feelings, hopefully preventing them from intruding unhelpfully.

Once you’ve finished your book, coffee, or chat, you should have a better perspective on what you can and can’t influence, and how you might affect change going forward.

Don’t underestimate the importance of other aspects of your physical and mental health. 

Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and good sleep hygiene can all help to keep your mind healthy, and your psychological immune system at a peak level.

3. Focusing on your long-term goals is always key

Life can throw all sorts at us. Feelings of intense disappointment can sit alongside episodes of immense joy and sudden, debilitating shocks. 

The severity of an individual event will have a bearing on how we react to it but myriad other factors will play a part too. Through mindfulness and living in the moment, looking after our physical and mental health, we can top up the levels of our psychological immune system.

But even as we focus on the now, it’s important to leave room for our long-term dreams.

Even during the most difficult times, having a known end point can anchor you, while giving you something to aim for and an overarching sense of purpose.

While life might be about the journey and not the destination, a long-term goal helps to make sense of the road. Take the time to reacquaint yourself with your goals and aspirations and be sure to focus on them when you feel that your psychological immune system needs a boost.