Defensive Pessimism

Today when I was studying for my Personality Psychology exam I came upon a curious term: "defensive pessimism". When I read the definition I was really intrigued.

"Defensive pessimism is a strategy used by anxious people to help them manage their anxiety so they can work productively. Defensive pessimists lower their expectations to help prepare themselves for the worst. Then, they mentally play through all the bad things that might happen. Though it sounds as if it might be depressing, defensive pessimism actually helps anxious people focus away from their emotions so that they can plan and act effectively"

This sounds exactly like what I do all the time. It's nice to actually find a way to define it really. Even Oprah knows about defensive pessimism! Anyways I don't really have much to say about this just that it's interesting. Thanks to Andrew J. Elliot, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, who says "Research shows that if you pressure defensive pessimists into being optimistic, or try to manipulate their mood, their performance deteriorates". That at least could partially deter people from telling me I need to be optimistic.