@pik3rob
It doesn't go into "Uuuuuwuuuuu everything will be awright :3 I WUV EVERYTHING AN I WUV EVERYONE!!!!" "optimism" that is simply and painfully and obviously fake, nor it goes into "Everything sucks, the world sucks, I suck, nothing will ever get better, all will just get worse forever, fuck everything and fuck you " extreme negativity either that is just seeking for something to complain and be whiny about.
It's just... Kind of middle of the road?
For someone who's always expecting the worst, and in negative-mode most of the time, it's a massive step-up.
Things aren't amazing, but they aren't horrible either. Hopeful, but not naively so. It'll just be okay. Just being okay is okay.
I saw something somewhere that perfectly explained this but I can't find it at all so you'll have to make do with my terrible rant. Sorry.