Malignant optimism

[Gregory]

The powers of [self-delusion] that abusers provoke in their victims. Malignant [optimists] refuse to believe that some questions are unsolvable, some diseases incurable, some disasters inevitable. They see a sign of hope in every fluctuation. They read meaning and patterns into every random occurrence, utterance, or slip. They are deceived by their own pressing need to believe in [the ultimate victory] of good over evil, health over sickness, order over disorder.