The major symptom of this particular brand of collective madness is an overwhelming desire to spend more on breakfast – yeah, I'll have avocado with that, and a Seize The Day Body Sculpting Smoothie with extra unbridled optimism and a few added half-truths – than is wholly wise.
However grim their plays or novels, there is a kind of unacknowledged, extra-textual optimism: the author, at least, has got out, has made it.
Palace travelled to west Yorkshire on the back of a seven-game winless streak but apparently full of confidence, the returns of Zaha and Mamadou Sakho, plus of substitutes Yohan Cabaye and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, giving them extra cause for optimism.
The large contingent of Hull-born players in Lee Radford's squad offers extra cause for optimism for what lies ahead for the club and, after the herculean 80-minute effort of Danny Houghton, including the crucial tackle to deny Ben Currie a certain Warrington try with seconds remaining, almost every Hull player who stopped to speak wanted to lavish praise on the hooker, another homegrown hero.
For an extra dose of optimism, try practicing loving-kindness meditation, sending you and those around you wishes of love, peace, happiness and well-being.
Extra infusions of optimism are helpful to Trump at a time when some Republican leaders remain dubious, mega funders are scared by Trumpismo, and The Donald has the highest negatives of any party nominee in memory.
Barbara Walsh conveys the woeful countenance of Sonia ("I haven't lived") so tellingly that the character's eventual sparks of assertiveness and optimism have extra impact.
The proposed extension would cost at least £500 million in 2008 terms before inflation and optimism bias (extra contingency amounts) and would be part funded by REO and, possibly, other significant land owners in the Nine Elms area.
Belief (or disbelief) in the intervention, extra enthusiasm and effort (or less), and optimism (or pessimism) in the self-assessment of outcomes may thus add to (or detract from) the effects of an intervention.
Its narrative offers exactly what the spirit yearns for – a chance to pay homage for the extra hours of daylight, the renewed lushness, the optimism of rebirth.
