In the old days, academics who studied behavior and thinking (psychology and psychologists weren't "invented" yet) didn't concentrate so much on "normal" or "positive" behavior, as they do today for example, in the field of positive psychology. Sigmund Freud did pay it some attention, however Freud, as a Jew and unable to support his wife and children, was constantly discriminated against and forced to give up his scholarly pursuits in academic medicine at the university. At that time (the 1870's), much of the insight gained in later years about the mind, brain, and behavior had yet to be revealed. While in academia, scholars were able to devote their time and skill to discovering new ideas, Freud instead pursued private practice. Psychiatry hadn't yet been invented, and private practice carried little of the prestige that it does today for physicians. Freud today would have been called a neurologist, a field of medicine specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the nervous system (think paralysis, loss of sensation, seizures, etc.) In this setting, Freud began to notice that many female patients were coming for medical help for symptoms that appeared to have no physical basis. Many of his patients were women who had a loss of functioning in some parts of their body, especially the legs. Severe enough to restrict many women to confinement to home, wheelchair or bed. When Freud shifted his attention to these problems he was on the road to psychoanalysis and many of the ideas that are still in use today. So while Freud studied conditions that were abnormal or pathological, normal behavior either wasn't too terribly interesting or it was irrelevant to the conditions he was seeing and describing.
Today, a whole new field of positive psychology has emerged that takes us into the positive realms of behavior and thought. And within this focus, behavioral scientists burgeoned into the study of the elements of feeling, thinking, and becoming euthymic - in other words - happiness. So what does research in happiness tell us so far? Is happiness a state that you can directly pursue, or is it more of a byproduct of getting your needs, wants and desires met?
Here is a little bit of current research on the subject, from an article in Neuroscience News titled: Happiness Takes Practice :
Happiness Takes Practice
·March 11, 2024
Summary: Happiness can indeed be learned through courses like their ‘Science of Happiness’, which educates students on evidence-informed habits for well-being. However, a follow-up study indicates that the initial boost in well-being requires sustained effort and continued practice of these habits, such as gratitude and meditation, to maintain long-term benefits.
This study underscores the importance of actively working on mental health, akin to maintaining physical fitness, challenging the prevailing ‘self-care’ narrative by emphasizing outward-focused activities.
Key Facts:
1. Learning Happiness: The ‘Science of Happiness’ course at the University of Bristol, launched in 2018, demonstrates that educational programs based on scientific research can significantly improve well-being.
2. Sustaining Well-being: Long-term improvements in happiness are contingent on the consistent application of positive psychology interventions learned during the course.
3. Research Findings: This is the first study to longitudinally assess the well-being of students who have taken a happiness course, highlighting the necessity of ongoing mental health practices.
Source: University of Bristol
We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practicing, a first-of-its-kind study has revealed.
The team behind the University of Bristol’s ‘Science of Happiness’ course had already discovered that teaching students the latest scientific studies on happiness created a marked improvement in their well-being.
But their latest study found that these wellbeing boosts are short-lived unless the evidence-informed habits learnt on the course – such as gratitude, exercise, meditation or journaling – are kept up over the long-term.
“Much of what we teach revolves around positive psychology interventions that divert your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.”
Neuroscience News Senior author Prof Bruce Hood said: “It’s like going to the gym – we can’t expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.”
Launched in 2018, the University of Bristol’s Science of Happiness course was the first of its kind in the UK. It involves no exams or coursework, and teaches students what the latest peer-reviewed studies in psychology and neuroscience say really makes us happy.
Students who took the course reported a 10 to 15% improvement in wellbeing. But only those who continued implementing the course learnings maintained that improved wellbeing when they were surveyed again two years on.
Published in the journal Higher Education, is the first to track wellbeing of students on a happiness course long after they have left the course.
Prof Hood said: “This study shows that just doing a course – be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours – is just the start: you must commit to using what you learn on a regular basis.
“Much of what we teach revolves around positive psychology interventions that divert your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.
“This is the opposite of the current ‘selfcare’ doctrine, but countless studies have shown that getting out of our own heads helps gets us away from negative ruminations which can be the basis of so many mental health problems.”
Prof Hood has distilled the Science of Happiness course into a new book, out on March 10. ‘The Science of Happiness: Seven Lessons for Living Well’ reveals an evidence-informed roadmap to better wellbeing.
The other paper authors are fellow University of Bristol academics Catherine Hobbs and Sarah Jelbert, and Laurie R Santos, a Yale academic whose course inspired Bristol’s Science of Happiness course.
· Surprising take aways from the Science of Happiness course include:
Talking to strangers makes us happier, despite a majority of us shying away from such encounters.
Social media is not bad for everyone, but it can be bad for those who focus on their reputation.
Loneliness impacts on our health by impairing our immune systems.
Optimism increases life expectancy.
Giving gifts to others activates the reward centres in our brain – often providing more of a happiness boost than spending money on oneself.
Sleep deprivation impacts on how well we are liked by others.
Walking in nature deactivates part of the brain related to negative ruminations, which are associated with depression.
Kindness and happiness are correlated.
About this happiness and psychology research news
Author: Laura ThomasSource: University of Bristol Contact: Laura Thomas – University of BristolImage: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
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