Check out the tips and try them out
By Monique
Clement
Want to feel happier? That “treat yourself” self-care
strategy may not help as much as you think. Happiness may be more about
connecting with other people.
“What a lot of research is now showing is that when we
orient ourselves outwards to other people, that leads to greater increases in
happiness,” says Katherine
Nelson-Coffey, an associate professor of psychology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences,
part of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State
University.
She says social connection is one of the strongest
predictors of happiness and well-being — in the moment and over time.
Activities that bring people together strengthen relationships and decrease
loneliness, which boosts well-being.
These findings come from a newer field called positive
psychology. Traditional psychology often focuses on overcoming problems such as
mental illness. But researchers like Nelson-Coffey and her husband, John Coffey, also an
associate professor of psychology at ASU, explore the other side of mental
health.
“There's a lot more to helping people than just getting them
back to a baseline, and that baseline does not constitute thriving,” Coffey
says.
Nelson-Coffey adds, “This is where positive psychology can
come in and offer insights for how we get people from that kind of zero point
(the absence of mental illness) to the thriving, flourishing good life.”
Coffey and Nelson-Coffey study people who are naturally very
happy and what they do. Then they assign groups of people to try those
activities and measure their emotions and well-being.
For this year's World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, try out
five simple activities backed by positive psychology research to build more
happiness into your life.
1. Perform at least three small acts of kindness in one
day
Nelson-Coffey conducted a study that randomly assigned
people to do acts of kindness for others, the world or themselves, or do a
neutral control activity. She found that people who performed acts of kindness
for others or the world had a greater increase in positive emotions than those
who did acts for themselves or the neutral activity.
Ideally, it’s best to do several acts in one day.
