Guest Thinkers — June 20, 2010

The Psychology of Happiness

Following the entry of “happiness studies” into psychology through the last two decades, some are now asking if being perpetually elated is truly good for your health.

bigthinkeditor

Following the entry of “happiness studies” into psychology through the last two decades, some are now asking if being perpetually elated is truly good for your health. “By lending academic credence to the idea that we can be better, shinier and happier if we just try, it has turned happiness into not only something we should expect, but yet another must-have commodity that you are failing if you don’t achieve,” says Elizabeth Heathcote for The Independent. “The stream of studies showing that happy people have more friends and are more successful implies that we should all aspire to these things, even though they may be wrong for a lot of people. What if you are the sort of person who flourishes best in the slow lane? Or with a few close friends? At the risk of sounding incredibly homespun myself, isn’t it better to know and accept yourself the way you are?”

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7 min

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with

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