ETHICS OF HAPPINESS. The Evidence Behind the Emotion

Transcription

1 ETHICS OF HAPPINESS The Evidence Behind the Emotion

2 OVERVIEW Definition of Happiness How Happiness Is Linked to Physical Health Why It is an Ethical Responsibility to Consider Client Happiness in your Practice Contributing Factors and Research Outcomes

3 HAPPINESS IS NOT HOW MUCH MONEY SOMEONE MAKES quality of life can also suggest happiness a subjective state of mind. Using that metric, the citizens of some developing countries, such as Bhutan, score high. Finally, quality of life can refer to a more objective sense of happiness that is related to the meaningfulness of one s profession or work. A physician who joins Doctors Without Borders may be happier than one who earns a larger income, because the first by working to alleviate the pain and suffering in the Third World is devoted to a cause that is more meaningful. (World Policy Organization)

4 Happiness: A State of Emotion A mental or emotional state of well-being. Thinking or feeling positive or pleasant emotions. More happiness leads to better overall well-being. Happiness: A State Of Being From the Greek Eudaimonia Not a transient emotion ( happy right now ), but a general state of wellbeing, Living a good life and flourishing. DEFINITION OF HAPPINESS: A GENERALLY POSITIVE MINDSET/EMOTIONAL STATE

5 HAPPINESS = WELLBEING

6 HEALTH CARE IS ONLY 10% OF THE SOLUTION The National Academy of Medicine (Institute of Medicine) reports that behavior, social, and environmental factors account for 60% of Health and Wellbeing

7 ETHIC AL RESPONSIBILITY: HEALTH AND WELLBEING ARE LINKED

8 CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND RESEARCH OUTCOMES RELATED TO UNHAPPINESS AND NEGATIVE MINDSET

9 E X A M P L E : FAT I G U E Fatigue is often originated from psychological conditions such as stress, intense emotion, and negative thoughts, rather than from physical conditions

10 EXAMPLE: STRESS Stress and negative emotions activates the amygdala, related with fear and anxiety. Poor resilience/recovery to stress as measured by slow recovery of the amygdala is related to higher risk for problems with health. Increasing Mental Resilience is Linked with: Faster Amygdala Recovery Longer Activation of Ventral Striatum, which is linked to lower stress

11 EXAMPLE: UNHAPPY PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE YOUNGER Study of seniors over age 50: Risk of dying within the next 5 years was 35% lower for the happiest people compared to unhappiest, adjusted for health/disease/depression/age/sex/wealth including chronic health problems Unhappiness As A Predictor of Mortality: Over a 13 year study, subjects who reported higher levels of negative emotional experiences had a higher mortality rate than those who experienced more positive then negative emotions.

12 CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AND RESEARCH OUTCOMES OF IMPROVING HAPPINESS AND POSITIVE MINDSET

13 STEPHEN HAWKING ON HAPPINESS W I TH CHRONIC DISEASE I don t have much positive to say about motor neurone disease, but it taught me not to pity myself because others were worse off, and to get on with what I could still do. I m happier now than before I developed the condition /Stephen-Hawking-happier-fell-ill-motor-neuronedisease.html#ixzz59NCyV5KS

14 OPTIMISM/PESSIMISM AS PREDICTOR OF DEATH Of 120 Men who suffered one heart attack studied for 8 ½ years until half had died. Not predicted by blood pressure, cholesterol, or original heart attack level of damage. 16 Greatest Optimists 5 Died 16 Greatest Pessimists 15 died

15 PRACTICE GRATITUDE & THANKFULNESS The Challenge: the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones. That s why researchers have found that animals, including humans, generally learn faster from pain (alas) than pleasure. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. senior fellow at Greater Good Science Center at US Berkeley, and author of Hardwiring Happiness

16 DALI LAMA ON HAPPINESS THROUGH ADVERSITY Even a tragic situation can become an opportunity. There s [a] Tibetan saying that it is actually the painful experiences that shine light on the nature of happiness by bringing joyful experiences into sharp relief.

17 BUILD RESILIENCE THROUGH MEDITATION The Solution: The brain CAN be trained to increase resiliency and increase it s focus on positive thoughts. Meditation increases resilience and ability to focus on the positive by changing reward-related brain circuits after as little as weeks of training in simple meditation techniques. After 6 weeks training in meditation focusing on compassion and kindness, participants report increased positive emotions and connectedness and improved heart health

18 PRACTICE SELF-AFFIRMATION Focusing on why a positive outcome is important to you activates reward pathways in the brain and encourages positive, healthy behaviors. Focusing on WHY health mattered using self-affirmation BEFORE hearing a talk on why physical activity was important to their health increased the amount of physical activity those in a study did. DON T Tell someone they need to change their behavior. DO Ask someone to reflect on the value of being healthy to them, then remind them of how a behavioral change could improve their health

19 RESOURCES FOR MINDFULLY PRACTICING HAPPINESS The Happiness Track Emma Seppala, Ph.D. Superbetter Jane McGonigal The Book of Joy Dali Lama & Desmond Tutu

20 THANK YOU Alice Vo Edwards, MBA Cofounder, Workplace Wellbeing, Alerive ( Researcher & Data Analyst, Happiness Alliance Co-Chair for Outreach Committee, Nevada Coalition for Suicide Prevention