https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiZgZekv6XXAhVW22MKHcPADWgQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffathercarrozza.com%2Ftag%2Fhappiness%2F&psig=AOvVaw121XsrOkJxiKkz9IfiaCzQ&ust=1509904509330795

Is there a key to happiness?

Happiness for CIT ECHO November, 2019Nils Rosenbaum, MD

1

Disclosures

• I have no disclosures.

2

Objectives

• Define happiness• Look at happiness around the world and since

COVID.• Can Happiness improve?• What are some things holding us back?• How to maintain wellbeing in difficult times. • What is the Key to Happiness? (is there one?)

3

What Is happiness?Emotion? Feeling? Affect? Something else?

4

•Satisfaction in life, and •Satisfaction of life

5

Example: Parents have more satisfaction of life, than in their daily life.

• Generally, parents are less happy interacting with their children than they are exercising, eating and watching television– Daniel Gilbert,

Harvard psychologist6

Answer this question (silently)…

• Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top.

• The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you.

• On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time? (ladder-present)

7

Happiest Countries last 15 yearshttps://worldhappiness.report/From Happiness Ladder Subset

Country name Year Life LadderDenmark 2005 8.02Denmark 2008 7.97Finland 2018 7.86Denmark 2007 7.83Finland 2017 7.79Denmark 2011 7.79Switzerland 2012 7.78Denmark 2010 7.77Denmark 2009 7.688

Least Happiness in last 10 years

Afghanistan 2017 2.66Syria 2013 2.69Central African Republic 2016 2.69Afghanistan 2018 2.69Liberia 2015 2.70Togo 2008 2.81South Sudan 2017 2.82Togo 2014 2.84South Sudan 2016 2.89Tanzania 2016 2.90Burundi 2014 2.90

9

Not a promising Trend in USUnited States 2018 6.88United States 2017 6.99United States 2016 6.80United States 2015 6.86United States 2014 7.15United States 2013 7.25United States 2012 7.03United States 2011 7.12United States 2010 7.16United States 2009 7.16United States 2008 7.28United States 2007 7.51United States 2006 7.18 10

Happiness levels can change

11

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_much_of_your_happiness_is_under_your_control 12

Has happiness taken a hit?

13

Unfortunately, yes

• Average step on 11pt Cantril Ladder scale since COVID Started: 6.3

• London Imperial College https://public.tableau.com/profile/ighi#!/vizhome/ICLYouGovCovid-19Tracker_V0_3/8Lifesatisfaction

14

One problem that hinders happiness

15

Do we overestimate our Empathy?

Intergroup differences in the sharing of emotive states: neural evidence of an empathy gapJN Gutsell, M Inzlicht - Social cognitive and affective …, 2012 - academic.oup.com 16

17

Do we overestimate our Empathy? Anger and masks …

• Empathize, “It’s uncomfortable, you fog your glasses, it kind of sucks.”

• “I never remember to bring a mask.”

• “It’s an intrusion.” • “No one likes to be

ordered to do anything.”

• Safety First! 18

Are there ways to move to improve Happiness?

19

Viktor Frankl

20

21

A way to practice opening up space for growth in real time

22

Tips on Coping During Tough Times

23

24https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/2018/media/SE_Topic_18-07.pdf

Put attention in the right places

• Negative emotions are easy - Hunt for the good stuff(and accept it when you find it).

25

Study concludes Master Resilience Training effective http:// www.army.mil/article/72431/study_concludes_master_resilience_training_effective

• Put attention in the right places: – What do I want out of this relationship? This

situation?

26

Shit happens, know this, and try to skip mouldering or repining

27

Shit happens, know this, and try to skip mouldering or repining

• Repine: feel or express discontent; fret.

• Molder: slowly decay or disintegrate, especially because of neglect.

• ]ach life some rain must fall.

28

The day is cold, and dark, and drearyIt rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.29

The Rainy Day

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What is the #1 Recommendation for Happiness?

30

Build and maintain better, positive relationships!

People First!!!

31

Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2013). Christopher M. Peterson (1950-2012). American Psychologist 68(5), 403.Pileggi Pawelski, S. & Pawelski, J. Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love that Lasts. (2018). TarcherPerigee.Seligman, M. E. P. (2012). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: AttriaBooks.

32

33

How to put people first (1)Karen Armstrong

• Do unto others as you wish them to do to you, and …

• Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.

(1) Jesus, The Buddha, Muhmad, Confucius

34

Volunteer

• Jenkinson, C.E., Dickens, A.P., Jones, K. et al. Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers. BMC Public Health 13, 773 (2013).

• https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-773 volunteershttps://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20130823/volunteering-may-make-people-happier-study-finds

35

Connect with people - Smile

• One easy way to improve your mood right now is to recall pleasant memories—and smile because of it.

• Nicholas A. Coles, Jeff T. Larsen, Heather C. Lench. A meta-analysis of the facial feedback literature: Effects of facial feedback on emotional experience are small and variable.. Psychological Bulletin, 2019; DOI: 10.1037/bul0000194

36

Sex and Touch

• Debrot A, Meuwly N, Muise A, Impett EA, Schoebi D. More Than Just Sex: Affection Mediates the Association Between Sexual Activity and Well-Being. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2017;43(3):287-299. doi:10.1177/0146167216684124

• https://qz.com/924333/having-sex-once-a-week-doesnt-make-you-happier-a-new-study-says-cuddling-does/

37

Gratitude • ”Self-guided daily gratitude exercises were

associated with higher levels of positive affect.”

Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life Robert A. Emmons Michael E. McCullough University of California, Davis University of Miami

38

Time with Friends and Family

• “Friendship is the single most important factor influencing our health, well-being, and happiness.”

• R.I.M. Dunbar The Anatomy of Friendship Trends in Cognitive Sciences, January 2018, Vol. 22, No. 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.10.004 © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

39

You can’t google it!

• You can learn anything from google and youtube, but

• Only people you know, close friends and family, can teach you about love.

40

A small pointer for better relationships• Real enthusiasm after partner’s positive event

is most important

41

Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., Impett, E. A., & Asher, E. R. (2004). What Do You Do When Things Go Right? The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Benefits of Sharing Positive Events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(2), 228–245. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.228

A story

42

43

44

Build on your strengths!

45

#Blessed!

46