THE MEANING OF HAPPINESS
Meaning of happiness is elusive; authors weigh in
LESLIE GARCIA, The Dallas Morning News, Sat, Jun. 18, 2005
The field, called "positive psychology," is relatively new. Up until
about a decade ago, about 90 percent of research on emotions focused
on the negative.
But studying happiness "is as important as studying depression," says
Jason Berman, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. This summer, he'll study
with two happiness experts in Pennsylvania.
Research shows that happiness and its related mental states, optimism
and hopefulness, seem to limit the severity or reduce the risk of such
health problems as diabetes, hypertension and even the common cold.
A special Time magazine issue on happiness cites studies showing the
relationship of religion to happiness. The more believers incorporate
religion into their daily lives, the better off they seem to be in at
least two ways: an overall sense of satisfaction with life and the
frequency of positive emotions.
Other studies have shown that some people are genetically predisposed
to be happy. But that doesn't mean anybody else can't be, Niven says.
"The basic realities of life for happy and unhappy people are
basically the same," Niven says. "Happy people don't have a magic
button to get them out of traffic jams, or that mutes an impolite
boss. But they draw different messages and meanings from such
situations."
<http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/living/health/11917701.htm>
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