Latest / Life Lived Better / The Psychology of Happiness in a Mental Health Moment

Transcript

The Psychology of Happiness in a Mental Health Moment · Life Lived Better

• 0:06
  Hello there, and welcome to another mental health moment
• 0:09
  from the Life Live Better podcast.
• 0:11
  This is the place we just take a couple of minutes to care for
• 0:14
  our mind. I'm Paula, and today we're
• 0:16
  talking about the psychology of happiness.
• 0:20
  Have you ever noticed that two people can have the same job,
• 0:24
  live in the same city? I mean, basically live parallel
• 0:27
  lives and one is deeply fulfilled and the other one is
• 0:32
  completely unhappy. What what causes that?
• 0:35
  Well, it's because happiness is so much more psychological than
• 0:40
  it is circumstantial. I think a lot of times we think
• 0:44
  that happiness comes from our achievements and money and
• 0:47
  success and getting everything in life figured out.
• 0:51
  And those things can create some moments of pleasure for us, no
• 0:55
  doubt. But psychology tells us
• 0:59
  something really important. Happiness is less about what
• 1:02
  happens to us and more about how we experience life.
• 1:08
  There's actually research that shows our brains are actually
• 1:12
  pretty adept at all the eternal external changes that go on.
• 1:17
  It's called hedonic adaptation. So that exciting new car that
• 1:22
  you get, or a promotion or relationship or reaching this
• 1:25
  big milestone or goal, well, those all eventually become
• 1:29
  normal and that emotional high we experience will fade and then
• 1:34
  the brain just starts searching for the next big thing.
• 1:38
  So what actually contributes to lasting happiness?
• 1:42
  Well, strong relationships are the biggest predictor of lasting
• 1:49
  happiness. So when we feel connected and
• 1:51
  understood and emotionally safe, that matters more than we might
• 1:56
  realize. Purpose also matters.
• 1:59
  You know, human beings tend to feel happier when life feels
• 2:04
  meaningful. So not necessarily easy, but
• 2:07
  meaningful. And not surprisingly to
• 2:11
  listeners of life, live better. But gratitude changes the brain.
• 2:16
  There are studies that suggest regularly focusing on something
• 2:21
  strengthens the neural pathway. So that means whatever we
• 2:27
  repeatedly pay attention to shapes how we feel.
• 2:32
  Here is something really important.
• 2:35
  Happiness isn't a constant positivity, so happy people
• 2:40
  aren't constantly positive. Psychologically healthy people
• 2:45
  still experience grief and stress and anger and
• 2:48
  disappointment and anxiety, just like every other human.
• 2:52
  Happiness is not the absence of difficult emotions.
• 2:57
  It's the ability to experience that full range of human emotion
• 3:02
  while still finding moments of connection and hope and humor
• 3:06
  and meaning and peace. So maybe happiness isn't
• 3:10
  something that we finally arrive at.
• 3:13
  Maybe it's something we finally start practicing, noticing.
• 3:18
  And sometimes the happiest moments aren't the loudest ones.
• 3:23
  Maybe they're the quiet moments where just briefly, life feels
• 3:28
  real and we feel connected and we feel like we are enough.
• 3:33
  The Life Live Better podcast thanks you for joining us for
• 3:37
  this mental health moment. Until next time, take care of
• 3:40
  your mind because it's the only one you've got.
• 3:43
  And don't forget that knowledge leads to a life lived better.