Science | Live Happy

How to Tackle Stress for Good

If you’re feeling a bit more anxious—or depressed—these days, you aren’talone. Anxiety has become the most common mental disorder in the U.S., affecting roughly 40 million Americans over the age of 18. Depression affects an additional 20 million adults, and new research from the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that the nation’s mental health isdeclining. The APA’s annual Stress in America survey has tracked a gradual increase in stress and anxiety levels since it began gathering data in 2007. But for 2017, it found that while the national stress level is consistent with the previous year’s findings, many people are feeling the effects of that stress more than ever before. Nearly two-thirds of those answering the survey said they wereextremely stressed about the future of our nation in addition to other major stressors like money and work. And that is showing up with side effects such as lost sleep, irritability, anxiety, depression andfatigue. “The uncertainty and unpredictability tied to the futureof our nation is affecting the health and well-being of many Americans in a way that feels unique to this period in recent history,” says Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., and CEO of the APA. Yet the findings also reveal that we are learning better ways to handle the pressure. From the rising interest in mindfulness and meditation to a growing emphasis on how to find balance using nutrition and physical activity, there are plenty of ways to become better equipped to handle the side effects of stress. Learning how to eat more natural foods or just spending more time in nature doesn’t just feel good in the moment; it has lasting, measurable effects on both physical and mental well-being. Learning to Cope More than half of the people in the APA survey said they deal with stress through exercise or physical activity, and 12 percent use yoga or meditation as an outlet. Nearly half use music to de-stress, and 29 percent rely upon prayer. That’s important, experts note, because learning how to practice positive mental health in an increasingly negative environment can make a tremendous difference in our levels of anxiety and depression. “Negative events attract so much attention, and right now [the evening news] seems very disturbing,” says Tayyab Rashid, Ph.D., associate faculty at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a licensed clinical psychologist. “But at the same time, we have to remember that there are far more people doing acts of kindness that we’re not seeing. Every day, mothers are fixing meals for their children. Mechanics are fixing cars. People are opening doors and doing good things for one another every day. We aren’t seeing the wholepicture.” As humans, our innate negativity bias causes us to react more strongly to negative events and information than to positive. Since our survival as humans once depended on quickly locating the threats around us, that negativity bias isn’t all bad. However, in today’s world, it can create some mental health challenges when it comes to handling the onslaught of negativity doled out by social media and the nightly news, not to mention our day-to-day personal ups anddowns. “No mind is neutral,” Tayyab says. “But the good news for the human race is that the positives are more universal. Positive things have more leverage to bring us together than the negative things have to tear usapart.” Focusing on the Positive That’s where positive psychology enters the picture. Science shows a strong connection between positive psychology and good mental health; it has proven useful in the prevention and treatment of certain mental disorders and, at the very least, can help us navigate a bad day with a better sense of calm and resilience. While mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are better managed with a combination of care that includes therapy and medication, Tayyab says we have become too quick to medicate less serious psychological conditions rather than change the behaviors inflaming them. “By and large, we have become too dependent on drugs,” he says. “Life is about exploring the best that’s within you. Medications can give you the strength to walk and sit, but if you want to become truly agile—that comes from realgrowth.” Creating positive mental health is key to achieving personal well-being, and Tayyab says that requires committing to realchanges. “You cannot be happy on a long-term basis unless you make long-term changes,” he says. “Medications can make you feel less angry or anxious or paranoid, but they cannot provide you with hope and courage and resilience. There are no pills for gratitude.” Learning Happiness The connection between mental well-being and practices such as gratitude, mindfulness and hope go beyond just feeling good; positive practices change the way your brain works. Every thought you have releases chemicals to your brain, and those chemicals have either a positive or negative effect on both your physical and mental state. Learning optimism, gratitude and other practices for developing positive emotions won’t change the world around you, but it can change how you respond to it. When researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study on learned optimism, which uses positive affirmations to overcome negativity biases, the results were impressive. Of the two groups participating, 32 percent of those in the group that did not practice optimism were suffering from moderate or severe depression at the end of the 18-month study. By comparison, only 22 percent of those who were taught optimism developed depressive symptoms, and the results were similar for anxiety: The group that practiced optimism showed a 7percent rate of anxiety, while the other group had more than double thatrate ofanxiety. The Benefits of Well-Being Implementing practices to improve well-being, whether it’s meditation, mindfulness, gratitude or something else, can improve symptoms of anxiety and depression. But studies also show it isn’t just about feeling better; it’sabout doing better. People who train their brains to think more positively are not just happier, but have stronger immune systems, are more productive, live longer and, let’s face it, are just more fun to be around. Even better, once your brain is trained to think positively, it triggers what Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., identified as an upward spiral toward positive emotions. In other words, as you experience positive emotions, you release a cascade of additional positiveemotions. “Relaxing is better than stress, and hope is better than fear,” Tayyab says. “We all have grudges, but somewhere along the line we can open ourselves up to these sanctuaries of gratitude. And those are the things that bring you to the true essence of life.” Feeding Happiness There is, of course, more than one path to finding greater well-being and it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. However, experts agree that certain habits and practices complement the pursuit of positive emotion and may be instrumental in boosting the lasting effects ofour emotions. For starters, says psychiatrist and author Drew Ramsey,we can look at what we eat. “We don’t tend to associate mental health with food,” he says. “Food has a big impact on brain health because we eat every day, and diet is our largest modifiable risk for everything from depression to dementia.” As the founder of the Brain Food Clinic in New York City, Drew prioritizes food before medication; he also offers an online program, Eat to Beat Depression, that helps people learn about brain nutrition and how the foods they eat affect their mental state. He says that many of the mental health challenges we face today can be managed with dietary changes. “Certain nutrients help the brain stay resilient and be in ‘grow mode.’ Studies constantly show significant risk reduction for depression and dementia; anxiety is the most common diagnosable mental disorder, but there is very little research regardingnutrition.” Erin Tawlks of Nashville, Tennessee, has seen firsthand the role that food can play in battling depression. She began struggling with the winter blues while still in high school, but when her son was born five years ago, she fell into a full-blown depression. “I struggled to get out of bed, and I didn’t want to do anything. I just wantedto take a nap in the afternoons. The depression had really taken over.” Since she’s “never been big on taking medications,” Erin looked for other solutions to combat depression. She began using essential oils recommended for depression and found good results; that started her down a new path. “I could tell a difference in my mood, so I thought, ‘Well, that worked; what else will work?’ I just kept looking for more ways to make myself feelbetter.” Erin, who now coaches others on how to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle, says nutrition, along with exercise and a daily gratitude practice, has become the foundation of her good mentalhealth. “Switching to organic produce made a huge difference, and when I got rid of sugar and gluten, I noticed a big change. It’s not easy, but it can be done. Sugar has been linked to so many health issues,” she says. “If you start realizing that every time you put something in your mouth, you’re either fighting disease or feeding it, you’ll start looking at it differently.” Drew says that treating mental health issues with food carries much less stigma for patients than medication—without the risks or side effects. It also has the added benefit of reducing risk for physical illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and dementia. Eating for brain health is not complicated, he says, adding, “I wish people understood the risk we all face of clinical depression and other mental health issues.” Natural Solutions While changing your thought patterns and diet take more effort than taking a pill, there’s an even simpler path to helping ward off mental illness: nature. According to a medical science known as forest medicine, nature can help ease physical disease as well as mental problems including anxiety, depression and burnout. “Patients with anxiety and depression respond very well to the calming stimuli of nature,” says Clemens G. Arvay, a biologist and author of the books The Biophilia Effect and The Healing Code of Nature. “Anxiety, especially, is connected to the overactive sympathetic nervous system, which is the nerve of the fight or flight response. Many people who suffer from anxiety find release innature.” What’s perhaps more telling are the statistics surrounding the absence of nature; Clemens says that the likelihood of suffering from depression is 20 percent higher among people who live in a city, while the risk for anxiety is almost 40 percent higher. One British study shows that regular walks in a forest were effective for fighting major depression, with the combination of being around a lake and trees showed the most significant improvements. “We are natural beings,” he says. “It’s no wonder that the absences of nature in our lives makes us ill, while contact to nature has a strong health potential. I strongly suggest we rethink our relationship withnature.” Whether it’s a single practice or a combination of lifestyle changes, the best way to discover positive mental health is through a conscious, committed choice. “Today, one out of six people in the U.S. are on some form of antidepressant, and the side effects that can have are staggering,” Erin says. “True health is about mental clarity and cellular health—and that’s something you have to invest in. You have to choose it foryourself.”

News & Trends

Strong Finnish

If you want to find your happy place, you might want to consider Finland. The nation has replaced Norway as the happiest country in the world as ranked by the annual World Happiness Report, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report is released every year as the world celebrates United Nations' World Happiness Day. Using six key variables—income, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on in times of trouble, generosity, freedom and trust—the report measures the overall well-being of the residents of 156 countries. Included under the umbrella of “trust” is the absence of corruption in business and government. The 2018 report, released March 14, shows last year’s winner, Norway, sliding into second place, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. America, which has yet to make it into the top 10, had its worst ranking since the report began in 2012. This year, the United States ranks 18th in the World Happiness Report, compared to 14th last year. Restoring American Happiness The report notes that Americans have noted a decline in happiness over the past decade. This year, although the U.S. improved in areas of income per capita and life expectancy, Americans reported feeling that they have less social support, less sense of personal freedom and a heightened perception of corruption in business and government. The U.S. also declined in generosity, with lower amounts donated. Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D., an economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and one of the authors of the report, also wrote a chapter called “Restoring American Happiness,” which looks at how the U.S. has declined in the area of happiness and how it can improve. The report notes that America “is in the midst of a complex and worsening public health crisis” characterized by opioid addiction, an obesity epidemic and a severe depressive disorder “that are all remarkable by global standards.” His findings also conclude that America needs to change its course of action to restore its sense of well-being. “The country is mired in a roiling social crisis that is getting worse,” Jeffrey writes in the report. “And the prescriptions for faster growth—mainly deregulation and tax cuts—are likely to exacerbate, not reduce social tensions.” He reports that additional tax cuts will increase inequality and lead to greater social and economic divides “between those with a college degree and those without.” However, he also notes that changes can be made through programs such as positive psychology and wellness initiatives in schools, workplaces and the community to help individuals change their behavior and boost well-being. “The challenge of well-being is a matter both of high politics and economics and the sum of individual and community-based efforts,” he concludes. Migrating Toward Happiness Much of this year’s report focused on the happiness of immigrants and the happiness consequences of migration. The report found that when immigrants move to a new country, they tend to be about as happy as the locals in the country they relocated to. Their happiness also depends on where they are moving from, however; if they came from a less happy country, while they may become happier in their new home, they typically end up being somewhat less happy than those who were born there. One final factor influencing their happiness is how accepting the local population is to immigrants, although other risks to happiness include being separated from loved ones or comparing themselves to others in their adopted homeland who have more money or possessions. “In general, those who move to happier countries…will gain in happiness, while those who move to unhappier countries will tend to lose,” the report concluded. “Immigration will continue to pose both opportunities and costs for those who move, for those who remain behind, and for natives of the immigrant-receiving countries.” Celebrate World Happiness Day with Live Happy this year. Go to happyacts.org to learn more about hosting or attending a Happiness Wall near you! The World’s Happy Places The 2018 World Happiness Report ranks these countries as the happiest in the world. Rankings are evaluated based on levels of income, life expectancy, social connections, generosity, freedom and trust. Finland Norway Denmark Iceland Switzerland Netherlands Canada New Zealand Sweden Australia

Education

University of Miami to Host World Happiness Summit

If you’d love to reduce stress, increase your productivity, maximize your potential and learn the tools for a happier life, the World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) at the University of Miami (UM) March 16–18 is the event for you. Marking the second year of this global summit, happiness and well-being experts will unite in a three-day experiential forum to advance human happiness through science-based tools and daily practices. Expert speakers include U.N. advisers, business and civic leaders, and positive psychology researchers, professors and coaches. Featured speaker Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., created two of the largest classes in Harvard University’s history, Positive Psychology and The Psychology of Leadership. Explore the full list of speakers. Creating a Culture of Belonging According to UM professor and Vice Provost for Institutional Culture Isaac Prilleltensky, Ph.D., the university is a natural fit for the summit. “It is very important to us to create a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and has the opportunity to add value—to themselves and others,” he says. “We are always looking for opportunity to learn about well-being and create a culture where everyone matters,” Isaac says. “It is not enough to make a declaration of intent; we have to pursue the skills and training that are aligned with our purpose at the University of Miami. We transform lives through education, research and service. Bringing a happiness forum to the campus helps transform lives.” UM interviewed 7,000 students as part of its cultural transformation project to define values and behaviors to promote inclusivity and belonging. “Now we have an Office of Institutional Culture that I lead,” Isaac says. “We have intergroup dialogue classes—where students learn how to communicate with each other in respectful ways. The university also measures how well its culture is doing—both with Gallup’s workplace tools and its own culture of well-being index.” These strategic initiatives “catapulted the University of Miami,” Isaac says. “We showed up as one of the best places to work in Forbes, best in our industry.” The university is now in talks to create an institute to focus on and promote meaning, well-being and quality of life. Another piece to the natural fit for the summit is that CEO Karen Guggenheim is a UM graduate, and her son attends the university as well, says Isaac, a speaker and contributor to the academic portion of the summit. Walking the Walk Isaac—whose The Laughing Guide series of books, including The Laughing Guide to Well-Being, combine science and humor to help people live healthier and happier lives—is planning to give out dozens of free passes for students to attend the summit. As part of the partnership, UM has made its app funforwellness.com, an online intervention tool using humor and science to improve quality of life, available to the public. Each day of the summit begins with yoga and meditation, and each night concludes with live music and dancing. The summit includes workshops, group work, meditation, films, yoga classes and music programming. For more information, visit the summit website. For a 20 percent discount on passes, enter code LIVEHAPPY2018. Daniel M Ernst/Shutterstock

Fun people gather for happiness festival

Education

World Happiness Fest: Summit Promises Inspiration, Relaxation

Luis Gallardo, an author and entrepreneur, created the organization bé and the World Happiness Fest to help build a community of more than 1 billion happy people within 10 years. On March 16-18, Luis invites all happiness seekers to join him in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for hands-on learning sessions, music and meaningful studies. Live Happy: What makes the World Happiness Festival stand out? Luis Gallardo: This festival focuses on creating an experiential learning community. Science, technology, music, art, gastronomy, intention, reflection and movement are all ingredients of a unique experience with happiness and well-being at its heart. All the senses will be activated with experiences that range from heart coherence to positive education, from mindful eating to the impact of music and frequencies on our emotions. How did you choose San Miguel de Allende, Mexico as the location, and what will the city add to the event? San Miguel has been ranked as one of the best small cities in the world. It combines the roots and cultural heritage of ancient civilizations with a vibrant artistic community. We are creating the World Happiness Fest as a permanent retreat center called “The Happiness Academy,” where we’ll have monthly gatherings focused on experiencing the roots of happiness and well-being with the top masters in the world. Why is it important for happiness to be developed at all levels of society? Thomas Jefferson once said, “Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.”Individual happinesshas extensive benefits, including improving a person’s physical health, providing more motivation to accomplish goals, and increased determination and energy to achieve tasks throughout the day. However, when happy individuals unite, that group will produce robust results. Who are some of the highlighted speakers at the festival? Saamdu Chetri, Raj Raghunathan, Maureen Healy, Khedrup Rinpoche, Gaby Vargas plus more than 40 international guides and masters from more than 20 countries. What else would you like us to know about the event? Society moves at such a fast pace. We all have long to-do lists and the pressure to do more in less time. When we become so caught up in those moments, we don’t focus on our relationships, our well-being and our happiness. When we stop tocreate meaningful experiences, we allow ourselves time to relax, to build connections and to become our best selves. This is simply a vital step in the process to achieve full happiness. That’s what World Happiness Fest is about. After San Miguel de Allende we’ll keep building experiential communities around the world. In June, Spain; October, Colombia and Brazil; with Guatemala, France and the United States to follow. Go to happinessfestival.world for more information. Enter code LIVEHAPPY for a 20% discount on festival passes.

science

You Are What You Tweet

Margaret “Peggy” Kern doesn’t need to meet you to know how happy you are, or to get an idea of how good your physical health is. She doesn’t have to look at a photo of you or consult a crystal ball; she just needs to spend some time with your social media posts. “Words reveal so much about us,” says Peggy, senior lecturer at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education in Australia. She earned her master’s and doctorate’s degrees in social/personality psychology at the University of California, Riverside, before pursuing additional postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. “We consistently see the effects of using certain types of language. If people use a lot of hostile language, they tend to have poor relationships, and they have bad habits such as smoking.” Peggy is one of the researchers on the World Well-Being Project at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, which measures psychological and physical well-being based on the analysis of language used in social media. Research results showed that people who used agreeable words were less likely to be depressed, while those who talked about pain were more likely to experience depression. In one study, for example, social media users whose posts were dominated by hostile and apathetic words, such as “hate” and “bored,” and cursing showed high risk for atherosclerotic heart disease, while those who used positive words like “wonderful” and “friends” consistently showed lower risk. “The differences are really surprising,” Peggy says. “It’s amazing how quickly you can make a story about someone’s life based on the language they use.” Which Came First? What the research can’t tell us about the subjects studied through the World Well-Being Project is whether negative language was already in place before their physical and mental health were affected, or if a diminished state of health and happiness led to the use of negative language. Peggy says both scenarios are possible. “Language reveals who you are, but it also impacts who you are,” she says. “As you use language and it becomes more and more a part of you, it influences who you are and how you think.” Joseph Cardillo, Ph.D., author of Body Intelligence: Harness Your Body’s Energiesfor Your Best Life, says that words have more power than we might realize, and using them affects us as well as having an impact on the people around us. “If we are constantly using dark or negative language, it’s not just about the words—it’s that we feel negative, too,” he explains. For example, if you frequently say you are “sick and tired” of one thing or another, you’re sending a message to your brain, which will react accordingly. “Our brain understands patterns. So if you keep telling your brain these things, then that pattern becomes your brain wave activity. And then you are sick. Or you’re tired. And you have more stress and more anxiety, and it affects your higher-level thinking and problem solving. In the end, it influences your relationships.” The words we use, Joseph notes, are not only an indication of how we feel, but also a map to where we are headed. “The good news is, you can pay attention to the words you use and possibly avoid getting into problems down the road. Your words will tell you what things are draining our energy and which things are boosting them. It’s not just the words, it’s about looking at where those words are coming from and what that’s doing to us.” The Power of Words There’s also proof from the medical community that words are strong influencers of our mental state. In their book Words Can Change Your Brain, Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman illustrate how the use of certain words can change the brain structures of both the person talking and of those listening. Positive words, their research found, strengthened areas in the brain’s frontal lobe and promoted cognitive brain function. Negative or hostile words, on the other hand, triggered the release of neurochemicals designed to protect us from stress. When those words are processed by the amygdala—our fear center—it sounds the alarm, shutting down our frontal lobe activity and triggering the fight-or-flight response. Just a single word, they write, can influence the physical and emotional stress response. “Words are energetic,” Joseph adds. “First of all, the sound itself is energetic. And then that release of energy impacts the other person.” He suggests putting more thought into what words we use to help create more positive situations and outcomes. “It’s a form of mindfulness we can all practice,” he says. Rethinking Our Talk Knowing how much words can influence the way we think and how they affect others gives us an opportunity to change. Peggy, who has lived both in the U.S. and abroad, says that even the way the evening news is presented has an effect on well-being and mindset. “In the States, every broadcast begins with the words, ‘breaking news,’ ” she says. “So immediately it sends people into crisis mode. It becomes a language that impacts our well-being. Changing the language we use can change the culture and create a positive impact.” Becoming aware of it is the first step, according to Peggy. “We certainly see from neuroscience the idea that growth can happen if you practice something over and over. We can rewire our brains in some ways, but it takes time and it’s constant,” she says. “This is about a pattern you create over a long period of time.” Paula Felpsis the Science Editor for Live Happy magazine.

Illustration of animals with religious symbols on them

science

Have a Little Faith to Find Happiness

Dena Fields can’t remember a time when religious ceremonies weren’t part of her life. As the daughter of a Church of Christ pastor, she grew up in an environment where religious rituals were part of her daily routine. Prayers, bible study and singing hymns were ways of connecting with her faith, and even as she grew older and pushed back against many of her parents’ rules, she found that she still valued that foundation. “For me, being raised as a Christian really opened a door,” says Dena, a hairstylist who also teaches yoga. “What I grew up with was very, very structured, and I took components of that with me. I still practice some of those very same things,” even though her beliefs have deepened and evolved since childhood. She has explored a variety of religions and practices but always finds components of the faith of her childhood within them. “My daily prayer and meditation time is really important to me,” Dena says. “I spend about 10 minutes talking to God and praying, and then spend about 20 minutes listening and meditating. Then I finish with worship like singing and expressing gratitude.” She says her upbringing showed her the importance of devoting time to such practices and gave her the discipline to commit to that time even on days when she is busy or doesn’t feel like doing it. Along the way, she has incorporated elements of other faiths into her spiritual journey, as well as pursuing aspects of positive psychology practices. “Things like gratitude and joy and mindfulness—those all are things that I feel raise me to a higher level. I feel the world needs that, so practicing positive psychology helps me keep that front of mind. And when I am reminded to look for the good in people, it helps raise me up, too.” Gratitude, she believes, is among the most important practices. She keeps a journal and spends her 10-minute drive to work giving thanks for the day ahead of her. “Being grateful keeps me in a place of expecting good things to happen in my life and knowing that I am making a difference,” she says, adding that she doesn’t draw a line between the spiritual rituals and psychology practices. “For me, all of these different beliefs and practices work together.” Spiritual Melting Pots Dena’s multifaceted approach to spirituality isn’t entirely unique. In fact, the many parallels between positive psychology and religion have led researchers to compare the two and explore what each can learn from the other. Religious practice and positive psychology share many traits. For example, Christianity is among the many religions that emphasizes virtues such as gratitude, humility, hope and forgiveness, among others. Buddhism encourages meditation and the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. Judaism has a strong focus on community, giving back and finding meaning. Positive psychology encourages all those virtues and practices; you might say they follow the same path using different vehicles. “If you look at character strengths, a lot of those came from religion,” says Greg Evans, Ph.D., a faculty member of The Flourishing Center and current chair of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. Developing our character strengths—24 positive attributes that fall under six virtue categories—promotes well-being. Among those strengths are forgiveness, humility, self-control, gratitude, hope and spirituality. “In general, positive psychology is just viewing it through a different lens,” Greg says. “I think it’s important for us to look at what religion is doing well, what positive psychology can learn from that, and what religion might be able to learn from positive psychology.” Many Blessings Science repeatedly supports the far-reaching benefits of faith and spirituality. Longevity researcher Dan Buettner says that people who attend church services four times a month add, on average, up to 14 years to their life expectancy, regardless of their denomination. Being part of a community of like-minded believers also adds tremendously to the support believers get from a strong faith foundation. Practicing faith fills us with a sense of purpose—which is important for satisfaction and overall well-being—and helps us navigate life’s ups and downs. “You have a weekly chance to downshift, you can relinquish some of the stress in your life and you have a built-in social network—all of those things favor a better health outcome,” Dan notes. “And, if you’re going to church, you’re less likely to be participating in risky behaviors.” In fact, Thomas G. Plante, editor of the book Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology: Understanding the Psychological Fruits of Faith, reviewed more than 20 studies conducted between 1996 and 2012 and found that to be a consistent outcome. The studies showed that, overall, people who regularly engage in a spiritual or religious activity are less likely to participate in behaviors such as drug abuse, unprotected sex and smoking. They show fewer incidents of alcoholism, depression and anxiety and enjoy better physical health. “Even when people aren’t religious, but they participate in a regular religious practice, they do well,” Greg explains. “Religion supports feelings of social connection and, specifically, engages you in the feeling of doing something good for others.” Peace of Mind Rebecca Carpenter, a devout Christian who lives in Carrollton, Texas, has been involved in the church her entire life. Like Dena, she grew up as the daughter of a minister, and today she works as an administrator in the youth education department of her Methodist church. She is involved in mission work and ministries related to her church, including those for single women. “When you are raised in a home where you have a minister as a dad and they practice the faith, they teach you and that is all that you know,” she says. “It’s not until you get older that you make it your own. You have to learn that it is your own faith and no one else’s. That is the walk.” Rebecca values the connection that comes both from her volunteer work with the church and the fellowship she enjoys with other congregation members. “When you are together in a group, you share with each other what you have learned and it keeps your faith going,” she explains. “You can share bible scripture with each other or just pray together and just share. It’s a big part of your faith.” Beyond that social connection, the sense of transcendence, or being connected to something larger than ourselves, has a powerful effect on both our physical and mental well-being, Greg says. That connection to something that can outlast or outlive you creates a sense of deeper meaning. For Rebecca, that connection gives her greater peace of mind every day. Currently facing breast cancer for the second time, she is moved by the prayers, love and support of her fellow church members, but she also feels the transcendence of her personal relationship with God. “It keeps me balanced to know that I am connected with God,” she says. “Things will knock you down, but the good thing is that when you do give that burden up and pray and ask God to help you get through something, that’s when the peace comes. When I started praying through that, that’s where the peace came and the anxiety finally went away.” In Sickness and in Health Religious, spiritual and positive psychology practices share the benefit of providing a path toward greater personal happiness and positive emotion. Patty Van Cappellen, Ph.D., of Duke University, says studies have shown us specifically which religious practices cause a greater sense of well-being, creating a sort of guideline for people who are interested in enhancing positivity in their lives. “What it shows us is that there are ways to achieve that whether you’re religious or not. It gives us an idea of the ingredients that are most important, and how we can build those resources.” Getting people involved may be easier than keeping them engaged, however. While some people, like Dena and Rebecca, consider spiritual practices an essential part of their daily routine, others turn to it only on an as-needed basis. That’s one more shared trait of religion and positive psychology: It’s not unusual for individuals to become interested in it because they’re facing personal adversity. When their difficult time has passed, they may lose interest and discontinue their practice. Patty is studying how to keep people engaged in their practices even when life is going well. “Research shows that people tend to heavily invest in religion and spirituality during difficult times, but they may opt out when times are good,” she says. “The truth is, adversity is not the only path to discovering these things. When there is no adversity, then it opens the door for people to have meaningful, uplifting emotions like awe. If we can learn how to build these resources when we’re feeling good, we can prime ourselves for more of these transcendent moments.” Listen to our podcast: Religion and Positive Psychology With Patty Van Cappellen Read more: Faith and Positive Psychology Merge in The Happiness Prayer Read more: 10 Best Books About Faith Paula Felps is the Science Editor for Live Happy magazine.

science

Happy News of the Week

Growing Link Between Health and Happiness Top researchers of subjective well-being recently released a comprehensive review on the connection between health and happiness. Based on recent findings, the case is strong enough to encourage health practitioners to add “happiness assessments” when asking patients about their behaviors. Admittedly, the report does call for more research into this area, but the promising results are trending toward happiness playing an important role in our mental and physical health. The Happiest College in America Is… Vanderbilt University has the happiest students in North America, according to The Princeton Review, edging out Rice University, which claimed the title last year. The test-prep outfit’s annual guide The Best 382 Colleges 2018 ranks schools on categories ranging from Best-Run College (University of Richmond), the Most Beautiful Campus (University of San Diego) and Best Campus food (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) based on student surveys. Vanderbilt also boasts an academic rating of 95 percent and has a near perfect quality of life rating. Money Can Buy You Happiness In a recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers found that money can buy you happiness in the form of time-saving activities, such as paying someone to mow your lawn or clean your house. People who traded cash for time were found to be less anxious at the end of the day and reported less stress as well. The study also found that when we suffer from a “time famine,” we are putting our health at risk by forming unhealthy eating, exercising and sleeping habits. Be True to You The secret to well-balanced happiness may include embracing emotions that aren’t very pleasant, such as anger, sadness and contempt. According to Maya Tamir, Ph.D., a psychology professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem who worked on the study The Secret to Happiness: Feeling Good or Feeling Right?, researchers found that we are better off if the emotions we are experiencing match the emotions we desire. “If we embrace the feelings that we have, for instance, when we feel sad, we could accept these feelings as natural and understand that there is nothing wrong with us,” Maya says. Emoji for Hire We often send each other emojis to convey certain moods that we are feeling without using words, such as a laughing smiley face or a frustrated face-palm. Since people naturally like to mimic behaviors, or what scientists call “affective contagion,” a management professor from the University of Delaware who studies workplace performance wanted to see if emojis had an impact on how people behave at work. What he found was when people receive friendly and positive messages, they are put into a good mood which can then lead to the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine controls the reward and pleasure centers of the brain and allows us to be more creative and find new ways to solve problems. Chris Libby is the Section Editor for Live Happy magazine.

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Be Real About How You Feel

New research suggests that a key to happiness may include embracing more negative emotions. Traditionally, psychologists have held that in order to increase happiness, it is important to increase positive emotions and decrease the negative. However, in the new study “The Secret to Happiness: Feeling Good or Feeling Right?,” researchers suggest that people are happier when the emotions they experience align with the emotions they desire, even if those are unpleasant, such as anger or contempt. “People are happier if they feel what they want to feel or if they want what they feel,” says Maya Tamir, Ph.D., lead researcher on the study and psychology professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “If people want to feel unpleasant emotions, they are happier if they feel them, at least to some extent. If we feel angry, but consider these the right feelings to have—we’re probably better off than if our feelings don’t match what we want them to be.” Embrace your dark side Maya explains that some negative emotions can be helpful and even beneficial when those emotions are aligned with our desires. For instance, if you are feeling angry about a great injustice, your desires are probably related to your core values. The anger you feel may spur you into action, which can provide meaning in your life as you work to correct the injustice. Embracing your anger may motivate you to pursue a fitness goal if you are out of shape or strive for a promotion at work if you are not happy with your current financial situation. If your emotions are misaligned with your values, Maya says, that can have the opposite effect and lead to dissatisfaction. One example would be getting angry at your child for breaking a dish but then feeling guilty later for being too harsh about the mishap. By pursuing the emotions we care about most and embracing the feelings we have about those emotions, we can feel better about ourselves and have less inner conflict. “Happiness is not only about the emotions you have, but also about the emotions you want to have,” Maya explains. “You are happier when these two match than when they mismatch, regardless of whether that means feeling more or less pleasant overall.” Don't sweep negative emotions under the rug Stacy Kaiser, Live Happy editor at large and psychotherapist, strongly agrees with the findings and says that being true to who you are is an important part of emotional well-being. “Dismissing or ignoring our feelings typically leads to greater sadness and discomfort overall,” she says. “I regularly encourage people to allow themselves to feel their feelings, good or bad, to process them and to move forward,” she says. “Taking time out to do this typically provides relief in the moment and greater happiness overall.” Read more: Are You Trying Too Hard to Be Happy? Read more: Face Failure Head On With These Essential Tools Chris Libby is the Section Editor for Live Happy magazine. His last feature article was Happiness Is a Walk in the Park.

Live Happy Tips to Buy Yourself Free Time

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Buy Yourself Free Time to Find Happiness

A recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that even though we may have more money and our income levels are higher, the unintended consequence for this success is an unhealthy decrease in our free time. And that’s bad for happiness. When you are constantly pressed for time, the negative stress can increase anxiety and lead to unhealthy habits in eating, sleeping and exercising, the study found. But, if you take your earnings and trade them for time, such as paying someone to mow the lawn or clean your house, you can free up time to spend with the people you enjoy doing activities that bring you pleasure. Time: the scarce commodity “We spend our time in ways that doesn’t pay out in terms of our overall well-being,” says Christine Carter, Ph.D., sociologist and author of The Sweet Spot: How to Accomplish More by Doing Less. “Neurologically, the busier that we feel and the more overwhelmed that we feel, the worse we are at managing our time, planning out how we’ll spend our time and perceiving time.” She says that any time we feel like we don’t have enough of something, it creates a “scarcity mindset” in our brain which triggers our fight-or-flight response. “It worsens our relationship with time and productivity.” Too many things to do and not enough time to do them results in both mental and physical distress. When your brain is constantly zipping back and forth between tasks, you are burning glucose and oxygen and creating physical tension. Read more: Upping Your Downtime Take time to daydream According to the study, if we spend money on time-saving activities instead of material goods, we may feel more relief at the end of the day and have a more a positive mindset. If we string these positive events together, as explained by Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory, we have a greater chance at improving our life satisfaction. But, if we overdo it, we can stoke feelings of having less control over our lives or we can fill that time with more of what got us in trouble in the first place, such as checking email, scrolling through our phones or just doing more work. “If you are focused and your cognition is engaged at all times, the human brain really starts to have problems,” Christine says. “A lot of the things that we pay people to do for us take away our unspoken mind-wandering time. That’s when a lot happens in the brain.” She adds that trading money for time is good if we use our free time the right way, like spending your it to find fulfillment and connect with people we are close to, which is essential for our well-being. Also, having plain-old down time is not a bad thing, either. She says if we don’t use our extra time to let the mind wander, the brain will find inopportune times to day dream anyway and interrupt your creativity and productivity. Read more: 33 Ideas on Play Spend it wisely Pedram Shojai, the best-selling author of The Urban Monk: Eastern Wisdom and Modern Hacks to Stop Time and Find Success, Happiness, and Peace says that time, money and energy are interchangeable in a lot of ways. He explains that when we run out money, we can often borrow more. “If you run out of time, you’re done.” When we burden ourselves with too much to do and not enough time to do it, we fall into what Pedram calls the time-compression syndrome on his website The Urban Monk. All that stress and worry takes us out of the present moment and makes it hard to focus on the task at hand. Pedram says, while we can swap money for other people’s time, we also need to be more mindful of where that time is being allocated and to pinpoint the moments in our lives where we are really bound. “It requires a good understanding of what your goals are, what you want to be and where you want your life to go to,” Pedram says. “Really look at how you are allocating that time so you are not being frivolous or needlessly wasteful.” Good-quality time could be spent savoring the moments with your young children, catching up on much needed rest and getting more exercise. All of these factors can increase lasting happiness. Read more: How to Buy Happiness for Less Than $25 Chris Libby is the Section Editor for Live Happy magazine.

science

New Studies Boost Yoga’s Role in Fighting Depression

Research is finally catching up with what many practitioners believed all along: Yoga helps lessen the symptoms of depression. Multiple studies backing this theory were presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., this week. New scientific data “Yoga has become so popular in the West, and everyone who practices knows it’s beneficial, but there hasn’t been a lot of scientific backing yet,” says Lindsey Hopkins, Ph.D., of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She chaired a session on yoga and depression at the event. One of her presented studies focused on the acceptability and antidepressant benefits of Hatha yoga among 23 male veterans. They took twice-weekly yoga classes for eight weeks. Participants with higher depression scores before the study had a significant reduction in symptoms at the end. Plus, all in the group said they would recommend the program to other vets. Lindsey was also a co-author on another study with Sarah Shallit of Alliant University in San Francisco. This one followed women ages 25–45 who did twice-weekly Bikram yoga classes for eight weeks. At the end, participants had significantly reduced symptoms of depression compared with the control group. Focus on consistency over time So how much does the style of yoga you choose matter in lessening depression symptoms? Not much, according to Lindsey. Instead, focus on consistency. “What we have seen for all those studies is there’s a relationship between the number of classes and how much they improved,” she says. “The more they went, the more their symptoms improved.” Lindsey stresses that this research doesn’t suggest that yoga is a first-line treatment for treating depression. But, she says with excitement in her voice, “there is definitely enough evidence that yoga is a complementary intervention.” More promising results Other research presented at the convention agrees. Highlights of those studies include the following: Twenty-nine adults who did eight weeks of Bikram yoga had significantly reduced symptoms of depression, according to researchers Maren Nyer, Ph.D., and Maya Nauphal of Massachusetts General Hospital. The participants practiced at least twice a week. They also showed improvement in secondary measures, such as quality of life, optimism and cognitive and physical functioning. Nina Vollbehr of the Center for Integrative Psychiatry in the Netherlands explored the potential for yoga to address chronic and/or treatment-resistant depression. She studied 12 patients who had experienced depression for an average of 11 years. They participated in nine weekly yoga sessions of approximately 2.5 hours each. Scores for depression, anxiety and stress decreased during the program and continued for four months. Nina and her colleagues also studied 74 mildly depressed university students, who were asked to perform either yoga or another relaxation technique at home for eight days using an instructional video. Results taken after the treatment showed yoga and relaxation equally reduced symptoms. But, two months later, the yoga group had significantly lower scores for depression, anxiety and stress than the other group. Read more: Four Yoga Poses to Try Right Now Listen to our podcast: Yoga: Not Just for Adults Anymore With Susan Verde Mary Dunklin is a writer and editor who specializes in family, fitness and travel. She is also a registered yoga teacher and personal trainer.

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