Happiness and Health: Psychological Insights

Introduction to Subjective Well-being

• Subjective well-being refers to how individuals experience the quality of their lives and includes both emotional reactions and cognitive judgments.

Three Types of Happiness

• Life Satisfaction: How individuals evaluate their lives as a whole.
• Examples: "I think my life is great", "I am satisfied with my job".
• Positive Feelings: Experiencing joy and positive affect.
• Enjoying life, loving others, having few chronic worries, rarely feeling sad or angry.
• Low Negative Feelings: Minimizing negative emotional experiences.

Causes of Happiness

• Internal Causes: Factors from within an individual that affect happiness.

• Good income, achieving one’s goals, high self-esteem, supportive friendships, interesting work, extraverted personality, low neuroticism, harmony in goals, positive outlook.

• External Causes: Factors that exist outside the individual.

• Sufficient material resources, adequate social support, and belonging to a desirable society.

Adaptation to Circumstances

• Adaptation occurs when people initially react strongly to good or bad events but eventually return to their previous level of happiness. This phenomenon is known as the hedonic treadmill.

Measuring Happiness

• Various self-report scales can assess happiness through agreement levels:
• Strongly agree (7) to Strongly disagree (1) on statements like:
  • "I lead a purposeful and meaningful life."
  • "I actively contribute to the happiness of others."
  • "I am optimistic about my future."

Ways to Be Happier

• Consider changes in life that enhance meaning and happiness.
• Look for the positive aspects in situations.
• Surround yourself with uplifting individuals.
• Actions to improve happiness:
• Help others, express gratitude, find meaningful work.

Factors Influencing Health

• 12 Factors
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Regular physical activity
• Consistent sleep patterns
• Avoid smoking
• Moderate or no alcohol consumption
• Practice safe sex
• Foster community connections.

Stress and Health

• Definition of Stress: The behavioral, mental, and physical responses that occur when events challenge an individual's ability to cope
• Stressors: Events or stimuli that threaten well-being.
• Stress Responses: The physical, behavioral, and psychological reactions to stressors.

Types of Stressors

• Major Life Stressors: Significant disruptions impacting daily life.
• Daily Hassles: Minor irritations that accumulate and can lead to significant stress.

Eustress

• Positive stress that benefits health, motivates, improves performance, and enhances emotional well-being.

General Adaptation Syndrome

• Stages of stress responses:
• Alarm: Initial reaction to stress.
• Resistance: Body's attempt to adapt.
• Exhaustion: Energy depletion leads to potential failure of bodily systems.

Coping with Stress

• Coping Types:
• Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional reactions.
• Problem-focused coping: Tackling the source of stress directly.

Reducing Exam Anxiety

• Strategies include changing mindset about exams, ensuring adequate rest, arriving early, and employing effective test-taking skills.

Social Support and Health

• Social support contributes to better health by reducing overall stress and enhancing coping with stressful situations.
• Marriage correlates with improved health and longevity but varies across age groups.

Strategies for Enhancing Health and Well-being

• Eat natural foods and control portion sizes.
• Stay active and avoid smoking.
• Learn relaxation techniques and develop strong social support networks.
• Consider spiritual health and happiness enhancing exercises.