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Social Support and Its Effects

• Social Support: Feeling liked and encouraged by friends and family, promotes health and happiness.
  • Linked to reduced stress hormones and lower blood pressure.
  • Strengthens the immune system.

Psychological Benefits of Confiding

• Opportunity for "open heart therapy"; sharing painful feelings can reduce stress in the long run.
  • Study with Holocaust survivors showed that self-disclosure improved health 14 months later.
  • Grieving spouses who shared their feelings had better health than those who did not.

Factors for Healthy Living

• Developing optimistic thinking, building social support, and maintaining a sense of control reduce stress and enhance health.
• Aerobic Exercise: Boosts heart and lung fitness, alleviates depression and anxiety.
• Relaxation Techniques: Effective in managing stress and improving overall health without high costs.
  • Proven to help with headaches, hypertension, anxiety, and insomnia.

Mindfulness and Positive Psychology

• Mindfulness Meditation: Nonjudgmental awareness of current experiences.
• Feel Good, Do Good Phenomenon: People are more helpful when in a positive mood.
• Positive Psychology: Focuses on human flourishing and promoting strengths and virtues for individual and community well-being.

Measures of Well-being

• Subjective Well-being: Self-perceived happiness and life satisfaction.
• Adaptation Level Phenomenon: Judgments based on prior experiences.
• Relative Deprivation: Feeling worse off compared to those we compare ourselves with.

Traits of Happy People

• High self-esteem.
• Optimistic, outgoing, and agreeable nature.
• Positive, lasting relationships.
• Engaging work and leisure activities.
• Active religious faith (especially in religious cultures).
• Good sleep and regular exercise.