Happiness Research
John Grohol sums up the positive psychology basics in 5 Reliable Findings from Happiness Research. Here they are, minus the explanations, which await you at PsychCentral:
1. You control about half your happiness level.
2. Money doesn’t buy happiness.
3. Lottery winnings create only temporary, short-term happiness.
4. Relationships are a key factor in long-term happiness.
5. Focus on experiences, not stuff.
Depression and PMDD
A study looks at the difference between depression and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD):
“We found the greatest weight of evidence that PMDD and major depression are really two distinct entities in terms of biological response to stress and with respect to pain sensitivity and pain mechanisms.”
More, including a description of PMDD’s intensity, in the article.
Abstraction and Self-Control
PsyBlog profiles a study about increasing self-control by thinking abstractly–thinking about the why of a goal, instead of the how.
[I]t seems you can bolster resistance to temptation by thinking abstractly about the goal you want to obtain because it causes your mind to automatically associate temptations with negativity. Hey presto, more self-control and thank you unconscious mind.
Patients Know Best
File under “about time”: In Reporting Symptoms, Don’t Patients Know Best?
“Increasingly, scientifically, we believe that whatever Mrs. Smith says is what Mrs. Smith is experiencing, and it’s important to know how patients themselves feel about how they’re doing.”
The Stress-Depression-Anxiety Connection
A study finds the molecular connection between stress, anxiety, and depression. It’s the corticotropin releasing factor receptors! Should’ve known.
Life and Death Depression
A study measures the association between death and suicide to try to understand and predict suicidal behavior:
[P]articipants presenting to the emergency room after a suicide attempt had a stronger implicit association between death/ suicide and self than did participants presenting with other psychiatric emergencies. In addition, participants with strong associations between death/ suicide and self were significantly more likely to make a suicide attempt within the next six months
Late-Life Happiness
From ScienceDaily.com, Researchers Identify Secrets to Happiness, Depression Among Oldest of Old. Quick summary: To be happy later, try more happiness now.
While there was no indication that resources affect happiness, past life satisfaction — even individual achievements — was found to have a direct association.
Because of their results, the researchers urge caregivers of the elderly to implement programs — including reminiscence therapy and structured life review sessions — to foster feelings of happiness among very old populations.
“You can be not overly satisfied with your overall current capacity and physical well-being, but you can still be a very happy person because there’s a lot you can contribute just by sharing some of the things that nobody knew because it was 80 or 90 years ago.”
L.A. Rehab: Beit T’Shuvah
The L.A. Times profiles Beit T’Shuvah. The Venice Blvd. rehab combines the twelve steps with Jewish spirituality . At the helm, Mark Borovitz, con man turned rabbi–his autobiography is The Holy Thief.
Empathy and Violence Vie for Brain Space
A brain imaging study shows empathy and violence share circuitry in the brain.
“We all know that encouraging empathy has an inhibiting effect on violence, but this may not only be a social question but also a biological one — stimulation of these neuronal circuits in one direction reduces their activity in the other.”
Hooking Up v. Dating
It may not have taken a psych study to figure out that there’s a gender split regarding feelings about hooking up among college students. But of interest: all still prefer dating to hooking up–or at least say they do to a psych researcher.