POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Presented by: Judith Gissy PCC, LICDC, NCAC II, SAP “© 2016 Bethesda Healthcare, Inc. All rights reserved. Copying or reproducing this document is strictly prohibited."

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Assessment Referral Counseling Crisis Intervention

• Work/life services • Management Consultation • Workplace Training 2

HAPPINESS • Happiness is a state of wellbeing and contentment. • It includes the ability to enjoy the world we find around us, to find a peace of mind despite difficulties, and to be open to new joyful experiences. • Some of our happiness depends on external circumstances, such as financial issues and marital status. • Most of our own happiness is within our control. • Happiness is a set of skills that can be learned and strengthened at any time in our lives. 3

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THE BENEFITS OF HAPPINESS • Happiness improves our overall mental health. • Happiness improves our physical health, improving the tolerance to pain, cancer risk, heart attack risk, and overall longevity. • Happiness affects our jobs, improving job satisfaction, productivity, and even income levels. • So what are the characteristics of happiness, and how can we improve our own ability to be happy? 4

OPTIMISM • Our responses to life circumstances is are largely determined by our thoughts and beliefs. • We can’t change the events in our lives, but we can change how we interpret and respond to those events. • Optimism is a way of interpreting our world in a positive & hopeful way. • It is actually a way to see difficulties more accurately. • It often means compartmentalizing, viewing problems as opportunities that can be surmounted.

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WE CAN IMPROVE OUR OPTIMISM BY: • Monitoring our thinking, changing our negative thoughts to positive ones • Writing out a realistic list of positives and negatives that occurs in typical day • Trying to find the positives in every case • Reframing difficult situations by using milder descriptions, like “discomfort,” “unpleasant,” or “annoying” • Mimicking the positive characteristics of people we perceive are happier than we are • Looking for the challenge and opportunity in each crisis

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EMPOWERMENT

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• An important component to happiness is feeling confident and capable in meeting challenges changes in our lives. • Empowerment includes a high self esteem, emotional stability, and accepting ourselves and our humanity unconditionally. It consists of four qualities: feeling our lives are meaningful, feeling capable and competent, having autonomy, and feeling like we can make an impact. When we are feel empowered, we are more likely to will work actively towards solutions to life problems.

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WE CAN INCREASE EMPOWERMENT BY • Identifying our own strengths • Writing about a time when we were at our best, and reflecting on the personal strengths shown then. • “Retraining” our self-view by taking a “leap of faith” in making changes. • Before going to bed, writing down 3 things that went well that day. Asking, “how did I make these happen?’ • Using affirmations, such as, “I am strong and capable; or “I have everything I need to be happy,” or “I am worthy of loving and being loved.”

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FLOW • Flow, is a focused mental state in which we’re “lose ourselves” in an activity, is strongly connected to personal happiness. • When we have flow, we’re exercising our enthusiasm, curiosity, creativity, and excitement about learning new ideas & skills. • Flow consists of an intense concentration, “losing ourselves” into the activity, feeling “in the zone,” or at our peak competence, losing our sense of time, and feeling an intense pleasure from the activity.

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WE CAN DEVELOP “FLOW” BY: • Discovering our “signature strengths,” and using them on a regular basis • Engaging fully in more activities without distraction, such as solving mental puzzles, handicrafts, art, journaling, music, cooking, or other hobby • Setting simple step-by-step goals towards • Finding ways to explore and grow in our jobs • Finding ways to engage an activities “for their own sake”

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MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS • Ongoing connections with own families, friends, neighbors, places of worship, and communities are essential to our happiness. • Our friends, family, and social groups help us feel engaged, give us good information, a sounding board, concrete services, and feedback on our behavior. • Studies show that the quality of the connections connection is more important than the quantity of them. 11

WE CAN UTILIZE GOOD CONNECTIONS BY . . . • Maintaining social rituals, routines, and traditions • Maintaining supportive social networks, through friends, clubs, and/or church groups • Practicing asking for help • Maintaining close relationships with our extended family • Using role models to learn how to handle situations • Understanding how to access community resources • Finding positive supportive relationships of people who will listen to us and encourage our best selves • Using every-day situations as opportunities to connect 12

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GIVING AND RECEIVING • Giving to others increases our level of happiness. Serotonin increases when we’ve engaged in an act of kindness. • The benefits become exponential, giving us a well of goodwill. • Receiving and appreciating others is equally as important in improving our emotional health. • Feeling and expressing gratitude improves our mood and energy level, and allows us to achieve our goals. • Resilient people regularly give to others, and cultivate the skill of gratitude for what they’ve been given.

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WE CAN BOTH GIVE AND RECEIVE BY . . . • Finding both formal and informal ways to express kindness to others • Performing “one random act of kindness” each day and keeping a written log • “Paying gratitude forward.” • Expressing our gratitude for others on a regular basis • Starting a 30-day gratitude journal • Learn to “un-adapt,” by drawing attention to positive things in our lives that we often take for granted

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THEY UTILIZE HUMOR • Humor itself is essential to happiness. • Laughing on a regular basis provides a physical and emotional release, reduces tension, increases our immune system, and shrinks any problem into manageable levels. • Humor help dissolve frustration and anger, and creates moments of internal harmony. • Humor increases the feeling of connectedness to others. • Even “fake laughing” improves our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.

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WE CAN UTILIZE HUMOR BY . . . • Deciding not to leave the house until we can get the person in the mirror to laugh back at us • Going through the motions, i.e. putting a pencil in our teeth • Finding a friend to laugh, joke, and be silly with • • • •

Turning the difficult situation into a game or contest Seeking out humor through movies, books, and websites Set a few toys aside for ourselves and play with them Doing something silly and spontaneous in public, no matter how many people are watching

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RELAXING OUR BODIES AND MINDS • “Down time” activities are essential to our happiness. • When it appears that we’re doing nothing, our brains are actually very active reviewing, processing, & reorganizing. • Good relaxation activities can include meditation, deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, spiritual pursuits, daydreaming, or mindfulness. • Exercise itself can help us relax by focusing on one activity, and releasing endorphins into our system.

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WE CAN RELAX OUR MINDS BY • Taking up a meditation activity, such as yoga, meditation, or mindfulness • Taking time each day to savor at least two experiences a day • Practicing “1 minute relaxations,” though progressive muscle relaxation or shoulder shrugs • Indulging ourselves in “daydreaming breaks” • Putting relaxing activities into our weekly routine, like baths, massages, or regular walks through nature. • Finding ways to connect with spirituality regularly.

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TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES • It is difficult to be happy if we’re not taking care of our physical health. • Our health condition in general is not connected to happiness, but our “subjective health” is connected. • Not eating, ignoring exercise, and not getting enough sleep creates a “vicious cycle,” as it makes it easier to become negative, and increases our stress level. • It is essential to keep ourselves at our optimum physical level.

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WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES BY. . . • Having a daily self-care routine • Eating healthy, including whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables, and frequent use of water • Obtaining adequate sleep • Obtain regular exercise, including a more active lifestyle, stretching, exercise, and recreational activities • Making time for activities we enjoy • Obtaining regular physical checkups • Abstaining (or quitting) tobacco products

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BY IMPROVING OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS HAPPINESS, WE CAN IMPROVE OUR WELLNESS OVERALL. 21

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