Happiness

Do You Know These 10 Exercises For Boosting Happiness? 

galleryhip These are the top 10 interventions that are not discussed nearly enough – but they should be! I’ll also follow-up with a post about the top 10 most popular strategies for boosting happiness.  Here are 10 exercises that need more attention, and yes, character strengths are direct or indirect aspects of each. 1.) Letter from [...]

10 Ways Gratitude Makes Your Life Better

Petar Paunchev via Getty Images It's no accident that all of the major world religions employ some form of gratitude in their rituals. It's simply because it makes our daily life better, even if you're not religious nor spiritual. Gratitude is the feeling of being thankful and showing appreciation for what is in [...]

Want ‘Sustained Happiness’? Get Religion, Study Suggests

Chad Mizelle sits in silent meditation during service at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. (Erin Schaff/For The Washington Post) A new study suggests that joining a religious group could do more for someone’s “sustained happiness” than other forms of social participation, such as volunteering, playing sports or taking a [...]

Mum’s the Word When It Comes to Children’s Happiness

istockphoto Young people's satisfaction with their family situation is clearly related to the quality of relationships with parents and especially their mother's happiness. The research findings come from the first findings from Understanding Society, the world's largest household panel study managed by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of [...]

There’s a Biology to Lasting Happiness, and There May Be a Way to Train Yourself

Gotta good feeling. (Reuters/Guillermo Granja) That uplifting feeling you get when something good happens to you? Researchers now think they know the part of the brain responsible for it—and they suggest we may be able to train ourselves to make those positive emotions last longer. Their conclusions are based on a study (paywall) conducted by [...]

Resilience and Girls

www.laurelschool.org Over the past year, Resilient Youth Australia has surveyed 18,156 young Australian females in years 3 to 12 to gain a picture of their resilience. This paper is written to help you think about ways to build upon the strengths of girls and young women as well as addressing their areas of [...]

Depression Not Contagious, But Happiness Spreads Among Friends

Teenagers with depression who have a good circle of healthy-minded friends are double as likely to recover from the condition within 6 to 12 months. Photo by SpeedKingz/Shutterstock Researchers found that while depression does not spread among friends, happiness is contagious in circles of friends and may be the key to treating and [...]

People Mean Most for Our Collective Happiness

IOANA ON, free-meditation.ca Swedish soccer star Zlatan is associated with happiness, but not iPhones. A new study at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Lund University suggests that our collective picture of what makes us happy is more about relationships, and less about things. News articles published online by Swedish dailies during 2010 were analyzed [...]

Parents Inclined to Misjudge Child Happiness Based on Personal Feelings

Parents' estimations of their children's happiness differ significantly from the child's own assessment of their feelings, a study has shown. Research by psychologists at Plymouth University showed parents of 10 and 11-year-olds consistently overestimated their child's happiness, while those with 15 and 16-year-olds were inclined to underestimate. - University of Plymouth Source: Parents inclined to [...]

3 Ways to Help Hope Grow in Teens

Think of two teenagers you have regular contact with: one who is resilient and happy, and one who is struggling and languishing. Imagine you are interviewing each of them, and you ask them to respond to each of these six questionnaire items: 1. I think I am doing pretty well 2. I can think of [...]

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