Can psychology, in addition to curing people with mental illnesses, make people happier?
We define positive psychology as a scientific method whose objective is to rigorously study the bases and reasons for psychological and emotional well-beingSince the origins of psychology, we have focused on the most negative aspects of the functioning of our mind, leaving aside personal growth and the importance of seeking well-being beyond the absence of mental problems.
Martin Seligman, a renowned psychologist and university professor, has focused much of his life and studies on shedding light on the study of positive psychology. Thanks to him, and other great psychologists, we can develop our strengths by directing them towards a more optimistic mentality. If you want to understand in depth what is positive psychology according to Seligmanwe recommend that you continue reading this Psychology-Online article.
Positive psychology: Seligman’s definition
Although he began his research in psychology focused on depression and depression, Martin Seligman is known for his successful studies and work in the field of positive psychology.
Although great minds like or had already expressed the urgency in the development of emotional well-being, the term positive psychology gained strength with the arrival of Seligman’s theory. This talks about happiness as a combination of strengthsthese strengths can be defined as the paths or processes through which we become virtuous, for example:
- Resilience
- Optimism
- Courage
- Persistence
- Creativity
- Vitality
- Gratitude
- Self-control
- Wisdom
- emotional intelligence
We are therefore talking about a radical change in the world of psychology, a revolution focused on seeking scientific support on the path to well-being in all people, without making a distinction between mental illnesses. Traditionally, according to Seligman himself “psychology makes unhappy people less unhappy“, thus abandoning the possibility of improving the lives of many people who do not have psychopathology. Despite not denying the need to give tools to people who have mental discomfort, positive psychology according to Seligman He also wants to offer these tools to all people.
Although it is true that the current conception is focused on the pathological and focuses on correcting errors and imperfections, positive psychology emphasizes developing skills to improve personal well-being and prevent the appearance of mental illnesses.
Happiness according to Seligman
To understand what positive psychology is according to Seligman, we have to name the three dimensions of happiness or, as he names them, happy lives:
pleasant life
This type of life is based on look for all the positive emotions that one can have and develop skills to amplify pleasure. To achieve a pleasant life we must have basic needs covered such as food, security, a home… A pleasant life has some drawbacks. For example, we quickly become accustomed to pleasures and that leads us to a continuous search that has little to do with happiness.
Commitment life
When Seligman talks about commitment, he refers to the responsibilities that arise throughout our lives: work, friendships, a partner, children… when these commitments are not a burden, but a joy, we are developing a happy and stable type of life that projects us towards greater well-being. When we discover our virtues and strengths and use them to generate emotional ties with our environment, we will have taken a very important step on our path of personal growth.
It is more than the search for pleasures and happiness. There is a recipe for the good life and it is based on amplifying our strengths and, with them, rebuilding and improving all the aspects of our life that we want.
Meaningful life
Finally, it is important to talk about the most socially revered happiness. The meaningful life is about knowing our strengths and using them to 1) belong to a collective and 2) fight in service of something bigger than ourselves. We therefore direct our virtues to help the personal growth of others.
The key to positive psychology is to find a perfect balance between these lives and find the one that best suits the personal needs of each person. However, the good life (life of commitment) is the one that has been most established as true well-being.
Positive psychology techniques and exercises
Can we achieve more well-being than we currently have?
Next, we will explain four exercises to practice positive psychology In your day to day:
- Think of a fun day, choose a series of elements that you would like to have a really pleasant day for you. Once you have them in your mind, reserve a Saturday and plan that day. Give yourself a good experience.
- Accept that Negative events are part of life, But we have the responsibility to learn from them and thus come out of a bad experience being stronger and wiser.
- Think of someone who has helped you get over a bump in your life, a relevant person who invested his efforts in your happiness. Write him a letter, empty your mind and fill the paper with gratitude. If possible, meet with that person and read your letter. This exercise of kindness increases our sense of well-being while providing a good experience to another person.
- Try to put the focus of your life in another direction, analyze what happens to you from a more positive outlook. Controlling negative thoughts is a very effective tool to prevent possible mental illness. Life is not always going to be something perfect and wonderful, however, we must focus our thoughts on the good events that happen to us every day.
We must keep in mind that positive psychology is not only a theory, there is scientific evidence that supports it. Long-term studies have been carried out on different psychological interventions that show that people who best develop their strengths achieve greater well-being in your life. Furthermore, it has also been shown that the development of positive psychology prevents the appearance of many mental illnesses1.
Famous quotes by Martin Seligman
- Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the optimist as it does on the pessimist, but the optimist resists them better.
- There are physical characteristics that are inherited, such as appearance or physical coordination. Many psychological characteristics, however, are learned. Not all of our attributes contribute to success in life, but optimism is one of them, and it is also one of the main ones.
- Today’s psychology makes unhappy people less unhappy.
- If all we had were positive emotions, our species would have died a long time ago.
- Changing the destructive things we say to ourselves when we experience the normal life setbacks we all suffer from is the core skill of optimism.
- I’m trying to expand the scope of positive psychology beyond the smiley face. Happiness is only one fifth of what human beings choose to do.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- Vera Poseck, B. (2006). Positive psychology: a new way of understanding psychology. Psychologist Papers, 27(1).