Happiness

Life's Values ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 43-70
Author(s):  
Alan H. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Negative Feelings

Accounts of happiness in the philosophical literature see it as either a judgment of satisfaction with one’s life or as a balance of positive over negative feelings or emotional states. There are sound objections to both types of account, although each captures part of what happiness is. Seeing it as an emotion allows us to incorporate both features of the accounts thought to be incompatible. Emotions are analyzed as multi-component states including judgments, feelings, physical symptoms, and behavioral dispositions. It is shown that prototypical happiness contains all these components, and each is explicated. Happiness is similar to other emotions in many respects, including the phenomenon of adaptation, the “paradox of happiness,” and the existence of both paradigm and borderline instances. In secondary senses happiness can be a mood or temperament, higher level dispositions. Happiness is both a judgment of and a component of well-being, but not the whole of it.

Assessment of health related issues in individuals’, couples’, and families’ daily life

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinrad Perrez ◽  
Michael Reicherts ◽  
Yves Hänggi ◽  
Andrea B. Horn ◽  
Gisela Michel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Lower Variability

Abstract. Most research in health psychology is based on retrospective self reports, which are distorted by recall biases and have low ecological validity. To overcome such limitations we developed computer assisted diary approaches to assess health related behaviours in individuals’, couples’ and families’ daily life. The event- and time-sampling-based instruments serve to assess appraisals of the current situation, feelings of physical discomfort, current emotional states, conflict and emotion regulation in daily life. They have proved sufficient reliability and validity in the context of individual, couple and family research with respect to issues like emotion regulation and health. As examples: Regarding symptom reporting curvilinear pattern of frequencies over the day could be identified by parents and adolescents; or psychological well-being is associated with lower variability in basic affect dimensions. In addition, we report on preventive studies to improve parental skills and enhance their empathic competences towards their baby, and towards their partner.

Challenges and opportunities for the affective sciences.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Fox ◽  
Regina Lapate ◽  
Alexander J. Shackman ◽  
Richard J Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Core Feature ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improved Methods ◽  
Health And Well Being

Emotion is a core feature of the human condition, with profound consequences for health, wealth, and wellbeing. Over the past quarter-century, improved methods for manipulating and measuring different features of emotion have yielded steady advances in our scientific understanding emotional states, traits, and disorders. Yet, it is clear that most of the work remains undone. Here, we highlight key challenges facing the field of affective sciences. Addressing these challenges will provide critical opportunities not just for understanding the mind, but also for increasing the impact of the affective sciences on public health and well-being.

Optimism

2009 ◽  
pp. 302-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Carver ◽  
Michael F. Scheier ◽  
Daniel Fulford
Keyword(s):  
Disease Progression ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Negative Feelings ◽  
Seriously Ill

Optimism is expecting good things to occur in one's life. Such positive expectations are associated with higher subjective well-being, even under conditions of stress or adversity. In contrast, pessimists respond to adversity with more intense negative feelings. There are also differences in the manner in which optimists and pessimists try to cope with adversity. Optimists tend to put the best face on the adversity, but they acknowledge its existence and its importance, and they try to do as much as possible to resolve whatever problems can be resolved. Pessimists are more likely to distance themselves from the problem and put off doing anything about it as long as possible. They are also more likely to give up trying, if things remain difficult. Some kinds of problem solution is proactive, engaged in before the problem arises. Optimists also tend to engage in such proactive efforts, including taking actions to minimize various kinds of health risks. Perhaps, as a consequence of these preventive steps, optimists also tend to have better health than pessimists. They seem to heal faster from wounds, and there is some evidence that when they are seriously ill they experience slower disease progression. It has been suggested that optimists sometimes are no better off than pessimists, and sometimes are worse off: that their confidence can get them into situations where it is difficult to cope effectively. Evidence of such negative effects of optimism does exist, but it is relatively sparse.

Depression, psychosocial correlates, and psychosocial resources in individuals with mast cell activation syndrome

2021 ◽  
pp. 135910532110145
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nicoloro SantaBarbara ◽  
Marci Lobel
Keyword(s):  
Mast Cell ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Mast Cell Activation ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome ◽  
Disease Experience ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Activation Syndrome

Individuals with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), a rare chronic disease, experience unpredictable physical symptoms and diagnostic challenges resulting in poor emotional states. The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms were examined among 125 participants who completed the CES-D and relevant instruments. The majority reported a clinically-significant level of depression which was especially common among younger participants and those who reported greater loneliness or more disease-specific stressors. Greater magnitude of depressive symptoms was associated with greater illness intrusiveness, less social support, and lower optimism. Results highlight the value of interventions targeting loneliness and stressors unique to this population.

scholarly journals Feasibility and acceptability of hypnosis-derived communication administered by trained nurses to improve patient well-being during outpatient chemotherapy: a pilot-controlled trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Arbour ◽  
Marjorie Tremblay ◽  
David Ogez ◽  
Chloé Martineau-Lessard ◽  
Gilles Lavigne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Usual Care ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Symptom Management ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Intervention Site ◽  
Outpatient Chemotherapy ◽  
Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale ◽  
Contrast Perception

Abstract Purpose This pilot-controlled trial aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of hypnosis-derived communication (HC) administered by trained nurses during outpatient chemotherapy to optimize symptom management and emotional support — two important aspects of patient well-being in oncology. Methods The trial was conducted in two outpatient oncology units: (1) intervention site (usual care with HC), and (2) control site (usual care). Nurses at the intervention site were invited to take part in an 8-h training in HC. Participants’ self-ratings of symptoms and emotional support were gathered at predetermined time points during three consecutive outpatient visits using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale and the Emotional Support Scale. Results Forty-nine patients (24 in the intervention group, 25 in the control group) with different cancer types/stages were recruited over a period of 3 weeks and completed the study. All nurses (N = 10) at the intervention site volunteered to complete the training and were able to include HC into their chemotherapy protocols (about ± 5 min/intervention). Compared to usual care, patients exposed to HC showed a significant reduction in physical symptoms during chemotherapy. In contrast, perception of emotional support did not show any significant effect of the intervention. Participants exposed to HC report that the intervention helped them relax and connect on a more personal level with the nurse during chemotherapy infusion. Conclusions Our results suggest that HC is feasible, acceptable, and beneficial for symptom management during outpatient chemotherapy. While future studies are needed, hypnosis techniques could facilitate meaningful contacts between cancer patients and clinicians in oncology. Trial registration Clinical Trial Identifier: NCT04173195, first posted on November 19, 2019

scholarly journals A journey to a new stable state—further development of the postoperative recovery concept from day surgical perspective: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e037755
Author(s):  
Ulrica Nilsson ◽  
Maria Jaensson ◽  
Karin Hugelius ◽  
Erebouni Arakelian ◽  
Karuna Dahlberg
Keyword(s):  
Stable State ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Day Surgery ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Postoperative Recovery ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Patients Experience

ObjectiveThis study aims to further develop the concept analysis by Allvin et al in 2007 and Lundmark et al in 2016 from the perspective of day-surgery patients. Also, to describe how patients experience postoperative recovery in relation to the identified dimensions and subdimensions and to interpret the findings in order to get a deeper understanding of the concept postoperative recovery.DesignDescriptive qualitative design with a theoretical thematic analysis.SettingSix day-surgery departments in Sweden.ParticipantsThirty-eight adult participants who had undergone day surgery in Sweden. Participants were purposively selected.ResultsFour dimensions—physical, psychological, social and habitual—were confirmed. A total of eight subdimensions were also confirmed, two from Allvin et al’s study and six from Lundmark et al’s study. Recovery included physical symptoms and challenges coping with and regaining control over symptoms and bodily functions. Both positive and negative emotions were present, and strategies on how to handle emotions and achieve well-being were established. Patients became dependent on others. They coped with and adapted to the recovery process and gradually stabilised, reaching a new stable state.ConclusionPostoperative recovery was described as a process with a clear starting point, and as a dynamic and individual process leading to an experience of a new stable state. The recovery process included physical symptoms, emotions and social and habitual consequences that challenges them. To follow-up and measure all four dimensions of postoperative recovery in order to support and understand the process of postoperative recovery is, therefore, recommended.

scholarly journals A Tale of Two Emotions: The Diverging Salience and Health Consequences of Calmness and Excitement in Old Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 626-627
Author(s):  
Jeremy Hamm ◽  
Carsten Wrosch ◽  
Meaghan Barlow ◽  
Ute Kunzmann
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Health Consequences ◽  
Younger Adults

Abstract Using two studies, we examined the late life prevalence and health consequences of discrete positive emotions posited to motivate rest and recovery (calmness) or pursuit of novelty and stimulation (excitement). Study 1 assessed the salience of these discrete emotions in older adults (n=73, Mage=73) relative to younger adults (n=73, Mage=23) over a one-week period. Multilevel models showed that older (vs. younger) adults reported higher calmness and lower excitement. Study 2 examined the longitudinal health consequences of calmness and excitement in old age (n=336, Mage=75), as moderated by perceived control. Multilevel growth models showed that calmness, but not excitement, buffered against 10-year declines in psychological well-being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic conditions) for older adults with low perceived control. Results suggest that positive emotions with disparate motivational functions become more (calmness) or less (excitement) salient and have diverging implications for health in old age.

Understanding and Counseling the Chronic Drug User

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Wayne W. Dyer ◽  
John Vriend
Keyword(s):  
Drug User ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional States

Effectively understanding and counseling the chronic drug user and others who are dependent upon agents and substances outside themselves to bring about affects of well being and more positive emotional states in their lives requires that the counselor understand how emotions and sensations occur, and what their relationship is to internal and external thinking. The authors present a paradigm of external and internal thinking as these apply as causes for positive and negative emotional shifts. The concepts of internally and externally oriented thinking and behaving are discussed, and these are related to counseling the dependent drug user. Finally, strategies for dealing with the dependent drug user, always an externally oriented person, are presented.

Quality of Life Change and Individual Differences in Stimulus Screening in Relation to Incidence of Illness

1977 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Mehrabian ◽  
Marion Ross
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Life Change ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Life Changes ◽  
Comprehensive Description ◽  
High Arousal

A considerable amount of evidence indicates that a high rate of life changes—a source of continued and unavoidable arousal—is detrimental to health and psychological well-being. The present study hypothesized that sustained high-arousal states are unpreferred and that the persistence of unpreferred emotional states is harmful. Using a conceptual framework for a comprehensive description of emotional states and the differential preferences for these, it is possible to make more precise predictions on the illness consequences of emotionally unpreferred life changes. Particular hypotheses which received support were that more arousing life changes are more conducive to illness; that among the more arousing life changes, unpleasant changes are associated with more illness than pleasant ones; that unpleasant life changes are more detrimental to health when combined with dominance-inducing life changes; and that arousing life changes are particularly harmful to more arousable (non-screening) individuals.

scholarly journals Exposure to and recall of violence reduce short-term memory and cognitive control

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (32) ◽  
pp. 8505-8510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Bogliacino ◽  
Gianluca Grimalda ◽  
Pietro Ortoleva ◽  
Patrick Ring
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Term Memory

Previous research has investigated the effects of violence and warfare on individuals' well-being, mental health, and individual prosociality and risk aversion. This study establishes the short- and long-term effects of exposure to violence on short-term memory and aspects of cognitive control. Short-term memory is the ability to store information. Cognitive control is the capacity to exert inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Both have been shown to affect positively individual well-being and societal development. We sampled Colombian civilians who were exposed either to urban violence or to warfare more than a decade earlier. We assessed exposure to violence through either the urban district-level homicide rate or self-reported measures. Before undertaking cognitive tests, a randomly selected subset of our sample was asked to recall emotions of anxiety and fear connected to experiences of violence, whereas the rest recalled joyful or emotionally neutral experiences. We found that higher exposure to violence was associated with lower short-term memory abilities and lower cognitive control in the group recalling experiences of violence, whereas it had no effect in the other group. This finding demonstrates that exposure to violence, even if a decade earlier, can hamper cognitive functions, but only among individuals actively recalling emotional states linked with such experiences. A laboratory experiment conducted in Germany aimed to separate the effect of recalling violent events from the effect of emotions of fear and anxiety. Both factors had significant negative effects on cognitive functions and appeared to be independent from each other.

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