Ask the experts: How can we measure our own happiness?

Given the many sources of stress and anxiety individuals encounter each day, its not surprising that people often wonder if they are happy or not. Yet, how do people define happiness and well-being? What are some ways to view and conceptualize happiness? Michigan State University researchers Bill Chopik and Rich Lucas answer this question.

Exploring the underlying emotions that lead to alcohol and cannabis use

Theoretical models of alcohol and cannabis use disorders often focus on the idea that people consume alcohol and cannabis use to regulate their negative emotions – in other words, to make themselves feel better. New research does not support this idea, finding instead that people mostly consume alcohol and cannabis in their daily life when they are experiencing positive emotions.

‘All Work, No Independent Play’ Cause of Children’s Declining Mental Health

A new study suggests the rise in mental health disorders in children and teens is attributed to a decline over decades in opportunities for them to play, roam and engage in activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults. Although well intended, adults’ drive to guide and protect children has deprived them of the independence they need for mental health, contributing to record levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people.

New Psychological Science Findings Link Local Prejudice to Police Militarization, Offer Hope for Fostering Belief in Science

Findings also help explain why happy people are more optimistic, how false visual memories can be perpetuated, and why feeling good often just means feeling better.

UCI research team finds positivity is not equally protective against illness across races

Research has consistently shown that positive psychological factors are linked to better physical health, including increased resistance to infectious illnesses such as the flu and the common cold. A new study from the University of California, Irvine, examines the role that race plays in this connection, comparing the results of African American and European American participants in a series of landmark experimental studies from the Common Cold Project, conducted between 1993 and 2011.

Stress-relief Music Therapy Can Also Effectively Relieve Pain

Medical results show that music therapy can lower blood pressure, relieve pain during chemotherapy and dialysis, as well as stimulate the elderly brain. The Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University is offering a Music Therapy Program aiming to heal the ever-increasing patients with various chronic diseases in society.

When it comes to happiness, what’s love got to do with it?

How accurate was William Shakespeare when he said, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,”? Researchers from Michigan State University conducted one of the first studies of its kind to quantify the happiness of married, formerly married and single people at the end of their lives to find out just how much love and marriage played into overall well-being.

Happiness Might Protect You From Gastrointestinal Distress

DALLAS – June 9, 2020 – Serotonin, a chemical known for its role in producing feelings of well-being and happiness in the brain, can reduce the ability of some intestinal pathogens to cause deadly infections, new research by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The findings, publishing online today in Cell Host & Microbe, could offer a new way to fight infections for which few truly effective treatments currently exist.

People Who Felt Knowledgeable About COVID-19 at Time of Outbreak More Likely to Report Positive Mood

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Assistant Professor Haiyang Yang finds in a new study that people who perceived themselves as knowledgeable about COVID-19 – regardless of the actual amount of their knowledge – experienced more happiness during the outbreak than those who didn’t perceive themselves as informed about COVID-19.