Published: April 25, 2011
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Thinking happy thoughts, focusing on the good and downplaying the bad is believed to accelerate recovery from depression, bolster resilience during a crisis and improve overall mental health. But a new study by University of Washington psychologists reveals that pursuing happiness may not be beneficial across all cultures.
In a survey of college students, Asian respondents showed no relationship between positive emotions and levels of stress and depression. For European-American participants, however, the more stress and depression they felt, the fewer positive emotions they reported.
The study indicates that psychotherapies emphasizing positive emotions, which can relieve stress and depression in white populations, may not work for Asians, who make up 60 percent of the world population. [continue reading…]
Published: January 20, 2011
How can they not be? Would it be too obvious for me to state that positive emotions are good for your health at any age 😉
The notion that feeling good may be good for your health is not new, but is it really true?
We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives
-says Anthony Ong of Cornell University author of a new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The article reviews the existing research on how positive emotions can influence health outcomes in later adulthood. [continue reading…]
Our busy lives sometimes feel like they are spinning out of control, and we lose track of the little things we can do to add meaning to our lives and make our loved ones feel appreciated. A new article in Personal Relationships points the way to the methods of gratitude we can use to give a boost to our romantic relationships, and help us achieve and maintain satisfaction with our partners. . [continue reading…]
Published: February 18, 2010
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People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy, according to a study published in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal [1]. The authors believe that the study is the first to show such an independent relationship between positive emotions and coronary heart disease. [continue reading…]
