ROLE OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE

Definition

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions...it aims to improve quality of life."

The main purpose of positive psychology

It focuses on strengths and virtues that help people cope with life's difficulties and enhances a state of happiness rather than weaknesses and defaults. It states that people need to identify within themselves their positive traits and nurture them. They need to shift their negative attitudes to more positive ones in order to improve their quality of life. For a period of time, it was believed that good humor, well-being, and past emotional experiences were tightly linked to personality, and could not be influenced by any means; however, research has demonstrated that everybody is capable of increasing their level of subjective well-being. In order to manifest the well-being that we want, it requires regular training like any other activity. Positive psychology training modifies gradually and in the long term, it leads to cerebral wiring and therefore to new emotional and behavioral automatisms. The goal is an emotional balance in which positive emotions are more frequent than negative emotions. A science called neuroplasticity explains how the brain is capable of changing its circuit and networks as a result of learning a new ability.

Positive psychology techniques that people can practice:

• Record things that they are grateful for and revisit them on a daily basis to get their dose of positive emotions.

• Show gratitude to people, communities, and institutions who have been kind towards them. People that are religious, can express their gratitude through prayers.

• Identify positive traits, internalize them, and practice them until they become habits. They should try to know themselves better and in the process, it will increase resilience, self-growth, and well-being.

• Volunteer as a way to give back to the community.

• Write thank you notes or send thank you voice messages.

• Spend time in nature and appreciate its wonder and beauty.

• Hang out with positive people.

• Practice empathy.

Can positive activities make people happier?

Research studies show that those who focus on developing and nurturing positive emotions through “positive activities” are more likely to experience growth and happiness. They then develop and master emotions such as awe, surprise, joy, and other vibrant feelings. They are more likely to experience a healthier, happier life with more rewarding interpersonal relationships and they have a longer life expectancy.

There are two types of happiness with different outcomes with regards to gene expressions. According to a recent post in ScienceDaily, "researchers at UCLA and UNC have identified two different types of happiness and how they impact health:

• The first type (known as eudaimonic well-being), is happiness associated with a sense of purpose or a meaning in life.

• The second type (known as hedonic well-being), is happiness as the result of “consummatory self-gratification” or happiness not associated with a purpose but rather as a response to a stimulus or behavior.

The researchers behind the study took blood samples from 80 healthy adults who had been assessed for hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. They then looked for different gene expressions between the two groups: Researchers found that those individuals identified as having eudaimonic well-being or happiness rooted in having a deeper purpose, had more favorable gene expression profiles than individuals with hedonic well-being or more superficial sources of happiness. Specifically, the individuals with eudaimonic well-being had lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and higher levels of anti-viral and anti-body genes than their counterparts. During the study, the two groups showed the same levels of positivity, so the researchers concluded that the two different forms of happiness, that they were experiencing impacted their health in different ways."

Steven Cole, a researcher with UCLA and an author of the study, told ScienceDaily.” What this study tells us is that doing good and feeling good have very different effects on the human genome, even though they generate similar levels of positive emotion."

Positive psychology practices are credited for reducing stress and anxiety as well as easing emotional pain. They also reinforce the capacity to cope with life's difficulties and improve our quality of life.