Happycast: The Science of Happiness

The UNhappycast...it's okay to feel upset

Happycast: The Science of Happiness

Show Notes

When bad things happen, you should feel upset. Don't turn that frown upside down...right away. You heard that right. Science shows suppressing negative emotions is bad for you. Learn the science of negative emotions, and why being okay with feeling bad doesn't contradict anything about positive psychology. Rather, there's a harmony between the positive and negative. [00:00] Intro [01:54] Study: Avoiding negative emotions = less happy [05:12] Negative emotions are like pain [05:32] Study: Avoiding negative emotions = more lonely [07:20] Study: Suppressing negative emotions is bad [09:15] Travel and negative emotions [10:48] Confirmation bias: If you're expecting everything to suck, you will find evidence. [13:00] Study: Here's what's bad about confirmation bias [14:33] The reticular activating system: train your brain

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Apr 22, 2021

What do I need to actually balance? Why is balance so important? How can we achieve more balance? Listen and find out. [01:00] A metaphor for balance [02:23] Social relationships [02:53] Mirror neurons [03:53] Bowling et al., "What makes your life good?" [06:13] Creating space for social relationships [07:31] Meaning and passion [13:20] Overwork [15:41] Disconnecting from work [17:43] Passions [18:50] Creating space References: Schnell, T. (2011). Individual differences in meaning-making: Considering the variety of sources of meaning, their density and diversity. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(5), 667-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.06.006 Uddin, L. Q., Iacoboni, M., Lange, C., & Keenan, J. P. (2007). The self and social cognition: The role of cortical midline structures and mirror neurons. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(4), 153-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.01.001 Kuroda, S., & Yamamoto, I. (2019). Why Do People Overwork at the Risk of Impairing Mental. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(5), 1519–1538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0008-x SONNENTAG, S., & FRITZ, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S72-S103. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924 Bridekirk, J., Turcotte, J., & Oddson, B. (2016). Harmonious passions support cognitive resources. Motivation and Emotion, 40(4), 646–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9561-y

Oct 28, 2020

Today we are going to talk about three different papers assessing: healthy selfishness, optimism, and acceptance. These three papers provide the basis for three actions in A Happier Year. Let's dive into these papers and get a sneak peek of what's in A Happier Year. [00:00] Intro [02:36] Healthy Selfishness [06:25] Looking forward to tomorrow [09:25] Is anything bugging you right now?

Oct 6, 2020

Today we are learning about active leisure! Why do we feel so "blah" after watching Netflix and what can we do instead? What psychological needs are we missing out on? [00:30] Something exciting! [02:30] Active leisure vs passive leisure [04:35] The benefits of active leisure [06:25] How does active leisure benefit us (vs passive leisure) [11:10] An example of active leisure: Rock climbing [13:05] Finding active leisure that suits you [14:06] What are you actually tired of? [15:54] A Happier Year is on Kickstarter! bit.ly/ahappieryear

Jul 15, 2020

What is joy? We dig into how we define joy and talk about a strategy to add more joy to our lives. [00:00] Intro [1:10] Exciting Happycast news! [02:28] What is joy? [05:25] Joy as an emotion [08:32] Joy as more than an emotion [11:25] Appreciative joy [13:55] Joy journal [15:08] Tears of joy [20:05] Outro

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