Unlocking Health Through Happiness: The Power Of Positive Psychology

Introduction

What is happiness? Depending on the context, happiness can be dened in many dierent ways. Some people associate happiness with money, others dene it as the feeling of belonging, and even more people see raising a family as a key component of happiness. In the study of positive psychology, happiness is the product of three things, positive emotion and pleasure, engagement in life, and living a meaningful life (Seligman et al., 2005). Many people in our society strive to be healthy because they feel that it will lead to a happier life. This is because, in today’s media, healthy people are commonly portrayed as happy, but can the reverse be true too? Some people even believe that finding happiness is the ultimate goal of life. As a result of the importance of happiness and the role that it plays in our lives, it is crucial to see whether the pursuit of happiness has any other positive effects in addition to just making a person happier. This leads us to nd a connection that bridges the gap between someone’s mental well-being, which is their happiness, and their physical health. We can do this through positive psychology. Although the relationship between happiness and health is complex and influenced by many factors, practicing positive psychology ultimately leads to better physical health by enhancing immune system function, reducing stress, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases.

Key Terms: Positive psychology, physical health, immune system, stress, chronic diseases

Background

There are stories of terminally ill cancer patients surviving just because they were positive about their situation and never gave up hope. Why is this? Some would say that they were practicing positive psychology. People practice positive psychology by taking advantage of their strengths, taking time to express gratitude, socializing, and developing wisdom (Seligman et al., 2005). Doing these actions helps an individual elevate their base level of happiness and mental well-being in the long term (Seligman et al., 2005). Researchers have since wondered if there is also a connection between positive psychology and physical health (Seligman et al., 2005). Suppose there indeed was a correlation between practicing positive psychology and improvements in physical health. In that case, it will unlock a new way for people to enhance both components of overall health at the same time. These days gym memberships and therapists are both really expensive and time-consuming. Individuals who may not have the financial means to access the two options or those who might not always have the time to exercise or meditate now have a perfect way to prioritize self-care. Positive psychology offers these people a convenient, elective, and affordable way to maintain their overall health.

Argument 1: Decrease in Number of Sick Days Taken (Immune System Function) (Kushlev et al., 2020)

One of the best ways to measure someone’s physical health is to see how many days they get sick. After all, being healthy means not getting sick. Kushlev’s study explores exactly this connection between the eect of practicing positive psychology and the number of sick days that someone has to take (Kushlev et al., 2020). In Kushlev’s study, he conducted a 6-month randomized trial on 155 adults in his community. 77 of the adults were assigned to the active treatment group and the remaining 78 were assigned to the control group. The individuals assigned to the active treatment group then underwent a 12-week positive psychology intervention (PPI) program. The people in the control group did not undergo this program and instead lived their normal lives. All participants took surveys before the treatment (pretest), weekly during the study, three months after the treatment (posttest), and six months after the treatment (follow-up) (Kushlev et al., 2020).

Kushlev’s objective was to see if after the participants in the active treatment group underwent their program whether or not their increase in subjective well-being would end up leading to positive physical health outcomes. Additionally, Kushlev took a subset of 100 individuals to test the number of sick days that people in each group took. After his study concluded, Kushlev found that the positive psychology intervention program, which was specically designed to boost subjective well-being, led to improvements in the individual’s physical health as well.

Regarding the 100-person subset group that was monitored for the number of sick days that they took, Kushlev found that when compared to the control group, individuals who underwent the positive psychology intervention program only needed to take one-third of the number of sick days that the control group had to take (Kushlev et al., 2020). Kushlev’s findings demonstrate the huge impact that practicing positive psychology has on someone’s physical health. The amount of times that people get sick is a perfect module to measure how strong an individual’s immune system is. The fact that people who attended the positive psychology program were able to cut down their sick days by so much emphasizes the effectiveness of practicing positive psychology on the improvement of someone’s immune system. This result has a tremendous eect on the general population. For many people, getting sick for even just a week could be detrimental to their life. They might depend on the income that the week might provide, and for students, missing a whole week of school could cause a huge buildup of work. The extra eort that would then be required to make up the work could cause severe stress in some kids, which has the potential to have a huge negative impact on their mental health. The fact that this can potentially be xed, or at least mitigated, by just practicing positive psychology is a great breakthrough. Even more, since positive psychology is both convenient and affordable, it can have many upsides in terms of accessibility as well. Medication for various illnesses can be expensive, and with positive psychology as an option to reduce the chance of getting sick, many more people will now be able to live life just a little more stress-free.

Argument 2: Decrease in stress (Saleem et al., 2022) (Fredrickson et al., 2008)

A key hurdle that many students have to overcome while in school is stress. Stress management is rarely formally taught in school, although students are told that it is important to keep it in check. These days, more emphasis is put on students in school about the importance of mental health. They are told to take mental health breaks, go outside, spend time with their friends, do a hobby, and put away their phones, among various other things that they are told to do. The teachers and students may not know it at the time, but all of the actions that were just listed are examples of positive psychology. Psychologist Muhammad Shoaib Saleem does a study just on this. Saleem’s study examines whether or not positive psychology alleviates stress in college students. Additionally, Saleem investigated if positive psychology had a positive impact on students’ performance in their classes. Saleem did this by taking 373 Ph.D. students from various universities across Malaysia, he then assessed the students’ psychological capital (PsyCap), and their academic engagement behavior. Saleem found that positive emotions significantly positively influenced the students’ PsyCap and their academic behavior. The students who had higher PsyCap and better academic behavior were also the students who performed relatively better than their peers (Saleem et al., 2022).

More importantly, Saleem found that stress negatively aected the students’ PsyCap, which would then lead those students to perform poorly in school. Furthermore, Saleem’s study found that practicing positive psychology would not only lessen the amount of stress that students would have to endure but also increase the number of positive emotions that they would feel, which would then improve their PsyCap and ultimately their academic achievement in school (Saleem et al., 2022). The results of Saleem’s study emphasize the impact that positive psychology can have on a student. Student life can be very stressful, and having the option of using positive psychology to reduce their stress levels can go a long way. Lower stress levels have been shown to result in more positive emotions, which then result in better physical health (Fredrickson et al., 2008). The fact that merely being positive and doing something as simple as expressing gratitude can improve someone’s physical health is incredible. Especially for students in college, it can be difficult to stay healthy all the time. Having an accessible option that lowers their stress levels and at the same time improves their physical health is crucial for some and can significantly impact the rest of their lives by lowering their risk of developing a chronic disease later in life.

Argument 3: Decrease in the likelihood of developing chronic diseases and the severity of the disease if someone develops one (Yoichi & Steptoe, 2008)

Some of the most difficult illnesses to deal with throughout a person’s life are chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are lasting throughout someone’s life and do not go away. Often there is no cure or a very expensive cure for one. As a result, people often have to deal with these diseases throughout their whole life. Therefore, the best way to avoid these diseases is just to not get them in the rst place. In our society, there are already many things that people do to avoid chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, HIV, and various types of cancer. Examples include dieting and going to the gym, among many others. Almost all of these current practices require either a lot of time, money, or both. Positive psychology offers everyone a way to reduce the risk of getting one simply without requiring too much time or money at all. Research has shown that by experiencing many positive emotions through positive psychology training not only does the risk of developing a chronic disease go down but the morality rate of developing one decreases significantly too (Yoichi & Steptoe, 2008). Additionally, starting positive psychology even after developing something as deadly as cancer is tremendously helpful and increases the likelihood that the patient will be able to make a full recovery (Yoichi & Steptoe, 2008). Although positive psychology can not cure or prevent these diseases by itself, the fact that something so simple can help a person stay healthy could provide comfort for many. Additionally, this can have a huge impact on many individuals. Since positive psychology is so accessible, individuals can develop a habit of practicing it, which in the long run can help them become a healthier person, which in the long run can help them live a long, healthy, and happy life.

Conclusion

Positive psychology offers an accessible, effective, and cost-effective approach to improving both mental and physical health. Individuals can significantly enhance their overall well-being by engaging in activities that boost positive emotions, such as expressing gratitude, building social connections, and engaging in favorite hobbies (Seligman et al., 2005). The studies discussed demonstrate that positive psychology interventions can and do reduce the number of sick days, lower peoples’ stress levels, and decrease the risk of developing chronic diseases. These findings highlight the profound impact that maintaining a positive mindset can have on overall health and longevity. As society continues to recognize the importance of mental health, incorporating positive psychology into daily routines presents an ever more valuable opportunity for individuals to achieve a balanced, healthy, and fulfiling life. The simple yet effective practice of positive psychology can pave the way for a healthier, happier future for all.

Bibliography

Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2008). Positive Psychological Well-Being and Mortality: A Quantitative Review of Prospective Observational Studies. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(7), 741–756. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e31818105ba

Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open Hearts Build Lives: Positive Emotions, Induced Through Loving-Kindness Meditation, Build Consequential Personal Resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1045–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013262

Kushlev, K., Heintzelman, S. J., Lutes, L. D., Wirtz, D., Kanippayoor, J. M., Leitner, D., & Diener, E. (2020). Does Happiness Improve Health? Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychological Science, 31(7), 807–821. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620919673

Saleem, M. S., Isha, A. S. N., Awan, M. I., Yusop, Y. B., & Naji, G. M. A. (2022). Fostering Academic Engagement in Post-graduate Students: Assessing the Role of Positive Emotions, Positive Psychology, and Stress. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 920395–920395. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.920395

Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. The American Psychologist, 60(5), 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410

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