Health and Happiness

Carmen has been extremely stressed out and feels like she is running out of time to settle down and start a family. She had always envisioned being married and having children before she turned 30, but she is now 32 and has not achieved these dreams. Carmen often spends extra hours at work, leaving her no time for exercise or hanging out with friends. All of this makes her unhappy. She decides to start creating boundaries around work and taking control of her health by exercising, keeping a daily routine, and eating better. Carmen begins feeling happier and starts to get her confidence back. Now that she is not at work all the time, she starts going on dates.

• What is the meaning of health and happiness?
• What are the psychological benefits of happiness?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of happiness?
• What are the effects of happiness on mental health?
• How do health and happiness relate to psychology?

The Meaning of Health and Happiness

Health and happiness seem to go together, but why is that? If you are healthy, you are more likely to feel happy. Experiencing happiness can even contribute to overall health. When we talk about health, we usually refer to our physical, emotional, and social well-being or condition. Happiness is a positive emotion that we feel when we are content, enjoying something, or pleased about something.

Health and happiness are concepts that relate to the mind-body phenomenon. Mind and body relation is something that is still studied today through health psychology. This field of psychology strives to find the connection between psychological feelings and physical health. Finding meaning in life through our experiences contributes to our happiness and the ability to live a healthy, positive life.

Fig. 1 Happy and healthy, pexels.com

Health and Happiness in Psychology

We can contribute the feeling of happiness to how our brains react to positive stimuli. When something excites us, we feel happiness or pleasure. The feeling of happiness comes from producing and releasing neurotransmitters in our brain. The two major neurotransmitters that play a role in our happiness are dopamine and serotonin.

To release more happy hormones, we can exercise, spend time outdoors, take vitamins, consume healthy foods and meals, and express and recognize gratitude. Improving the regulation of dopamine and serotonin in our brain can significantly reduce stress, which then impacts our overall health.

When our psychological state is unbalanced, or we feel overwhelmed, our stress levels can become unhealthy. They might even feel uncontrollable at times. Our body can become overworked, and hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are released too often. This is because our hypothalamus tells our adrenal glands to release these hormones in response to stress.

Another way that health and happiness relate to psychology is through the field of positive psychology. Positive psychology studies how we achieve optimal functioning through our emotions, traits, and behaviors. There are three main aspects: positive experiences, positive traits, and positive institutions.

Psychological Benefits of Happiness

To understand the benefits of happiness and how it contributes to our health, we first need to understand stress. Our mental health is greatly influenced by our emotions and the type of moods we often experience. When we are stressed, we can become overwhelmed and upset, which affects our mood. The psychological effects of stress can contribute to physical illness, including heart disease, high blood pressure, headaches, or stomach issues. When our stress levels are low, our moods are generally more positive. When we regularly experience happiness in life, it contributes to our mental health.

Fig. 2 Meditation and health, pexels.com

Advantages and Disadvantages of Happiness

Believe it or not, even though happiness has many advantages, there are also disadvantages.

Advantages of Happiness

Being happy is a great way to stay healthy and improve the functioning of our immune system. High functioning immune systems mean less illness and disease. Increased happiness levels can also benefit other aspects of our lives, such as relationships, school, or work. With a happy lifestyle, we usually experience health benefits and improvement in satisfaction in our daily lives. Believe it or not, happiness can help us live longer, as our body is not constantly fighting off those negative effects of stress.

Disadvantages of Happiness

Being happy all of the time can have disadvantages, such as a lack of motivation. Some people can feel so content that they do not strive to improve their lives in many ways. This can impact meeting long-term goals. Instead of taking action, a happy person is more likely to procrastinate. Too much happiness can also increase avoidance of new tasks that may cause negative emotions. It is not bad if someone is generally happy, but overly happy people can become very depressed if something negative happens or does not go their way.

Effects of Happiness on Mental Health

Happiness is generally a good thing for your mental health. Long-term happiness can help reduce the risk of developing depression or anxiety.

When we are doing well with our emotions and can control them, we may better deal with negative situations. Someone who can cope with negative situations has developed adaptive coping strategies. These strategies include exercising or looking for support through friends, family, or religious organizations. On the other hand, unhappy people might have trouble coping and turn to negative maladaptive coping strategies, which have a negative impact on the mind due to replacing the stressor with a short-term fix. Some maladaptive coping strategies include drinking, smoking, over-sleeping, and over-spending.

Ways of experiencing happiness vary for each individual, but establishing goals, meeting those goals, and feeling a sense of accomplishment are common ways to become happier.