The Psychological Reason Millions Are Miserable At Work (P)
Mismatched millions: why so many people are stuck in jobs they hate. Will artificial intelligence save the day?
Category: Happiness
Here’s Why Materialistic People Are Less Happy and Less Satisfied (M)
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ~ Epicurus
Enrol In ‘Activate’ Now: The 10-Week Online Course For Low Mood
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply not yourself lately? It’s time to reclaim your happiness with PsyBlog’s 10-week online course, included in the Premium Membership.
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply not yourself lately? It’s time to reclaim your happiness with PsyBlog’s 10-week online course, included in the Premium Membership.
Activate: PsyBlog’s first online course
Activate is PsyBlog’s first online course, which is included in the new Premium Membership.
The course distils years of research and clinical experience into a practical, user-friendly 10-week program designed to help those feeling stuck or overwhelmed find joy again.
With a Premium Membership you will be able to access all 10 weeks of this course, with the first week currently now online.
The remaining parts of the course will be released week by week — keep an eye on the daily email updates for reminders.
A Premium Membership also gives you access to all members-only articles, premium content and other courses, as they become available.
What you will gain from the course
Over the span of 10 weeks, “Activate: How To Find Joy Again By Changing What You Do” will guide you through:
- Understanding Behavioural Activation: Learn the science and principles behind this powerful technique.
- Practical strategies: Discover actionable steps to identify and engage in activities that boost your mood.
- Building positive habits: Develop sustainable habits that promote long-term happiness and well-being.
- Overcoming obstacles: Gain tools to tackle barriers and setbacks, ensuring you stay on track.
- Real-life application: Apply what you learn to your daily life.
What is Behavioural Activation?
Behavioural activation is a powerful approach that emerged from cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), one of the most effective methods for treating depression and improving mental well-being.
While CBT focuses on changing both thoughts and behaviours, behavioural activation zeroes in on actions, making it easier to implement and understand.
By focusing on what you do, rather than what you think, this method helps you gradually build a life filled with activities that bring you joy and satisfaction.
Why Behavioural Activation?
Research has shown that behavioural activation is just as effective as traditional CBT.
The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity and practicality—changing behaviours is often more straightforward than changing thoughts.
As you engage in positive activities, your thoughts and feelings naturally begin to shift towards a more positive outlook.
Why choose this course?
- Expert guidance: Learn from a seasoned professional with extensive knowledge of mental health.
- Flexible learning: Enjoy the convenience of an online course that fits into your busy schedule.
- Proven techniques: Benefit from evidence-based strategies that have helped thousands of people find joy and improve their mental health.
Start your journey to joy today!
Don’t let another day go by feeling less than your best. Take the first step towards a brighter, more joyful future.
Enroll now and unlock the tools you need to transform your life, one joyful activity at a time.
Learning To Be Happy: The Hidden Truth About Lasting Well-Being (M)
Can happiness be learned? Discover the surprising findings of a university course designed to unlock the secrets of joy.
Forget Scandinavia: The Real Key to Happiness Lies Elsewhere (M)
The happiest countries in the world may not be what you have been told.
This Type of Conversation Makes You Happier
All personality types benefit from this type of conversation.
All personality types benefit from this type of conversation.
Having more meaningful or ‘deep’ conversations makes people happier, research finds.
Whether extravert or introvert, people who exchanged more meaningful information about relationships, politics or whatever, were happier.
At the other end of the scale, trivial chat or ‘small talk’ had no link to happiness, one way or the other.
Professor Matthias Mehl, who led the study, said:
“We do not think anymore that there is an inherent tension between having small talk and having substantive conversations.
Small didn’t positively contribute to happiness, and it didn’t negatively contribute to it.
With this study, we wanted to find out whether it is primarily the quantity or the quality of our social encounters that matter for one’s well-being.”
For the study, small recording devices were used to capture snippets of everyday conversation from 486 volunteers.
Professor Mehl explained the difference between small talk and a substantive conversation in their study:
“We define small talk as a conversation where the two conversation partners walk away still knowing equally as much — or little — about each other and nothing else.
In substantive conversation, there is real, meaningful information exchanged.
Importantly, it could be about any topic — politics, relationships, the weather — it just needs to be at a more than trivial level of depth.”
Personality had no effect on how much of a happiness boost people got from deep conversations, Professor Mehl said:
“We expected that personality might make a difference, for example that extroverts might benefit more from social interactions than introverts or that substantive conversations might be more closely linked to well-being for introverts than for extroverts, and were very surprised that this does not seem to be the case.”
Although small talk was not linked to happiness, it is still necessary, said Professor Mehl:
“I think of it like this: In every pill, there’s an inactive ingredient, and it’s a nice metaphor, because you cannot have the pill without the inactive ingredient.
We all understand that small talk is a necessary component to our social lives.
You cannot usually walk up to a stranger and jump right into a deep, existential conversation because of social norms.”
Perhaps, says Professor Mehl, people could be prescribed a deep conversation as a treatment:
“I would like to experimentally ‘prescribe’ people a few more substantive conversations and see whether that does something to their happiness.”
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science (Milek et al., 2018).
Secrets To A Blissful Life: What Really Matters Revealed (M)
Find out what are the ultimate keys to happiness in this wide-ranging study.
How To Set Goals That Lead To Happiness (M)
People are wrong about the type of goals that will make them happiest.
Attending A Better College Doesn’t Make You Happier, Here’s What Does… (M)
No matter whether students went to a top- or bottom-ranked institution, the secret of happiness and satisfaction with work and life lay elsewhere.
Why Our Selfies Don’t Look How We Expect (M)
Not happy with your selfie? There’s a psychological reason for that…
