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Positive Psychology

This week at fsz we talked about positive psychology, one of my favorite subjects in psychology. I really like thinking about what it is that makes some people strong and resilient in the face of challenges. The lab I used to work in studies depression, and looked at childhood adversity (being abused or neglected or experiencing another significant form of hardship in some way as a child) as a contributing factor. So there were many depressed people with childhood adversity, which is to be expected. And of course there were some people who were depressed without having experienced any adversity. But then there were the people who went through really rough experiences throughout their lives, but never got depressed. Why? One way to explain it is through positive psychology. If you learn to enjoy what you have, like yourself for who you are, be present in the moment, grateful and appreciative, if you have hope, and strong social ties, if you see hardship as a interesting challenge, a puzzle to be solved, rather than a tragedy to be accepted, if you take the time to be silly and have fun, and stop to look at the sunset and appreciate nature, then maybe you'll be able to keep your head up even when you're drowning in work, or had a fight with a friend, or whatever. That was a terrible sentence, grammatically. But that's ok. 

Part of positive psychology is gratefulness. I have so much to be grateful for, it's hard to know where to begin. I'm well-fed and I'm clean and sheltered. I'm able-bodied and mentally healthy. I have a car and an apartment and money in the bank. I have access to the internet. I can learn almost anything I want, and I know how to look for information. I'm about to graduate from college. I have amazing friends, and a supportive family. I have memories - so many memories - of fun, love, laughter, joy. And I'm able to create more. 

Another part of positive psychology is to reflect on the positive experiences of the day. I babysat in the morning, which was hard, but I got to watch a 2 year old jump on a trampoline, and it was cute af. I spent a few hours outside in the sun. I hung out with friends. A student of mine thanked me for my dedication to helping her. I listened to music as I walked and felt the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. 

Finally, random acts of kindness have been shown to contribute to one's happiness. I haven't had much opportunity for that yet today (I've been kind, but not randomly). The most recent random act of kindness I can think of was on Friday, when I sat down next to a homeless person and asked him how he was doing, and gave him some money. I think he appreciated talking to me even more than he appreciated the money. 

And now, I'm going to go to sleep, because that's also important. 

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