Sober Synthesis

What is Happiness?

• Subjective well being 
  • Involves joy, gratitude, and meaning.

What are social barriers to happiness?

• There are overt and covert social judgements that equate “happy” people as “less ambitious”, “less intelligent”, “in denial”. 

What is the difference between “liking” and “wanting”?

• Liking
  • Liking is mediated by smaller neural systems in the limbic brain, including the orbitofrontal cortex, insula cortex, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum. 
  • Opiates and GABA/benzodiazepine systems are involved in liking.
• Wanting
  • Wanting is mediated by larger dopamine-related neural systems in the mesocorticolimbic networks. 
• We can “want”/crave something that we do not like. This is the basis of addiction.

How can one develop awareness of the difference between “liking” and “wanting”?

• Recognizing that “liking” (spontaneous joy, delight, play) is pleasure for rewarding experiences in the moment.
• Recognizing that “wanting” (craving, pursuing) is a motivational process towards a desired reward.

Conclusions

Although there are neurobiological factors that impact happiness, we have the ability to harness behaviors and mind-sets that increase happiness.

• Happiness improves resilience, mental health, and physical health. 
• The most powerful activities to enhance happiness are:
  • Real time social connection, including helping others and asking for help when needed.
  • Mindfulness strategies to maximize our awareness of small, but significant positive experiences in the present. 
  • Modulate expectations for planned rewarding experiences.

Questions for thought/sharing:

1. For those that were at last week’s meeting, “how was your week”? What activities supported your happiness? What were your challenges?
2. For those that were not at last week’s meeting, do you have any ideas of activities that you will start or change to increase your happiness?

Disclaimer

This summary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed.