Negative attitudes are known to be detrimental to cardiovascular health, and now a new study finds that having a positive, optimistic outlook can have the opposite effect.
Happiness
Family MattersParenting
Take This, Tiger Mom!
Armed with new data showing that pressured kids are prone to depression and anxiety, an anti-Tiger mom (she’s an academic and Chinese as well) takes aim at Amy Chua’s contention that pushing children is healthy.
The Goldilocks Principle of Stress: Too Little Is Almost As Bad as Too Much
Stress isn’t all bad. You need just the right amount of adversity in life to learn to cope with the troubles ahead.
Hopefulness Is Better Than Happiness for Diet Success
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow — if you want to stick to your diet. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which found that upbeat, forward-looking feelings like hopefulness led to better dietary choices, while positive …
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Q&A: Positive Psychologist Martin Seligman on the Good Life
These days Martin Seligman, author of the best-selling book Authentic Happiness, is perhaps best known as a father of positive of psychology — the study of people’s strengths and virtues, rather than on pathological behavior.
Why Happiness Isn’t Always Good: Asians vs. Americans
Among journalists — and less so among psychologists — the subset of mental-health research called “positive psychology” has become powerfully influential. Positive psychology, which was more or less founded by a …
The Science of Partying: Why Having Fun Makes You Forgetful
So you’re having fun at a party, and you see a cute possibility across the room. The next day, you remember precisely what that person looks like. But you just can’t remember the name — which is frustrating, since there’s …
Q&A: The Surprising Upside of Getting Old
Americans have tremendous fear of aging — and a great deal of prejudice against the elderly. But, as the joke has it, being old is better than the alternative. And, despite our fears, new research suggests that being old is …
How to Think Yourself into a Happy Place
Sometimes happiness is absolute: you land your dream job or the perfect girl. You’re psyched. But sometimes the situation isn’t so clear cut: you got the job you wanted, but not at the salary you’d hoped. Still happy?
Study: Tai Chi Helps Fight Depression Among the Elderly
Save the karate for the kids. To stave off depression among the elderly, a new study proposes the practice of a gentler martial art — tai chi.
The Secrets to Long Life: Worry, Work Hard and Marry Well (If You’re a Man)
Worrying is good for your health. Optimism is overrated. Women thrive post-divorce (men don’t). These are just a few of the unexpected findings that psychologist Howard Friedman explores in The Longevity Project, a new book based …
Study: Having a Bad Job Is Worse than No Job For Mental Health
Maybe unemployment isn’t so bad after all. A new study says that, income notwithstanding, having a demanding, unstable and thankless job may make you even unhappier than not having a job at all.