26/10/2023
Have you heard of positive psychology?
I have been fortunate enough to see Martin Seligman, who could be described as the “Grandfather” of the positive psychology movement, speak on a few occasions. On one such event, he said something to the effect of, “When you successfully treat the symptoms of depression, you don’t end up with a happy person, you end up with an empty person”.
Seligman devoted a large amount of his career to studying depression, and is the progenitor of “learned helplessness” theory. Over time he found the scope of diagnostic mental health limiting. He pondered that while we knew a lot about the biological, psychological and social conditions at play when things were going wrong, we lacked a lot of knowledge about what about what was happening when things were going well. He dedicated the remainder of his career (and still to this day) to looking at human flourishing, focusing on strengths, and pushing for more holistic approaches to treatment of mental illness. Out of this, the positive psychology movement was born.
Positive psychology focuses on the study of positive emotions, strengths, well-being, and human flourishing, rather than just addressing psychological disorders and mental illness. Seligman recognised that traditional approaches to treating depression at that time often focused on symptom reduction, but achieving this alone may not necessarily lead to a person experiencing genuine happiness or a sense of fulfilment. Positive psychology emphasizes the importance of not only reducing symptoms but also cultivating strengths, positive emotions, and a sense of purpose for a more holistic approach to well-being.
Seligman’s current model of well-being is known as PERMA, with each letter standing for a different element of the model. The below is taken from Seligman’s own faculty website at the University of Pennsylvania. ( https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/learn-more/perma-theory-well-being-and-perma-workshops)
Positive Emotion: This route to well-being is hedonic – increasing positive emotion. Within limits, we can increase our positive emotion about the past (e.g., by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness), our positive emotion about the present (e.g., by savoring physical pleasures and mindfulness) and our positive emotion about the future (e.g., by building hope and optimism).
Unlike the other routes to well-being described below, this route is limited by how much an individual can experience positive emotions. In other words, the experience of positive emotion is partly heritable and each individual's emotions tend to fluctuate within a range. Some people are, by disposition, low in the extent to which they experience positive emotion. Traditional conceptions of happiness tend to focus on positive emotion, so it can be liberating to know that there are other routes to well-being, described below.
Engagement: Engagement is an experience in which someone fully deploys their skills, strengths, and attention for a challenging task. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, this produces an experience called “flow” that is so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake, rather than for what they will get out of it. The activity is its own reward. Flow is experienced when one’s skills are just sufficient for a challenging activity, in the pursuit of a clear goal, with immediate feedback on progress toward the goal.
In such an activity, concentration is fully absorbed in the moment, self-awareness disappears, and the perception of time is distorted in retrospect, e.g., time stops. Flow can be experienced in a wide variety of activities, e.g., a good conversation, a work task, playing a musical instrument, reading a book, writing, building furniture, fixing a bike, gardening, sports training or performance, to name just a few.
Relationships: Relationships are fundamental to well-being. The experiences that contribute to well-being are often amplified through our relationships, for example, great joy, meaning, laughter, a feeling of belonging, and pride in accomplishment. Connections to others can give life purpose and meaning. Support from and connection with others is one of the best antidotes to “the downs” of life and a good way to bounce back. Research shows that doing acts of kindness for others produces an increase in well-being.
From an evolutionary perspective, we are social beings because the drive to connect with and help others promotes our survival. Developing strong relationships is central to adaptation and is enabled by our capacity for love, compassion, kindness, empathy, self-sacrifice, teamwork, and cooperation.
Meaning: A sense of meaning and purpose can be derived from belonging to and serving something bigger than the self. There are various societal institutions that enable a sense of meaning, such as family, religion, science, politics, work organizations, justice, the community, social causes, among others.
Accomplishment: People pursue achievement, competence, success, and mastery for its own sake, in a variety of domains, including the workplace, sports, games, hobbies, among others. People pursue accomplishment even when it does not necessarily lead to positive emotion, meaning, or relationships.
I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on the profound insights shared by Martin Seligman and the principles of positive psychology. As we navigate the complexities of our lives, it's essential to remember that true well-being extends beyond the mere absence of distress. It encompasses positive emotions, engagement, nurturing relationships, a sense of purpose, and the pursuit of personal accomplishments.
I invite you to consider how you can apply the PERMA model in your own life. Embrace opportunities to cultivate gratitude, find moments of flow in your daily activities, foster meaningful connections, seek a sense of purpose, and work towards your personal goals.
And as always, if you need guide along the way, we can help you to thrive at Bloom!
