We know that happiness is good for our health and well-being. In most ways, it is what keeps us motivated. And as life goes on we tend to search and find more reasons to be happy. But where exactly does our share of happiness come from?

Are we born with it?

Is it possible that happiness lies on every cell of your body? Well it is, and you can blame your neurotransmitters for that. Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that pass information from a neuron to a cell. Simply put, it is your brain telling the rest of your body to be happy under certain circumstances. According to studies, high concentrations of norepinephrine - a type of neurotransmitter - leads to feelings of elation and euphoria. Studies also show that high levels of some neurotransmitters - specifically norepinephrine - can increase happiness while low levels of neropinephrine have been linked to feelings of depression.

The human brain has also been found to have a “reward system” which is a collection of brain structures that attempts to regulate and control behavior by inducing pleasurable effects. The “reward system” is actually a part of the brain’s limbic system which influences how we respond to the world around us. The limbic system is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those related to survival, such as fear and anger. The limbic system also regulates feelings of pleasure related to our survival, such as those experienced from eating and sex. The feelings of pleasure, which scientists call reward, are very powerful. If something is pleasurable or rewarding, you want to do it again. The feeling of pleasure then increases the levels of neurotransmitter neropinephrine and causes us to feel happy.

The functions of rewards are basically directed into the modification of behavior and positive emotions. Primary rewards include things that are necessary for survival such as food, water, shelter, and even sex. On the other hand, the value of the secondary rewards originates from the primary. These are money, music, pleasant touches, etc. Such rewards are physical and sensory however, their effects on us are entirely psychological. The more we feed our reward systems, the more we feel pleasure and obtain happiness.

Or is it learned?

In every mistake, hardship, or situation we face, there is always a tendency for us to gain something. But do you know that happiness is one of those things you can actually learn? When we have a problem, it is natural for our brains to work on coping with it and eventually, solving it. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that the applications of coping strategies or learned behaviors can improve a person’s mood. Successfully coping with a challenge increases the amount of norepinephrine released in the brain therefore causing happiness.

For instance, aerobic exercise - which is used as a coping strategy by many persons - can actually stimulate the output of norepinephrine by as much as four and one half times normal. Studies have compared athletes’ “runner’s high” to drugs wherein there is a “tolerance” effect and that a person’s body gets used to a certain level of the drug. In this case, norepinephrine serves as the drug and that the more a person tolerates in achieving happiness, his body works on increasing the said neurotransmitter.

Or maybe it’s in our consciousness…

Different situations in our lives can lead us into learning coping strategies and this can actually bring us happiness. Let’s say that we have found a solution that helped us solve a problem. We tend to keep this particular situation in mind so that the next time we face the same problem, we would know what to do. That’s when happiness comes into cognition.

Studies show that when people use coping strategies successfully, it can lead to feelings of pride and self-efficacy. These studies show that when people are experiencing feelings of pride and self-efficacy their bodies are also releasing a number of chemicals. Among the chemicals released is the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which produces feelings of happiness.

In the long run, we tend to keep the coping strategies we learned because we know that they worked for us and actually produced happiness. It eventually becomes part of our consciousness and once you search for the same solution, your brain automatically ticks into these information.

Everyday Life

Sure, we are always in the look-out for reasons and ways to be happy. However, we still stumble on a few rocky situations from time to time, robbing us of our happiness. But life does not stop there. Since we have already experienced and enjoyed being happy, problems should serve as the reason to move on and find happiness again. This is where hope and optimism come in. These two, like happiness, are great motivators for us to be healthier physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When we are deprived of happiness, there’s always this tendency for us to lure into a depressed state which is not bad after all. What’s important is that we try to find sense in the situation we are in and then work on finding solutions. Hope is what drives us to work hard to improve ourselves and produce good results. Optimism, on the other hand, causes us to look on the bright side of things and influences us to do our best so that we can expect good outcome.

Happiness, hope, and optimism are three different things but share a common denominator. They are all great motivators for us to enjoy life, endure our hardships, find solutions, and then enjoy again. In fact, being happy, hopeful, and optimistic does not stop within ourselves. In one way or another, we are able to share them to the people close to us by being with them, giving them advice, or by simply being a friend. If we impart these motivations to other people, then it’s a step to making the world a better place to live in, since we encourage them to find their own share of happiness.

Sources: www.mentalhelp.net, www.bipolar.about.com, www.bettyphillipspsychology.com, www.addictionscience.net, www.cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk, www.foxnews.com

Recent technological advancements in medicine include drugs that can alter mood, emotion and sometimes thinking. As many people nowadays get depressed, having an instantaneous way out of melancholy is desired to cope with the fast paced world of today.Ativan, Prozac, Serafem: just few of the popular antidepressants and tranquilizers prescribed to patients with severe cases that cannot be treated anymore with counseling and coaching. Research shows that these medicines may cause addiction and dependence that can sometimes interfere with normal life once medication is stopped.

Alternatively, most psychologists believe that feelings of intense sadness can be controlled by proper coaching and counseling and that everything is just “in the mind.”

One effective treatment is by tricking the brain with the use of placebos. Placebos are pills disguised to look like a real drug. It is typically made from sugar or starch and technically does not cause any kind of effect to the patient. It can also refer to a fake surgery or therapy. Once taken, the patient will feel assured that the ‘pill’ or ’surgery’ is healing him, in effect, making him feel good.

Placebos are commonly used to people who think they need to take prescription drugs to aid their depression but in reality they don’t as the doctors think so.

Professor Michael Jospe from the California School of Professional Psychology has been studying this subject matter for 20 years now. He said:

“The placebo effect is part of the human potential to react positively to a healer. You can reduce a patient’s distress by doing something which might not be medically effective.”

He also put it in another way. He cited an example between a kid and a Band-aid. The child feels better when the Band-aid has comics or graphics in it. It gives a soothing effect to the kid even though there’s no scientific evidence to prove it.

Practically, the placebo effect can help people feel better and avoid the consequences of a medication’s side effect. This is less costly, safer and this may be all they need.

But ancient wisdom gives us a completely different view.

According to the buddhist teachings, everyone has the the ability to understand and control their minds and when one has completely understood himself, control comes naturally. But the problem is many are lacking awareness of themselves or the consciousness of being.

Achieving awareness of the mind takes a lot of ways but if we will follow the buddhist way, meditation is the way to go. Meditation is an act of shielding ourselves from outside forces such as thoughts, feelings, physical pain or pleasure. It is like talking to no one while trying to reach out to someone, in this case, we are reaching for our mind.

Meditation is not just concentrating on ourselves, it is the way of being unconscious about our mind. In our daily lives, we talk, breathe, walk and move unconsciously. This is what meditation is all about, just letting our mind to speak to ourselves in a way we cannot interfere.

Buddha said:

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.”

When one can understand their minds, they can also understand what is bothering them. For example, people suffering from depression can pinpoint the problem which causes them suffering.

After the problem is pinpointed, it is up to the person to change or alter the events that will eventually lead to recovery. No more tricking of the brain, all one needs is a little patience and self understanding.
Sources: www.mayo-clinic.org, www.fda.gov and www.associatedcontent.com

What do Ludwig Van Beethoven, Marlon Brando and Vincent van Gogh had in common? All of them had history of depression yet they turned out to be art’s greatest people.According to Dr. Thomas Svolos from the Cerighton University, arts and sadness are linked. “When you’re melancholy, you tend to step back and examine your life. That kind of questioning is essential for creativity.” he said.

In history, Greeks considered sadness as a natural part of everyday living. Although it is not pleasant but its benefits of causing an emotional state of unrest that initiates one to be creative.

Although melancholy has good effects for the artistic and creative being, Dr. Slovos , together with writer Eric Wilson believes that when sadness turned intense to the point of depression, appropriate treatment must be taken. “Depression should not be romanticized,” they said.
Source: www.omaha.com