Historically, depression has been looked at from a biological psychoanalytic viewpoint. Seligman, however, argues that depression may be a learned condition resulting from the way we explain bad events to ourselves. From this, he proposes, by changing or relearning these thought patterns, we can prevent relapses into depression.

This week we will start looking at the book ‘Learned Optimism’ by Martin Seligman. The first chapter outlines the two ways of looking at life. Optimism and Pessimism. Ever heard the saying pessimist is either right or pleasantly surprised? Seligman, however, has found many negative side effects of being too pessimistic. he good news is that Seligman things we can change that habit. Learn more here

Society instils in us that we need to strive to become successful and then we will be happy. We will be happy when we get that new job or that new car or that new house. However, there is some interesting research here that suggests otherwise. We hope you have learned some new ways to gain the Happiness Advantage and Design the Life you want, today.

We humans are social creatures. However, when our calendars fill-up we seem to think we can get away without our social supports. Research has found have social and emotional support helps us heal better and increases our life expectancy. It also helps to reduce anxiety, increase focus and improve concentration. See if you can work in social interaction into your everyday life.