Posts Tagged ‘happiness’

Can pets actually make us happier?

Some people may think you’re crazy if you talk to your animals. Even though many pet-owners talk to their pets, involve them in group activities and even treat them as part of the family, we all know that they aren’t like your best friend Tim or Kylie. Or.. What if they are? Even though they don’t speak human, research shows that pets can fulfill social needs similarly to their human counterparts. Allen R. McConnell, a professor of Psychology at Miami University, conducted some lab experiments that show that pets can help everyday people feel happier with themselves and their lives.

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The science of why we LOL!

People generally feel pretty good when they laugh, and we expect people are happy when they hear it. Even when you laugh as a distraction, or in reaction to something unpleasant, it helps put you in better spirits. Why is that?

It turns out it’s not just a human thing. Laughter is observed in many mammals, of all ages. It can be observed during play, tickling, and often around friends. Laughter is also a social thing. We are thirty times more likely to laugh when we’re with other people than when we are alone.

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Understanding the Hedonic Treadmill and how to achieve sustainable happiness

Want to be happier?

Arthur Schopenhauer had once remarked:

“How insatiable a creature is man! Every satisfaction he attains lays the seeds of some new desire, so that there is no end to the wishes of each individual will.”

It seems as if our friend Schopenhauer was on to something which is that we always seem to be several steps away from having what we think we want, yet when we get it, desire itself still remains and the fixed state of happiness we assumed obtainable still seems out of reach.

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