The Pursuit of Happiness

One of the most famous phrases from the stirring U.S. Declaration of Independence(1776) is "the pursuit of happiness," cited as an unalienable or natural right which cannot be taken away by any legitimate government.  The obvious implication is that happiness is something people not only should have, but should be able to acquire more.  This raises questions about human beliefs, and is related to health behavior.  Some persons think of happiness in a passive sense - either you have it or you don't, not something over which we have control.  Other people are much more confident in their ability to create happiness, to control the things that bring about happiness. 

This contrast is also found in health promotion.  Some individuals and social groups think about health and disease with indifference and submission.  Not that they don't want good health, but they feel powerless to play any role in assuring it.  To the extent people feel health is determined by luck, the devine, or the demonic, they will be less inclined to a self-activated approach to health promotion.

Today we would reflexively say people have a right to the pursuit of health, but in the sensibility of 1776, people had almost no basis for being proactive about health.  It would be about 175 years before the epidemiologists would give us guidance for health promoting life habits.

To come full circle, happiness is becoming more recognized as a component of health, and to many people something which can be cultivated with practice.  The catch is how.  While there is an emerging field of research called happiness studies, there is not really what might be called "best practice" or established principles.  If you Google "improving happiness" you  will get a huge number of sites which usually describe their advice as "tips."  That is code for "These might be helpful and just seem like good common sense."  You will find things like organize your life better, get more sleep, slow down, spend time with good friends..... You get the idea.  No one will argue with these suggestions, but they are hardly definitive.  Imagine if you went to your physician, and all she could offer were tips of a general nature, but nothing specific with a proven record of effectiveness?  We expect that about medical care, and we should expect it about health promotion practice.

The problem is that our understanding of what makes for happiness is incomplete.  For example, we reject the notion that money can buy happiness, but surely to some extent it can support conditions in which happiness is easier to come by.  Is it realistic to think that a person who sleeps under bridges just needs to think optimistic thoughts in order to be happy?  And how is it possible that someone with severe disabilities can still be happy in their life?  And yet there are.

Here are a few things that come closer to being science-based.  Happiness requires a healthy brain, which is promoted by good sleep habits, good nutrition, exercise, and caution with things brain-toxic like too much alcohol.  Eye health requires changing field of vision - too much unvaried focus, such as extended reading or screen viewing is not good for the eys, which need the opportunity to have a distant focus from time to time.  In the same way, brain health is probably not as well promoted by constant imersion in the same job or task, but will do better with changing attention.  This is like taking a brain vacation every day, and sometimes for longer periods.  Social support from family and friend relationships is also an important building block of happiness.

One way to promote happiness, though I admit not established in science, is reminding ourselves about the good people and good things around us.  I hear an awful lot of whining from people, in many circumstances, and not enough gratitude.  "I can't get no satisfaction" has become the national song of Americans.

In the future we should look for more and more definitive principles of happiness science.  In the meantime, think happy thoughts.