Positive Emotions: A Back Up for Well Being

Positive Emotions are the central components of the Social Well Being.  People who enjoy frequent positive emotions and experience few negative emotions, along with a judgment that their life is satisfying are considered happy.  People in a positive mood act quite differently than when they are in a bad mood or experiencing a distressing emotions.  Many of the behaviours we consider to be positive are enhanced by positive affect.  Happy people are more tolerant and less prejudicial, more compassionate, more focused on others rather than self focused, more helpful to others, and more enjoyable to be with.  Positive emotions contribute to more flexible, creative and resilient responses in the face of challenges.  Happiness is a desirable state in and of itself because it is linked to so many positive behaviours.  Negative emotions and unhappiness may cause us self absorbed, self centered, and focused on our own preoccupations.  Happiness seems to produce a more expansive view of the world around us (Baumgardner and Crothers, 2009).

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive Psychology is the study of what we might call life on the positive side of the zero, where zero is the line that divides illness from health and unhappiness from happiness.  It is all about personal qualities, life circumstances, individual choices, life activities, relationships with others, transcendent purposes, and socio-cultural conditions that foster and define good life.  Positive Psychology, thus is (can be) defined as the scientific study of the personal qualities, life choices, life circumstances and sociocultural conditions that promote a life well-lived, defined by criteria of happiness, physical and mental health, meaningfulness and virtue (Baumgardner and Crothers, 2009)