Culture, Happiness and Health
In American culture, we have a tendency to place happiness on a pedestal - happiness is the marker of a good, healthy life. The "pursuit of happiness" is even one of our inalienable rights in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. But is happiness actually associated with health benefits?
As I was trying to untangle this vague concept of happiness, I discovered that almost everyone wants to be happy, but have very little idea of what would actually make them happy - or what happiness even means in the first place. A quick google search for “happiness” gives you 1 billion 770 million results and over 40,000 books related to this topic. It’s clear that learning about and achieving happiness is a pretty important focus across the world.
What is Happiness?
This is an age-old question and no one really knows the answer even now, but there have been many theories over time. Aristotle was one of the first to define happiness. He said happiness meant living a virtuous life and being a morally good person. According to the modern study of Positive Psychology, you are happy when you feel as if your life is going well, according to the standards you have chosen for yourself. The truth is, happiness may be defined differently for different people; we just know it when we feel it.
Although the concept and desire for happiness is universal, different cultural systems affect how happiness is interpreted and defined. Every year, the United Nations' World Happiness Report ranks countries according to their happiness levels trying to understand what makes people happy. The more we learn about how happiness is understood across cultures, the more we realize how complex it is to define universal well-being and joy.
Happiness in Western and Eastern Culture
Most of the current research on cultural happiness is divided into 2 categories - Western and Eastern Culture.
Western culture tends to give more importance to individuality and personal satisfaction whereas Eastern culture focuses more on social harmony and collective and group satisfaction. It has also been shown that most Americans view happiness as being upbeat and enthusiastic, whereas the Chinese think of happiness as being calm and content.
Most Americans actively pursue happiness as their birthright and associate it with positive experiences and personal achievements. Many people in Asia and Europe believe it’s a consequence of good luck and fortune and don't even strive for happiness thinking it may invite misfortune instead.
Income and wealth have also been considered to be important factors to attaining happiness. Does that mean less well off people are doomed to be unhappy? While many studies have shown that wealthier countries are generally happier, that’s not always the case. In fact, it's interesting to observe how levels of happiness decline as developing countries become wealthier, as is the case with India, where people reported being less happy as their income levels grew.
Pursuit of Happiness
Throughout history, the pursuit of happiness has been a preoccupation of humankind. But, the fact is that the commitment to happiness in Western culture is a relatively new concept. Before the 18th century, a slightly saddened approach to life was encouraged. In fact, people felt apologetic for the moments of happiness they did experience. One unified message had been prevalent throughout past world history, whether through the Book of Job or through Buddha’s four noble truths. And that was - The world is a painful place.
Accordingly, most religions and philosophies suggested ways to deal with suffering in the best way possible. Aristotle recommended living a life of virtue as the best means to happiness. Jews recommended being lawful; Christians advised charity, and Muslims - submission to God. These traditions shared a common belief that suffering could be overcome through discipline and sacrifice. In short, true happiness had to be earned.
It wasn’t until the Enlightenment Era in the 18th century that human expectations of happiness started to change. Suddenly, the belief changed that happiness was not something we earned, but something we deserved. We were meant to be happy in this life and not just the next - and being cheerful was actually pleasing to God. Since then the pursuit of happiness has spread to every aspect of behavior, religion, politics, and work and family life.
Change in Society
So what created such a huge shift after so many years of accepting suffering as normal? Society started changing - there was decreased famine and diseases and better living and working standards through technology. People could worry less about surviving, and more about living well and indulging. Having a better sense of control over their circumstances, people felt more enabled and powerful.
The smiling American became a stereotype, with the United States claiming a culture of superior happiness projecting the “The American Dream”. Not only were many books and articles written on the subject, but new commercial empires were created - advertising happiness.
McDonald’s came up with “happy meals.” Disney was marketed as “the happiest place on earth” Harvey Ball created the yellow smiley face in 1963 whose annual licensing revenues exceeded $50 million within the decade. The laugh track was invented for television comedy sitcoms to project happiness even when the viewers themselves weren’t laughing.
This cultural change was and still is double-edged for a few reasons. A high emphasis on happiness creates the idea that unhappiness must be avoided, making it difficult for people to deal with sadness, both in themselves and others.
Additionally, the quest for individual satisfaction and relying on the concept that buying and collecting more material things will make us happy has produced an unequal world, and according to Carl Cederström, a Swedish researcher, this concept has made people less fulfilled and more empty inside.
The modern materialism of happiness has encouraged the belief that happiness can be bought for a price. Yet, we have seen that in spite of becoming a wealthier nation in recent decades, the United States, like other developed countries, has not become significantly happier during this period. Instead, we have seen an alarming growth of mental illness and loneliness during this time instead suggesting that there is room for improvement in our happiness culture.
Why is Happiness so Important?
Multiple studies have shown a link between being happy and positive outcomes such as mental well-being, physical health, and overall longevity. Happier people are generally more optimistic, have better stress coping skills, and believe they have more control over their health which drives healthier lifestyle habits. Pessimists tend to have a more bleak outlook on life, reduced stress coping skills, and unhealthier lifestyle habits.
Happy people still have the full range of human emotions - both positive and negative. However, they have an underlying sense of optimism that things will get better, they can deal with what is happening, and that they will be able to feel happy again.
Many studies actually came to the conclusion that having low levels of pessimism, but not necessarily high levels of optimism contribute to better health outcomes such as lower risk of heart disease, better weight control, a healthier immune system, and lower risks of depression and anxiety. In other words, rather than aiming for positivity and cheerfulness all the time, the goal should be to lean towards the optimistic side with a bit of pessimism thrown in.
While some people have a naturally sunny disposition, research has shown that pessimism is an outlook that can be changed, and people can learn skills to help themselves experience more positive emotions. If this is true, that means people have a greater degree of control over their health than they realize.
As the happiness movement grew, unfortunately, people would feel ashamed or “abnormal” if they experienced depression, anxiety or even occasional negative feelings. After all, experiencing a full range of emotions including sadness and anger is perfectly normal and healthy. Studies have also shown that there is a benefit to accepting and embracing negative emotions so we can deal with it in a healthy way.
The bottom line - people need to realize that there is nothing wrong with feeling bad when life takes dark turns. In the words of Julie Norem, a researcher and psychologist, "It's OK not to be positive all the time, and it's unrealistic to believe that you can be happy every moment. That's not a character failing; that's a full emotional life."
Rick Hanson, psychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness, stated that the main happiness industry in America has unfortunately become the advertising industry. If you just “buy this car” or “travel to Mexico” you will be happy. However, his research has found that happiness is attained by enjoying the simple pleasures and small joys of everyday life.
The truth is that there are as many routes to happiness as the billions of people in the world seeking it, but there are a few that have continued to top the list consistently over the years - Optimism. Healthy Social Relationships. Love. Purpose. A sense of purpose involves seeing your life as having goals, direction, and meaning.
Based on the work done by famous positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, 50% of happiness is determined by our genes, 10% is determined by the circumstances in which we live, and 40% is determined by our actions, our attitude or optimism, and the way we handle situations. This implies that we can control a significant percentage of our happiness. Remember, being happy doesn't mean you’re not allowed to be sad.
Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology created a term called "happyology" and states, “positive psychology itself isn't about the denial of negative experiences but also encompasses qualities like resilience and persistence, which help us to grow and thrive through negative experiences.”
Isolation & Loneliness
I think our current culture of extreme individualism, competitiveness, and isolation has contributed to a lot of unhappiness driving a society which has become more alienated and anxious. Maybe we need to keep our individuality without losing focus on the connectedness around us. We should care more about equality, community, and empathy and build a better world creating purpose and by being more present in the world around us.