Books in the Positive Psychology News series
We’ve seen a lot in the news lately about depression with the very sad, tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, both by suicide. And of course, there are 45,000 deaths by suicide in the U.S. every year and 800,000 around the world.
The question is, can positive psychology help, and a recent research study says yes.
I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did, but I found myself thinking about some of the stories long after I read them. I especially enjoyed the stories by individuals who personally experienced mental health disorders. They described the essential features of their recoveries, some of which are completely unexpected. Each story, whether by a therapist or a patient, is well-written from a personal perspective and reads like a mini-novel.
Dr. Tali Sharot just released her book, The Optimism Bias; A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain. The optimism bias is the inclination to overestimate the likelihood of encountering positive events in the future and to underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events. The book is a neuroscientist’s contribution to an increased understanding of the biological basis of optimism.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), developed by Segal, Williams, and Teasdale, has been shown to be effective in reducing relapse among people with three or more depressive episodes. Like positive psychology, MBCT helps participants to observe their negative thoughts with curiosity and kindness, to accept themselves and stop wishing things were different, to let go of old habits and choose a different way of being, and to be present and notice small beauties and pleasures in the world.
Oprah recently had Martha Stewart on her show. Apparently thousands of women had written in about having Martha show them, once again, how to properly fold a fitted bed sheet. This made me think; is the state of our linen closets just one more standard to which women need to measure up? And are these impossible standards contributing to the steady drop that researchers have found in women’s happiness since 1972?