Since psychology was born, it has always been considered that one of the most beneficial and positive states that human beings can achieve is that called happiness. Despite everything, the concept of happiness, even today, continues to be presented as an object of debate, difficult to define, and theories and definitions continue to emerge around him.

The first studies about happiness emerged from philosophy several centuries ago, and especially from the Renaissance, with the emergence of humanism. . The objective of these thinkers focused, fundamentally, on defining happiness and trying to make this cluster of definitions consistent.

Thus, two main conceptions of happiness arise: the hedonistic, which defends that happiness was, above all, the prioritization of pleasure over displeasure; and the conception of life satisfaction, where it is considered whether a human is happy or not based on a global assessment of his or her life.

What does the psychology of happiness think?

Going a little deeper from the psychological point of view, we define happiness as a mental state with a strong emotional charge, also based on ideas and beliefs.Therefore, it encompasses cognitive elements and emotions. To support this definition, we find several interesting findings:

• We are capable of adapting our ability to be happy to different contexts and situations.
• The level of happiness we feel adapts to the standards of the people we consider references.
• Happiness is not guaranteed by material wealth.

We also have to keep in mind that happiness is not the lack of suffering alone, but rather the positive comparison of the suffering we can feel with the positive emotions we feel.

What are positive emotions?

We know as “positive emotions” all those that have beneficial effects on us, beyond the sensations they cause us. Negative emotions are inevitable, but it is very important to encourage positive emotions if we want to be happy.

Chemicals of happiness

Now, let’s see how to promote that “happiness” we talked about from a physical point of view. In this sense, we can talk about the “happiness quartet”, four natural chemicals in our body that produce that sensation: endorphin, strong>serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.

Endorphins

Endorphins are a type of natural pain reliever. They reduce pain, stress and fear. They are, to a large extent, responsible for desire, becoming inhibitors of emotional and physical pain.

How to increase your levels?

• Eating very spicy food.
• Watch sad movies.
• Dance, sing or work as a team.
• Practice hobbies.
• Laugh.

Serotonin

Serotonin is generated when you feel valued. It is related to self-esteem and self-confidence. It is important for regulating aggression and anger, and also in the pleasure response, mood and appetite regulation.

How to increase your levels?

• Think of happy memories.
• Expose yourself to sunlight.
• Receive massages.
• Do aerobic exercise.
• Eat chocolate high in cocoa.

Dopamine

Dopamine is generated when we feel pleasure, and is related to the fulfillment of goals and desires. It has a fundamental role in the development of neural networks, and influences, for example, attention and memory, becoming crucial in learning and problem-solving processes.

How to increase your levels?

• When we take the first step and/or achieve a goal.
• Sleep 7 to 9 hours getting enough rest.
• Do daily exercise.
• Drink enough water.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is related to the development of maternal behaviors and attachment. Reduces stress and increases libido. It also plays a basic role in the development and maintenance of emotional bonds.

How to increase your levels?

• Huging someone we love.
• Meditate every morning.
• Being generous.
• Caressing your pet.

Psychology of Happiness

The Psychology of Happiness or Positive Psychology is a new trend within psychology, which scientifically studies the bases of well-being and happiness .

For all its followers, happiness is a construct with various elements, among which we find positive emotions. Its fundamental objective is to generate the development of positive attitudes.

The model of well-being developed by the creator of this type of psychology, Martin Seligman, is called PERMA. According to Seligman, there are 5 basic components of happiness:

• Positive emotions: to feel happy, we must increase the number of positive emotions.
• Engagement: we must put our personal strengths into practice, trying to develop a higher number of beneficial experiences.
• Relationships: Spending a little time working on our personal relationships fosters our feelings of companionship and support.
• Meaning: in this case, we refer to the development of objectives and the goal in life that we can set for ourselves.
• Accomplishment: the establishment of goals that motivate us.

There are other theories and currents, but in general, we can provide five basic tips of the Psychology of Happiness:

• It focuses on our positive qualities and situations to improve our psychological well-being.
• It does not deny negative emotions, nor does it force us to be happy.
• It is based on the scientific method.
• Discovervariables that influence our well-being (balanced strengths, vital meaning, relationships…).
• It states that knowing our strengths is a key to promoting well-being.

For our part, we also recommend complementing all our advice with our laughter therapy workshop< /strong>!