happiness wins science book prize

This looks like an interesting book, haven’t read it myself. There is a lot going around about happiness and positive psychology these days.

linkto story

Chinese folktale

Here’s a great Taoist story that I couldn’t help pinching from Blue Athena – a really interesting site.

It just illustrates beautifully how our feelings are influenced by our perceptions of the world around us. I particularly liked the African version…

poo and happiness

I had long suspected a connection between poo and happiness. This realisation gradually dawned on me over more than a year of changing nappies for two in addition to (and preceded by) caring for Ellie the Funt.

My suspicions were first confirmed by the sensational recent Australian movie, Kenny in which our protagonist is a Porta-Loo manager, happy as a pig in mud. He is really doing the world an essential service, and has a sense of purpose and importance. And so he should. After all human waste is ubiquitous and someone really needs to maintain those systems for dealing with it.

My natural reaction to poo is, like anyone’s, a normal “eww, yucky” feeling on first encountering the poo. God forbid, you don’t want to get it on your fingers. But the encounter is also strangely grounding. To come face to face (or face to bottom) with the waste products of one’s children does something to one’s sense of connectedness, somehow.

And last night on the SBS program, Insight, with my hero Jenny Brockie my suspicions were confirmed. It’s a fantastic talkback TV program that deals with interesting topics superbly and last night’s topic was, would you believe it “Happiness“. And the champion case example of happiness, was, would you believe a sewerage worker. I have forgotten the guy’s name. But he exhibited all the core features of happiness: a sense of purpose, a sense of connection to others, involvement in one’s work etc…

And for me, a penny dropped, another link in the chain. I’m starting to think I’m onto something, the association of poo and happiness.

technologies of faith

OK here’s another PhD idea for when I’m 40. Examine the “technologies” of the major religious faiths ie prayer and meditation, psychology from the Bible and the Buddha. Compare to psychological therapies.

Invent a form of cognitive therapy based on Jesus’ teachings.

thanatophobia

Here at the white elephant, we are not afraid to tackle the big issues… It’s almost my bedtime here and I am just scraping in with a post on the second day of NaBloPoMo.

So what is thanatophobia? It’s defined as a fear of one’s own death and is apparently very common. Why is it interesting? Because there are so many layers to it.

Firstly, thanatophobia is a form of anxiety. It’s a phobia, which is classed as anxiety. It comes with physical anxiety symptoms such as shortness of breath, increased heart rate, muscle tension, nausea, dizziness etc etc. It can be associated with panic attacks. It’s a fear of something which is at once inevitable but also quite unlikely at any given moment in time. The person is afraid of something which they know is definitely going to happen, but they have no way of knowing when.

Thanatophobia also has an existential, even theological component. If someone is afraid of death, what do they fear? The actual fear must relate to the person’s beliefs about death. What do they think is going to happen to them when they die and why is it so frightening.

Here’s a range of possible beliefs about death:
- nothing happens, you cease to exist (materialist view)
- you may go to heaven or hell, depending on some kind of judgment of your actions in this life (Judeo-Christian view)
- reincarnation (Hindu, Buddhist)
- some people believe in ghosts, or spirits of the dead who somehow just float around the earthly plane making a nuisance of themselves

For those who believe the first option, a fear of death is not very rational. After all if you don’t exist, what does it matter? You won’t be suffering. For Christians, and similar viewpoints, a fear of death could be related to some kind of guilt. You feel you have done wrong and you are going to hell. In that case all that is required is to repent and you’ll be forgiven – easy.

Those who believe in reincarnation may be afraid of their own karma. They may have done wrong and fear a horrible next life. It’s understandable. It’s also understandable for those who believe in spirits or ghosts to feel afraid. Who would want to be floating around forever, feeling cold and scaring people?

I get the feeling that most people with this fear haven’t quite worked out their own beliefs yet. They may be searching, and the fear could be a healthy sign that they are moving towards some kind of spiritual growth.

Some writers (like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Victor Frankl and also in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying) emphasise the need to confront one’s own mortality in order to grow or really be able to live well. Death is a necessary step on the road to rebirth in a number of ways, some of which are symbolic. There’s a cycle.

Fear of death could also be related to other problems. It could be due to narcissism (fear of one’s own nonexistence) or fear of the unknown. It could also be related to a death-wish as sometimes we fear what we really desire.

I don’t have thanatophobia and I’m frankly quite unconcerned about the whole thing. I don’t fear death and I don’t pretend to know what is going to happen to me there. I have some kind of faith that tells me it will be OK. But I find the whole thing very interesting.

pathology pyramid

In psychiatry or psychology, what are the presenting symptoms and what lies underneath? This could be an interesting study, re personality issues. Common presenting problems are usually depression, anxiety, substance abuse (these are extremely prevalent as we know). Later on, we discover other features over time. Could there be a pyramid effect?

high achievers and their offspring

I’m wondering why it is that the world’s very high achievers often have kids that struggle academically. In fact I don’t even know if it’s often, because I haven’t seen any statistics on this. But I have seen a few cases.

First, there is the “generational” theory that we are all familiar with. Generation 1 is the high achiever, rags to riches, who struggles from poverty to become a great success. Generation 2 is born into wealth and doesn’t have to work as hard, so marries a “society” partner who also hasn’t had to work hard. Generation 3 is thus diluted genetically and not given any great role modelling, so produces the diletantes, who then end up in poverty and their children are back to Gen 1. This may be the case for some.

Then there is my somewhat simpler theory of time spent parenting. People who are hugely successful often have a strong work ethic, and as a result of this, have no time for parenting. Children are brought up by nannies or at day care. Parent doesn’t have time to focus on child(ren) when they are home because they are too exhausted. Quality of parenting relies on quality of the nanny or carer relationship which is highly variable, in any case not a lot of teaching happens at home. But usually the kid doesn’t have as strong attachment to a consistent parent/s. Attachment theory states that the strength of this bond can predict development emotionally and also cognitively.

There’s also another psychological aspect of this. Some high achievers may actually resent the fact that they spent most of their life “achieving” and working hard. They may secretly wish they had partied more and spent more time on their relationships. They are looking at their social or relationship achievements and finding these lacking. They didn’t have enough fun. So they are programming their children to reject the harsh corporate / medical / professional world they inhabit and opt for a simpler, more rewarding life.

everything is temporary

that’s all I want to say

Evolutionary psychiatry

Great summary of evo-psychiatry here. Thanks again to Brain Ethics. I would read all of this if I had the time or mental ability ; )

sleep and happiness

I have no doubt that sleep causes happiness. I only have to look at my children in the morning after a bad night’s sleep, and then again after a decent nap. I only have to look at myself at 10pm after being up since 4am that morning, and then again the next day after a decent night’s sleep.

There is a complex relationship between sleep and depression – basically it’s an inverse relationship and it’s a circular one. Sleep deprivation often leads to depression and the more depressed you are, the worse the sleep gets. Sleep deprive me for long enough and I develop an intense dislike for a lot of people – luckily it’s short lived.