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What Makes Us Happy?
Are influence and popularity overrated? Perhaps. According
to a new study we feel happiness and satisfaction whenever
we manage to fulfill four basic psychological needs: self
esteem, autonomy, competence and relatedness. The study
was conducted in the Missouri-Colombia University, engaging
different groups of college students, one from South Korea, and
contained three surveys. In the first survey the students were
asked to identify the most satisfying event they experienced in
the last month. In the second they were asked to describe the
most satisfying event they experienced in the last week. In the
last survey, they were asked to describe the most satisfying
event they experienced in the last semester, and the most unsatisfying event in the same semester. The results were consistent across the three different periods, and across the two cultures: autonomy, competence, relatedness and self esteem were mentions as the most important needs to feel satisfaction. When asked about the most unsatisfying event the student said that what made them a bad experience was lake of autonomy, competence, relatedness and self esteem. However, the American students put self esteem at the top of their list, while the South Korean put relatedness at the top.
Alcoholism - For Life?
Everyone knows the saying, "once an alcoholic - forever an
alcoholic". But a new survey appeared in the journal "Addiction"
discovered that 40 percent of the people with alcohol dependency
recovered from their addiction within a year. About half of them
abstained from alcohol for good, while the other half reported they
drink occasionally, without a relapse. However, about 25 percent of
the addicts were still struggling with the addiction, and 25
percent were only partially in remission.
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Friendly Therapy
Do you believe the best way to get out of a depression is with the help of therapy or antidepressants? Think again. A new study found out, that using the support of a friend is just as efficient. The study was conducted in King's and St. Thomas' schools of medicine in London, and followed a group of chronically depressed women. The researchers sent women volunteers to befriend some of the women. The volunteers were instructed to meet with the women regularly for chats over coffee or outgoings. At the end of a year 72 percent of the women experienced a remission in depression, compared to just 45 percent in the control group, who got no help at all. This, say the researchers, is exactly the same success as with antidepressants or therapy.
