Articles
Summary
Happiness: An Unusual Finding
Scientists have found something very unusual when it comes to happiness.
Or rather they found an interesting difference between happy and unhappy people.
Before I go into the finding, let us not confuse unhappiness with uncomfortableness or painfulness. You can live a very comfortable, pleasurable life and still not be truly happy.
What did they find out? There is an inverse correlation between happiness and daydreaming. In other words, unhappy people daydream a lot more than happy people.
What is even more interesting is how heavily this factors into your happiness compared to other variables.
Rather bizarre, you would think happy people would be the ones who would let themselves …show more content…
There is no quick fix when it comes to happiness.
If this is true, then daydreaming probably reflects the lack of these experiences that you should have had at this point in time of your life.
It is a symptom, not a cause.
Happiness: The Article
I ran across an internet article about a woman suffering from a deep, dark depression during her 20s.
She beat it with something slightly unconventional. She sang a song…in a choir.
What was neat about the article was she described all the science behind doing a group activity and its effect on the brain.
In short, it releases endorphins, bathes your brain in dopamine, lowers cortisol, increases serotonin, generates prolactin, and creates the feeling of love with oxytocin.
Group activities, especially singing, are fireworks for your brain.
The reason why singing and group activities are so great is because of something described in a lot of happiness studies: the state of flow.
Being completely in the moment is easier to achieve with others than alone.
That is why we are so drawn to other people.
When we daydream you never dream about you being alone in a room. No, you are a ninja fighting someone, holding hands with a lover, or making love. We are always with someone in our dreams. Daydreams help satisfy your desire to be with