4 Reasons Why You Should Learn About Positive Psychology

It was only when I read about Positive Psychology that I realized that we can talk about “psychology” without the terms like “anxiety”, “depression” and “ADHD”

So how is it even about Psychology without these terms?

This article will talk about the important things you need to know if you want to study positive psychology.

This Article Contains:
The Point of Positive Psychology
What Is This Psychology Without The Terms “Anxiety”, “Depression” And “ADHD”
Positive Psychology Program Studies Happiness
Positive Psychology Is Actual On Its Second Wave
Positive Psychology Helps You To Find Meaning And Purpose
You Learn About How to Effectively Love Yourself

The Point Of Positive Psychology

I found this short anecdote by Martin Seligman (Father of Positive Psychology) himself to be the best overview if you want to quickly learn and understand this “Psychology of happiness”, this is about a couple with a newborn daughter (Learned Optimism, p.4):

“As the father was calling up his daughter’s name he realized that the baby was not responding to him that he was alarmed and he exclaimed that maybe the baby was deaf, but his wife told him that it might be normal. When they checked the baby book, they read how a newborn’s startle reflex and attention would take a bit of time before it develops.

The father with a history of deafness said that he worries that his daughter might be the same, his wife told him not to worry and that they would leave a message for the pediatrician first thing in the morning for an appointment on Monday. The husband was in deep worry and despair as he was thinking about how having a deaf child might put his wife in misery. The wife tried calming his husband the whole weekend while doing her usual exercises and reading.

Tests done on the baby were promising but the father was still uncertain and was only reassured when his daughter was startled by a passing truck a week later.”

This showed two different habits of thinking, pessimism, and optimism. Martin Seligman notes how the “traditional psychology” focuses on the pathology (diagnoses and of mental illnesses, classification of disorders) resonating with pessimism.

Seligman wrote that “psychology is not just the study of disease, weakness, and damage; it is also the study of strength and virtue”; (Seligman, 2002) and therefore this should involve looking into concepts of the following to name a few:

• well-being,
• contentment,
• satisfaction,
• happiness,
• flow experiences,
• optimism, and
• hope

The introduction of positive psychology has opened up new research opportunities and brought a new perspective for the psychological community.

What Is This Psychology Without the Terms “Anxiety”, “Depression” And “ADHD”?

1. Positive Psychology Program

Yes, I do want to learn about happiness! Who wouldn’t want to, right?

During my undergraduate study, I learned that it is ABOUT looking into the USE of human strengths RATHER than just FOCUSING ON FIXING the weaknesses, hopefully translating that strength into something more productive and subjectively helpful.

FACT: In Psychology, “happiness” is referred to as “subjective well-being” in researches ( so if you are looking for legitimate scientific resources about happiness just look for the above keyword, and voila!)

2. Positive Psychology Is Actually On Its Second Wave

The first wave of Positive Psychology and the general thought of this self-affirmation psychology (the one that is taught in colleges and universities and which I first learned about) is the one pioneered by Martin Seligman. As it proliferated a new concept for psychological researches, it has also been met with reservations by some pointing out the following:

• The first wave of positive psychology focused on positive institutions of emotions, traits, thoughts, etc. and regarded “traditional psychology” as something that focused on the “negative” (pathology of illness, classification of disorders).

• This resulted in the notion that “negative” states and thoughts should be discouraged and that “positive” thoughts and states should be encouraged. The dichotomy into positive and negative has seemingly overlooked the long-running psychological movement of ending stigma about mental health.

An example would be the movement about body positivity. Yes, it is good to accept one’s body type, flaws, and natural features but in a way, this disregards the hazards entailed with being overweight. That although they may find happiness in their self-appreciation they might also neglect and ignore the health consequences of not maintaining a healthy weight.

“When we got to this topic in my undergraduate years, I had reservations about it, because it felt like it was kind of odd to be just looking at one side of the spectrum, it is a good point to open up the view of not looking into dysfunction and disorder, but somehow it feels lacking that it somehow disregards the other side of the field.

It was when I learned about the second wave that I finally waived the initial reservations that I had and the following are some points that gave me a reason to finally look more into this field.”

The second wave unified the first wave of Positive Psychology (PP) and the “traditional psychology” (sometimes referred to as ‘psychology as usual’)rendering this second wave as a balance between the two.

This second wave now also focuses on tapping on the “positive” but doesn’t outright disregard the “negative”, but rather treats the latter as something that can lead to growth and transformation. An example is how traumatic events can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, as “negative”) but it can also lead to Post Traumatic Growth (PTG, “positive”).

The second wave also looks into how fluid positivity and negativity are. Like how the positive could turn into negative; and the negative into positive. This shows how a negative or positive appraisal could turn into its opposite when it is viewed from a broader perspective or a context of time.

This also takes out the pressure of being happy in moments of despair bringing equilibrium into the once all-happiness-scheme of the first wave. For example:

In a situation like being orphaned, the first wave PP may look into the perspective that you are now free to have your own choices and you can now have more growth as a person. This disregards the fact that you have to process your emotions and thoughts of loneliness or abandonment. The second wave on the other hand does not deprive you of feeling and voicing out your emotions but rather makes you look into a perspective that these emotions are okay and natural and are part of the healing process.

Interesting right? If I were you I would look out for a positive psychology course focusing on the second wave since it makes more sense and is more comprehensive.

3. Positive Psychology Helps You Find Meaning and Purpose

There was a time that I asked myself what I want in life even asked questions like

What is the meaning of life…

What am I living for?

WE ARE LIKE A HELICOPTER

We could go places
But it is ONLY POSSIBLE if we have the FUEL, the DESTINATION, and the PILOT.

– Fuel is the motivation, the meaning you attach to life;
– Destination, aside from the place you want to go, is the purpose you have for living
– Pilot is the resources or knowledge that you acquire for you to learn how to fly the Helicopter, the knowledge you gain to help you.

I know that you’ve had your fair share of moments seeking answers to these existential crisis questions!

If you want to go places, go forth and fly that helicopter!

Let this psychology of happiness be the Pilot to help you acquire Fuel and aid as you try to find your Destination.

4. You Learn About How to Effectively Love Yourself

We’ve all been there. Looking into our flaws, faults, and shortcomings. I believe I am not the only one who has undermined my skills, emotions, and the power of my thoughts.

I have always been my hardest critic. It’s so hard to please yourself right?

Positive psychology teaches concepts about self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-acceptance.

• The more that we learn about ourselves, the more that we understand our needs, the more that we respond to what we want.
• These are just some of the components of our psychological well-being (aka happiness). It will help transform our relationship with our self, so we grow and flourish.

It is in learning to love ourselves that we learn to love abundantly that WE NO LONGER NEED TO LOOK, DEMAND, AND FIND HAPPINESS FROM THINGS OR PEOPLE but instead, we produce that overflowing happiness that we then share with others.
Now, do you still need the terms “anxiety”, “depression” and “ADHD” to fully relate to psychology?

I’m quite sure you almost forgot about it!

I hope this primer has given you a new perspective about pursuing mental health and wellness and another reason to study positive psychology, I loved this topic back in college, and knowing that it has its second wave makes it more interesting!

Learn about positive psychology has led to the development of several key concepts. These have proven to be highly therapeutic for people with depression and anxiety. Some studies show that a lack of positivity may contribute to a low or depressed mood. However, depression does not develop solely because of this lack. Positive psychology does not solely target negative symptoms. It also seeks to enhance character strengths and positive emotions. It can benefit people who wish to develop in these areas.