A lot has been written about happiness and from psychology to
philosophy, different theories of happiness have focused on issues of
satisfaction, contentment, and even spiritual liberation. But happiness
is one of the most subjective mental states and several factors could be
at play when a person is truly happy. Whereas anger or fear could be
defined with physical reactions and certain behavioural patterns, this
is not so for happiness and that is how happiness is extremely
subjective. For example one bar of chocolate could make one child happy
whereas another child would want two chocolate bars to feel truly happy.
So
why do we feel happy? Happiness is usually associated with some kind of
gain or attainment. When we achieve or attain something, we feel
satisfied and this triggers happiness. The attainment does not have to
be material, it could very well be spiritual. It could even be bodily
and physical, just as an insomniac person would feel happy after a good
night's sleep. So, in defining happiness we have to locate a specific
material, spiritual or physical gain or attainment and the contentment
arising as a result of this attainment. The question would arise whether
it is possible to be happy without any attainment. I would say that it
is not possible to happy without attaining something and this attainment
does not have to be immediate and could be related any past
achievement. Now, you could say that you do know someone who is always
happy without any specific reason. It's that you haven't found out the
reason for his happiness. He may be a simple man with simple needs and
happy after a warm bath or a nice meal, so that's still some attainment.
So, happiness always involves some attainment or need fulfilment,
however small or big that is.
Psychologists have used several
models including bio psychosocial and PERMA models to explain happiness
suggesting that happiness is attained when our biological, psychological
and sociological needs are met or when there is pleasure (bodily for
instance), engagement (in some activity for instance), relationships,
meaning (for instance purpose of life) and accomplishments. These models
suggest that happiness involves something deeper than just our fleeting
pleasures. I would differ and suggest that happiness being extremely
subjective, some people may just be happy attaining pleasures whereas
some others would seek meaning or possibly accomplishments and
relationships. So the level or type of attainment that makes one happy
would vary from one person to another.
Thus some people would be
happy when their basic needs are fulfilled whereas some others would not
be happy even after significant professional accomplishments as they
may be expecting some other level or kind of achievement. Thus happiness
largely depends on our subjective understanding of what it means to be
happy. Since happiness is so subjective it cannot be strictly placed
within models or frameworks although the underlying common factor that
makes people happy is always some kind of attainment, gain or need
fulfilment.
The next level of analysis would be whether happiness
could be categorized to generalized happiness or a continued happy state
of mind and specific happiness for attaining one of the specific
pleasures or goals. I would suggest that there cannot be a generalized
state of happiness without a specific reason. A seemingly happy person
may not be genuinely happy or may be genuinely happy as he may have
attained an exalted spiritual state or accumulated substantial wealth.
So again as we see a continued state of happiness could also be
explained with attainment.
The need fulfilment or attainment that
triggers happiness could be biological such as bodily pleasures as when
we quench our thirst, satisfy physical desires etc. The attainment could
be social when we form relationships and feel happy or simply talk to
strangers at a large event or remain engaged in social activity, or the
attainment could be spiritual when we seek and even find some kind of
spiritual liberation. The attainment or need fulfilment could be
psychological when our love needs are fulfilled or when we reach our
goals or fulfil our ambitions. The biological, psychological, social and
spiritual aspects of attainment could provide happiness according to
their needs. Thus happiness is intricately tied to our specific needs
although these needs could be interrelated as for example the need for
status or power could be both social and psychological.
Thus we distinguish the factors that could lead to happiness
1. Biological (bodily pleasures, basic needs)
2. Social (status, relationships, social activity and engagement)
3. Psychological (emotional, love, friendship, personal accomplishments)
4. Spiritual (finding meaning and purpose, transpersonal needs)
There
could be several reactions to happiness and this could range from
smiling to engaging in rigorous physical activity as happiness could
mean a sudden surge in energy levels. People who engage in physical
activity are more likely to be happy due to improved blood circulation
and general good health. However happiness being an extremely subjective
emotional state, in order to feel genuinely happy, some achievement in
terms of long term goals such as love or conjugal life, wealth,
spiritual liberation, or professional achievement could help a person to
attain a continued happy state of mind. This is the prolonged state of
happiness that has causes similar to any transient state of happiness
although the effects could be long lasting. The people who have a
prolonged state of happiness are generally lively, sporty, fun loving
and optimistic. A child may show a prolonged state of happiness when
adequate care and love are provided by their parents or carers. However
transient states of happiness are more common as prolonged states of
happiness could be interrupted by adverse life events so momentary joys
and pleasures provide us with reassurance to accept and embrace life.
From
a more psychoanalytic point of view, happiness would be related to
desire, libido, our energy levels and even the defense mechanisms that
we unconsciously use to vent out our frustration and thus remain happy
or calm. Happiness would naturally raise our libidinal levels and make
us more energetic and high levels of energy could in turn make us happy,
so this process is cyclical. Several scientific studies have shown that
happiness is directly related to our levels of energy.
Considering
defense mechanisms, psychoanalysis could in a way suggest that
happiness is actually acting out or reaction formation when we show
certain reactions that may be completely opposite to what we feel. For
example in reaction formation we may show happiness, when in reality we
are sad or depressed. Although genuine happiness could be explained with
psychoanalysis as well, as for example, an artist is genuinely happy
when he can sublimate his desires to socially acceptable forms of
expression through his creativity. A sportsman is genuinely happy when
he can channel his aggressive or sexual desires through sport or
rigorous activity. So these defense mechanisms in psychoanalysis could
actually produce genuine happiness in people because of the inherent
survival and coping strategies involved in these defenses.
Finally,
happiness being a state of mind would be entirely subjective and would
evoke extreme subjective reactions. For instance, someone laughs on
hearing a joke and feel happy about it and someone else would be
sarcastic or may not feel the same level of excitement. Whereas anger
and other emotions could be explained in terms of physical responses,
happiness usually does not have defined physical responses although
there is a general positive feeling of well being and the physical
responses could vary considerably. As I have stated on the psychology of
emotions, it would be necessary to determine the components of feeling
and bodily reaction for every emotion including happiness and psychology
has an extensive research project to consider for the future.
Reflections in Psychology - Part I - by Saberi Roy (2009)
Reflections in Psychology - Part II - by Saberi Roy (2011)
[http://www.saberiroy.com]
