How to Treat High-Functioning Anxiety?

November 29, 2022 Comments Off anxiety, blog

Some people just seem to have it all. They arrive first at the office early in the morning, always looking trim, friendly, and ready to conquer the world. They have a perfect plan, a seemingly ideal family, a well-functioning social circle, and a managing position with way too many responsibilities they somehow cope with. Sounds like the dream life for many, right?

You’ll probably be surprised to know that the overachiever’s inner world rarely matches their outer appearance and behavior. The person who excels at work and life is, in fact, the most probable high-functioning anxiety sufferer. And today, we are opening the discussion on how not every type of anxiety looks and feels the same.

What Is High-Functioning Anxiety?

Unlike generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorders, or phobias, high-functioning anxiety is not a recognized mental health diagnosis. It can often go completely unnoticed because people with high-functioning anxiety seem to do pretty well in life. Better than most people, actually.

Unfortunately, that outer glow is often in sharp contrast with how those people feel. High-functioning anxiety is characterized by almost ceaseless inner tension. Some describe feelings of worry, ongoing stress, and obsessive thoughts, while others have sleep disorders, restlessness, and irritability.

There is limited research and basically no reliable data on how many people in the world suffer from high-functioning anxiety. The first reason is probably that they simply don’t seem like they suffer. And the second reason is that scientists have been investigating the issue for way too short a time to present reliable statistics.

Do I Have High-Functioning Anxiety?

High-functioning anxiety is often overlooked and simplified with the brief “that’s just me” explanation. What’s more – that type of inner restlessness, agitation, and a strange feeling of disturbed excitement is frequently perceived as the main reason for the person actually to excel at life.

There is still no reliable high-functioning anxiety test approved by psychology experts, but there are several signs you can notice and analyze. If you are highly organized, competitive, ambitious, and impatient, you’ll probably need to read on. If you’re kind of obsessed with productivity and time management, if you have skyrocketing standards for yourself and others, and if you always need to be busy and see self-care activities as a waste of potential… We might have some food for thought for you.

If you ask the social circle of a person with high-functioning anxiety, they will describe them as a confident, reliable, and usually very smart acquaintance. If people see you that way, but you don’t really feel that way at all – you are most probably living with high-functioning anxiety without even realizing it.

7 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety

Described briefly, the most common high-functioning anxiety signs are as follows:

You are proactive, organized, and detail-oriented. As a result, you usually achieve a lot in whatever you undertake, and you do it passionately, sometimes clearly ignoring your work-life balance.
You have insanely high standards in your professional and personal life. Yet, you can remain stoically loyal to a fault while still feeling intimidated by the large gap between you and the people you surround yourself with, thus becoming unemotional and cold in the long run.
Your mind is always racing, and you can’t even process your own thoughts at all times. You can talk a lot, be totally restless, have nervous habits such as biting your nails and even engage in alcohol or substance abuse as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
You usually can’t enjoy the moment and simply relax. Instead, you are either anxiously planning for the future, nostalgically dwelling on the past, or merely feeling guilty that you’re “wasting time” instead of getting something done.
You often overthink and procrastinate, after which you destroy yourself with crunch-time work and deadline-driven overtime hours. You overanalyze and sometimes fail your future plans and ambitions, waiting for things to get perfect.
You find it hard to say no and perceive every request as a challenge you can’t turn down. As a result, you have a rather unhealthy schedule and sometimes limited social and intimate life.
You experience physical and psychosomatic symptoms such as sleep disturbances, fatigue, muscle tension, and sometimes even a tingling sensation in the area of your head, shoulders, or arms.

Last but not least, some experts argue that a high IQ is also closely connected with high-functioning anxiety. In fact, a 2005 study found that financial managers with high anxiety levels made the best money managers as long as they also had a high IQ.

Is It Normal to Have High-Functioning Anxiety?

Though not an official mental health disorder, high-functioning anxiety is definitely not the optimal state of mind. Furthermore, if the condition goes untreated, it can easily progress into a generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior, or depression.

Suppose you spot and recognize a tendency toward the behavior described above. In that case, you are highly advised to consult a mental health professional and address the issue before it escalates beyond your control.

How to Deal With High-Functioning Anxiety?

The high-functioning anxiety treatment is very similar to the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. It can include therapy, prescription medications, or a combination of both.

Of course, reaching out to a certified mental health practitioner is always the best thing you can do. But still, there are different tips you can try in the meantime in order to manage the difficulties caused by high-functioning anxiety.

Some techniques you can try to implement into your everyday routine include:

Build a self-care routine that circles around relaxation, mindfulness, and rest. Take 10 minutes a day to practice meditation or other mental health techniques to teach your mind and body how to simply do nothing.
Reflect and work on your thought patterns. Try to limit pessimistic predictions, competitiveness, and assumptions that you will let yourself (or somebody else) down by taking your personal time off.
Try to maintain a regular sleeping pattern. Sleep deprivation will gradually worsen your anxiety, and taking eight hours of sleep during the night will balance your stress hormones on an entirely physical level.
Mind your lifestyle. Little details can change a lot, so begin with limiting your caffeine intake, eating more fresh and raw food, and exercising at least two times a week outdoors, if not more.
Practice healthy egoism. Learn how to say no to things you don’t want to do, delegate responsibilities, and don’t overthink for years before you leave unsatisfying relationships that drag you down emotionally.

Finally, get ready to let your high-functioning anxiety go. You will be the same person with the same qualities even when your unhealthy overachiever mentality is far gone. With just one essential difference – you will have replaced anxiety with calmness and peace.

Why Is Empathy Important – Theory and Practice

November 23, 2022 Comments Off Workplace

Empathy is an increasingly relevant topic in a world where people grow apart, divided by digitized communication, social segmentation, and multiculturality. More or less often, this diversity of opinions, lifestyles, and beliefs can become a challenge to one’s own capability to show not merely acceptance but high emotional intelligence.

But then, if feeling empathy towards strangers or loosely related acquaintances is a hot topic, what about being empathetic towards our closest ones? If you take your time and think about it, you will probably recall a situation where you found it difficult to show empathy towards your own significant other or even your child.

So – what precisely is empathy, why is it important, and how does it benefit us and everyone around us? Below, you will find our brief guide into the world of empathy – a term that’s easier explained than practiced and more important than you would probably suppose.

What is Empathy: Some Definitions

Many people, organizations, religions, philosophical schools, and psychology experts have tried to define empathy through the ages.

Though explained with examples millennia back in time, the social and moral nature of compassion has become a central motif of discourse around the eighteenth century in the writings of David Hume and Adam Smith. By this time, David Hume writes that “the minds of men are mirrors to one another,” while Theodore Lipps defines empathy as the mere “experience of another human.”

Here are some other definitions of empathy that will give your understanding depth and perspective:

According to the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology, empathy is “understanding a person from his or her frame of reference rather than one’s own, or vicariously experiencing that person’s feelings, perceptions, and thoughts.”
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines empathy as “the psychological capacity to know what other people are thinking and feeling, to emotionally engage with them, to share their thoughts and feelings, and to care for their well–being.”
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, you will read that empathy is “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”
In Christianity, empathy is mentioned multiple times, but the most famous citation comes from Romans 12:15, which says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

Finally, the finest explanation of empathy in literature comes from the American poet Walt Whitman and his famous line, “I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.”

All of this being said, empathy is nothing but being able to jump out of your shoes and tune in to others’ emotional states. It’s not just about the rational cognitive understanding of the situation but also about emotional intelligence and the ability to feel compassion and show kindness.

Why Is Empathy Important in Real Life?

The theory is one thing, but real life takes us far beyond written definitions. So – how does empathy alter our quality of life on a day-to-day basis?

There are multiple reasons why being empathetic matters in real life, and here is a short list to begin with:

Practicing empathy helps you better understand the motifs and behaviors of others. It can be your own emotional compass, thus ensuring your confidence and resilience in social situations.
Empathy is also a powerful tool for building meaningful relationships and growing a healthy social circle based on acceptance and respect. It gives the fundamentals for fairness, justice, and equity in your relationships, be they friendly, intimate, or professional.
Experiencing empathy helps you feel connected to others by paving a solid two-way street toward being valued, loved, and cared for by the people you surround yourself with.
Empathy improves communication and opens the door to honesty in your life. When you actually listen instead of just formulating your reply, you reach a whole new level of connection – and experiencing that will show you just how valuable it is.

At the end of the day, empathy is one of the central traits of being human. And as natural as it sounds, it often needs nourishment in order to grow, develop, and bloom.

What Are 2 Benefits of Empathy?

There are way more than two benefits of feeling, showing and practicing empathy in your communication with others. And still, there are two essential tracks in which those benefits manifest themselves.

First, it makes your own life better by giving depth to your experience of others. When Aristotle said that “man is by nature a social animal,” he touched a string – because no one can live happily alone. Empathy is a way to grow your interpersonal connections into something meaningful and beautiful.

Second, empathy obviously makes things easier for everyone around you too. It’s how you make your friends, family, relatives, and colleagues feel understood, appreciated, and valuable. It’s the basis of establishing healthy relationships and a massive contribution to the overall well-being of your community.

What Is a Good Example of Empathy?

Some people have the natural ability to read others and are instinctively good at catching the air in the room. Fortunately, you don’t necessarily need that superpower in order to be an empathetic human being.

One super simple example of empathy is, for example, active and engaged listening. Unlike automatic responses and self-centered dialogues, active listening is about actually paying attention to what others are trying to communicate. Moreover – it’s about trying to figure out how they’re feeling and how you can give meaningful, valuable, and helpful advice.

If you think about it, intentional and engaged listening is a rare thing to encounter. And if you’ve ever experienced that kind of response from a person around you, you already know the precious feeling of being someone’s priority, if even for a brief half an hour.

So, instead of asking yourself „Why do people lack empathy?“, you should probably begin by asking yourself if you are giving out the things you’re expecting to receive.

How Does Empathy Make You Feel?

Long story short – empathy feels equally good when you’re showing it to others and when you’re receiving it from them. It’s the satisfying feeling of connection, support, and compassion. It’s the joy of placing yourself among equals and sympathizing with both their happiness and their trouble.

The good news is that empathy is actually something you can work on and improve. It begins with emotion recognition and social skills, it goes through attention training and communication skills, and it reaches all the way to your own individual well-being.

So – it’s never too late to become better at empathizing with others, and today is the best way to start that journey, with RelaxifyApp!

All You Need to Know About the International Day of Happiness

November 2, 2022 Comments Off blog

As simplistic as it sounds, cherishing happiness and feeling gratitude for the good things in your life may be a far shot to achieve in everyday life. Trapped in continual must-dos and should-bes, we rarely just cherish the moment. So, having a special day devoted to happiness sounds like a bright idea, doesn’t it?

In fact, this day exists, and it’s officially celebrated internationally on March 20th. So what is it all about, and why should you mark it in your calendar right now? Have a glimpse behind the curtain in the paragraphs below!

What Day Is Happy World Day?

The International Day of Happiness was first established in 2012 and was first celebrated officially in 2013. Since then, it has become an annual event, observed by millions of people on a global scale.

In its origins, the International Day of Happiness was conceptualized by the United Nations and the Action for Happiness non-profit group, composed of people from 160 different countries. Back in 2011, the General Assembly of the UN adopted a resolution that acknowledged happiness as a “fundamental human goal” that is no less important than economic growth.

Two years later, all member states of the United Nations honored the world’s very first International Day of Happiness. Its purpose was, and still is, rather simple – to serve as a reminder that happiness shouldn’t be an occasional treat but a normal state of everyday life in the routine of modern people.

What Is an Interesting Fact About the International Day of Happiness?

For more than a decade, International Day of Happiness has been celebrated around the world by organizing events, giving out acts of kindness, and reflecting on one’s personal life satisfaction levels. During this special day, everyone is encouraged to turn into themselves, analyze what makes them truly happy, and seek to integrate more of it day to day.

Every year, the holiday gets assigned a specific theme that reflects people’s most pressing challenges and most precious inner resources. The theme serves as a focal point for overcoming societal obstacles, sharing emotional support, and growing stronger together – with a smile!

International Day of Happiness is an excellent time to take a glimpse at the annual World Happiness Report too. An interesting fact about the report is that it has a well-established and year-long leader. Finland has been the happiest country in the world for four years in a row now, so you can give a little cheer to the people who genuinely celebrate themselves every day!

What Was the Theme of the International Day of Happiness in 2022?

2022 will surely be remembered as the global comeback to normal after the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As social isolation, workplace-related transformations, and primal fear for our lives took over for more than two years, we all needed a little pushback into our own shoes. And International Day of Happiness was there to kindly give it to us.

The theme of the 2022 holiday was “Build Back Happier,” and it was aimed at achieving global recovery from everything we’ve been through. Multiple events were organized all over the world in celebration of recovery – as some recovered from worsened mental health, some from economic instability, and some from deep grief over lost ones.

We can still only guess the theme of International Happiness Day in 2023. So far, we only know one thing for sure: it will be a Monday. Well, everyone needs a fair reason to be happy on a Monday, right?

So How Do You Celebrate?

International Happiness Day has a very special philosophy of celebration. It’s based on the simple fact that happiness looks different to each and every person. So – no rules, no traditions, and no compulsory elements are ever followed during the celebrations.

Instead, people are encouraged to reflect on themselves and find their own way to treasure happiness here and now. And – even more importantly – keep that effort going further into every following day.

All you need to do is surround yourself with positivity, whatever that might mean for you personally. It could be a movie night with friends, a quiet night in with a paper-made book, or the raving party you’ve been planning for a while now.

Sharing happiness is the best way to multiply it, so you can spend the day with your childhood friends, your family, or your significant other. It’s all good as long as it’s good for you! So – do what makes you happy, focus on gratitude, and grow your joy list until it takes over all the stress, negativity, and second thought between you and your most festive and fulfilled version. You could always try RelaxifyApp premium!

How To Stop a Panic Attack?

November 2, 2022 Comments Off blog, Depression

Panic attacks are characterized by an intense feeling of anxiety that overwhelms you and causes a variety of physical and emotional symptoms. The sense of danger and dread is often accompanied by shortness of breath, racing heart, nausea, and throat tightness that can make it difficult to breathe properly.

This cocktail of unpleasant experiences storms in rapidly and can heavily influence your quality of life. It can last from five to over thirty minutes, leaving you frustrated and restless for hours to come. You can even experience panic attacks when waking up, thus definitely not beginning the day at your very best.

In the paragraphs below, we are digging deeper into the subject of panic attacks, including their potential causes and the things you can do to overcome them timely.

What Triggers Panic Attacks?

Panic attacks can derive from both physical and emotional origins and, sometimes, from a combination of both. Though increasingly common, this condition is far from uncomplicated from a psychological point of view, so generalizations are rarely a working solution.

There isn’t a single thing you can blame panic attacks on. Anyway, some proven panic attacks causes are:

Traumatic experiences, violence, and abuse;
Major life stress that goes unaddressed;
Hormonal or chemical imbalance in the body;
Unhealthy habits such as smoking, drug use, or high caffeine intake;
Chronically worsened sleeping patterns and sleep deprivation;
Genetic predisposition to anxiety and/or panic attacks;
Stressful working environment, burnout, etc.

Unlike these general risk factors, immediate panic attack triggers are highly person-specific. For example, a panic episode can be provoked by certain trauma reminders, people’s behaviors, or even climate specifics such as too hot or too cold weather. Often, panic attacks seem to come out of nowhere, making it challenging for a person to recognize its actual trigger.

Can Panic Attacks Kill You?

If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, you already know how frightening the combination of symptoms can get. And that’s especially true when it comes to the first-ever encounter with the condition. In fact, many people share that going through a harsh episode can leave them wondering if they’re experiencing panic attacks or heart attack.

The truth is that panic attacks can’t kill you, and they usually won’t cause any physical harm. That’s a fundamental piece of information you should remember every time you encounter a panic attack, as it will help you reduce the severity and duration of the symptoms.

Though some panic attacks signs such as a racing heartbeat and shortness of breath might make you think you’re dying, you’re safe.

How Do You Stop a Panic Attack?

There is no single science-approved tactic for stopping a panic attack midway through. Instead, giving yourself help with panic attacks is a journey you should walk until you find what works best for you.

This being said, panic attacks help professionals share different strategies you can try in order to prevent and discontinue a harsh anxiety episode. And these are:

Focus on your breathing. If you’re experiencing short and sharp breaths, try breathing as deeply, calmly, and gently as possible. First, breathe in from your nose; then hold your breath for a couple of seconds; finally, breathe out through your mouth.
Stay grounded in reality. First, recognize what’s happening to you, and don’t let anxiety feed on your fear for your health – you’ll be okay, and this will pass. Then, focus your attention on the physical world around you and understand that nothing’s changed except for your subjective perceptions.
Control your thoughts. Keep repeating to yourself that you’re strong, you’re safe, and you will go through this untouched. If that’s not achievable, write yourself a script of comforting and reassuring words and wear it in your pocket. Then, when the panic attack kicks in, bring it out and read it.
Engage with immediate comfort-bringers. Play a song you love, give a call to your best friend, look at a picture from your happiest day, or just pet your dog or cat if you have one.
Learn to practice progressive muscle relaxation. Letting go of the tension in each part of your body will calm you down. And though this can be hard to achieve in the beginning, soon enough, you’ll be able to guide the process yourself in times of need.

Last but not least – never hesitate to seek professional counseling if panic attacks take too much of you. Cognitive-behavioral therapy proves a long-term working solution as it digs deeper into the origins of your condition and helps you heal the wounds your body is unconsciously reacting to.

How Do I Stop a Panic Attack in 3 Minutes?

If you’re attending an event or you’re in the middle of something important to you, you’ll definitely want to deal with your panic attack as quickly as possible.

The best way to try and do this is to breathe, focus, and accept the situation. Don’t sink deeper into panic and let it unveil like a physical and not an emotional state. If you’re well-prepared to stay confident, physical symptoms will only brush the surface without ever evolving into the full-power dread of a harsh panic attack.

Once again, there are different lifestyle habits you can stick to in order to prevent panic attacks. Sleep, nutrition, and rest are, for example, among the most important ones on the list. If you put conscious effort into actually taking care of yourself, you will be able to reduce both the frequency and the severity of your anxiety attacks.

What Is the 3 3 3 Rule for Anxiety?

There is another tactic for anxiety management worth mentioning, and its originator is called Tamar Chansky – a psychologist and author of the book Freeing Yourself from Anxiety. He proposes the easy-to-follow 3 3 3 rule:

Look around you and name three different things you can see.
Then, name three different things you can hear.
Finally, move three different parts of your body.

This simple exercise can ground you and serve you as a powerful reality check. It will keep your mind focused on yourself and your immediate environment, thus distracting you from conspiring about non-existent threats that bring you down.

What Is Positive Psychology and How Does It Work?

November 2, 2022 Comments Off anxiety, blog, Depression

We can track the origins of psychology as a part of philosophy as far back as 500 BC. Anyway, scientific psychology as we know it today is a relatively new science dating back to about 150 years when Leipzig and Gustav Fechner started exploring the sensory experiences and subjective judgments of people.

For over a century, psychology kept dealing with issues, mental illnesses, and maladaptive behavior as a primary focus. Or else said – it was generally a science aiming to determine what’s wrong, how it went wrong, and how it can potentially be made right again.

This course of development was uninterrupted until the very end of the 20th century. Then, the current-time president of the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman, took on the humanistic approach of Abraham Maslow and started talking about “positive psychology.”

In the decades to come, positive psychology developed as a subfield of psychology focused on identifying and building assets instead of just dealing with issues. Below, we’re discussing the fundamentals of positive psychology and how it alters the general perception of ourselves and our own role in our general well-being.

What Is Positive Psychology: Definition

According to Martin Seligman’s own definition from the book “Positive Psychology: An Introduction”, this field of psychology can be described as:

“The scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life.”

That’s the first scientific approach interested in the pursuit of happiness beyond motivational speaking, literature, and art. It’s a blend between modern science and a modern mindset, looking to define the means for achieving satisfaction, gratification, and good spirits by using one’s own signature strengths.

Or else said – positive psychology emphasizes happiness as a term for subjective well-being.

It explores the role of simple pleasures, fulfillment, accomplishments, meaning, and social inclusion in building up one’s general life satisfaction. Moreover – it can be applied to both individuals and societal groups looking to improve their long-term well-being instead of merely addressing their immediate problems.

What Are the Main Positive Psychology Concepts and Principles?

Considering its character and theories, positive psychology is often poorly misinterpreted as pseudoscience or even equalized with superficial self-help methodologies. It’s important to stress on the scientific nature of this psychology subfield, as it relies on research and evidence above all.

When it comes to theoretical concepts, we have the most straightforward set of definitions written down by Christopher Peterson – a professor at the University of Michigan and a major name in the field of positive psychology.

His evidence-based concepts of positive psychology can be summed up as follows:

Most people are naturally resilient and capable of feeling happy and well-satisfied for most of their lives.
Living a good life is something people can be educated about, and finding happiness can be trained.
Feeling happiness promotes even more happiness and is a direct cause of fortunate events in life.
Assets such as social relations, personality strengths, and general satisfaction can make disappointments and setbacks easier to take.
A person’s inner resources are best revealed during times of challenge and crisis.
People can draw meaning and purpose from other people, from their own spirituality, and from a meaningful and fulfilling professional realization.
Financial stability plays a role in subjective life satisfaction but has diminishing returns on our happiness after a particular point.
Living a good life is more about Eudaimonia (a deep inner satisfaction) than Hedonism (fleeting pleasures and instant positive experiences).
Emotional intelligence and empathy are even more important than critical thinking for a person’s general quality of life.

Last but not least, Peterson states that all good days share three essential features. These are a sense of autonomy, a feeling of competence, and a connection to others. Translated from theory to practice, these would mean independence, education, and social interaction.

In the field of positive psychology, resilience is an inherent quality. And the more we perceive it as a resource, the more it would support us in revealing our additional resources.

Examples of Positive Psychology Interventions

Before we give examples of positive psychology interventions, we need to mention the most influential model these interventions are based on. It’s called the PERMA model, and it’s an acronym standing for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

The upper ones are perceived as a type of formula for authentic well-being, and they act as puzzle pieces to the bigger picture of one’s happiness.

Anyway, bringing the pieces together can be easier said than done, especially given the scope of a person’s life they cover. So there are actually hundreds of positive psychological interventions for the sake of addressing each puzzle piece. And some of the most popular among them include:

Savoring each experience and practicing mindfulness in the little pleasures in life, such as observing nature or enjoying the taste of a meal.
Working on your empathy skills and practicing self-love and self-respect along with acceptance and respect towards others.
Practicing everyday acts of kindness towards yourself and others. Altruistic and selfless acts are not strictly about gifts, money, or even volunteering. Instead, they can be just the words you say and the emotional support you provide.
Focusing on gratitude and cherishing the things you have, the support you receive, or the good things life actually offers to you every day.
Entertaining your optimistic view of life, including by means of imagination, analysis, thought experiments, and future expectations.
Acknowledging your internal capacities and values as means to affirm your own strength and your own power in your life.
Ever searching for meaning in the things you do and the goals you pursue. But not the meaning someone expects; the meaning that matters for you.

As broad as they are, the interventions listed above are meant to help you stay aware instead of swimming with the current. All-around perception, genuineness, reasoning, and appreciation cost nothing – but they are vital for teaching yourself to feel happy with yourself and the world around you.

The Positive Psychology Strengths and Virtues

As mentioned above, positive psychology is all about finding your strengths and using them in your favor. These strengths and virtues are best defined in a book by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman called “Character Strengths and Virtues.”

According to the two positive psychology scientists, a person’s character strengths can be classified into six categories as follows:

Wisdom and Knowledge	Creativity, curiosity, judgment, flexible thinking, perspective, quick learning, etc.
Courage	Bravery, determination, perseverance, verve, high intrinsic motivation, etc.
Humanity	Kindness, empathy, love, gratitude, social and emotional intelligence, etc.
Justice	Fairness, leadership, teamwork, collaboration, integrity, honesty, etc.
Temperance	Humbleness, forgiveness, attentiveness, discreetness, self-regulation, reasoning, etc.
Transcendence	Spirituality, hope, humor, appreciation of beauty, buoyancy, devotion, etc.

For the sake of objectiveness, there are multiple tests and surveys to help you determine your character strengths and virtues. They will lead you through different life situations to minimize subjectivity and determine your core resources as they are.

The Best Books for Positive Psychology

If you’re already interested in the principles of positive psychology, you’d probably want to dig deeper into the science of happiness. Although there are multiple resources you can support your learning process with, here are some of the best books you can begin with:

Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Christopher Peterson and Martin E.P. Seligman
Pursuing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychology by Christopher Peterson
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E.P. Seligman
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment by Martin E.P. Seligman
The Psychology of Happiness by Michael Argyle
Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-lived by Corey Keyes and Jonathan David Haidt
Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life by Todd Barrett Kashdan
What Is the Good life? Positive Psychology and the Renaissance of Humanistic Psychology by Brent Dean Robbins
Psychology of Human Strengths: Fundamental Questions and Future Directions for a Positive Psychology by Lisa G. Aspinwall and Ursula M. Staudinger
The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology by Shane J. Lopez

Stay tuned to our happiness, mental health, and well-being blog to find the next game-changer in your life!

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