Pulse - March 2022 - 18

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
Can Positive Psychology Overshadow
the Pandemic Blues? Maybe.
M. Carolyn Miller, MA - 2/7/2022
N
ot surprisingly, depression is on the rise in
the US. It has soared from 8.5% prepandemic
to a whopping 27.8% in late 2021, according
to a recent study published by Boston University
School of Public Health. No industry, including
veterinary medicine, is immune to it. But positive
psychology, a scientific approach to happiness, may
help balance the blues with its direct opposite.
What is Positive Psychology?
Traditionally, psychology has studied what is wrong with
people. Indeed, every therapist is aware of The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by
the American Psychiatric Association. This bible of mental
health defines and classifies our neuroses to improve diagnoses,
treatments, and more.
In 1998, two psychologists decided to study not what limits
us as humans, such as depression, but what causes us to
flourish, such as achieving a state of flow.
Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, began his career studying
learned helplessness in animals and depression in human
beings, he noted in an interview in Humanities: The Magazine
of the National Endowment of the Humanities
(NEH). The work left him unhappy, so he decided to focus
on, " accomplishment instead of failure, strength instead of
sickness. "
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD, came from a different perspective.
An authority on creativity and author of the bestseller,
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, his focus
was optimum experiences, notes James McConchie in a
December 8, 2021 Greater Good Magazine article, published
by the University of California at Berkeley.
The field of positive psychology was born.
Positive Psychology Can Be Learned
Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi believed that positive psychology
could be defined, measured, and taught. They codified
their research and today, the Penn Resilience Program (PRP)
and Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and
Accomplishment (PERMA™) Workshops, taught through the
University of Pennsylvania, share this work.
Lest you think that positive psychology is about saying
affirmations or becoming a " smiley face person, " think again.
Those outliers of positive psychology are not what its pioneers
intended. " That's exactly who we don't want to be, "
Csikszentmihalyi noted in a 2011 American Psychological
Association (APA) article.
18
Rather, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi created a scientifically
researched set of competencies, that is, attitudes, beliefs,
and behaviors that can be learned and implemented to create
greater wellbeing.
Today, their program is finding its way into the American
military, businesses, schools, and therapeutic settings, notes the
APA article.
How to Apply Positive Psychology to Your Life or
Practice
Positive psychology has some basic tenets, noted James
McConchie in Greater Good Magazine. Tenets especially
helpful for practice staff are paraphrased below, with ideas for
how to apply them.
Happiness is a lot about other people. Strengthen your ties
with family, friends, your practice community, and the larger
community.
Try to achieve " flow, " that is, the intersection of skill and
challenge. Identify the hobbies and parts of your job where
you feel flow, and maximize those.
To a degree, money can help with feeling happy. Beyond paying
the rent, money only contributes so much to being positive.
Instead, look for other nonfinancial ways that make you happy.
Wellbeing has many doorways. Identify what you do that
makes you feel good, and do more of them, be it social connections,
walking in the woods, or playing with your dog.
Happiness has positive health benefits. Remember this the
next time you want to rationalize snuggling in with a loved
one versus doing your taxes.
Watching TV or surfing the internet isn't a happiness generator.
Try doing something you enjoy instead, such as reading
a good book or cooking.
Wellbeing is a collective responsibility. Have personal and
practice conversations to identify how you, as a group or a
family, can boost wellbeing.
Wellbeing can be learned. You are not doomed to feel sad
and down, despite the pandemic. Do what brings you joy and
then do more of that. You'll be happily surprised. P
MARCH 2022
PULSE
Pulse - March 2022

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