Pursuit of Happiness

Psychotherapy can boost happiness more than money! Those are the astounding results from an English study to be published online Nov. 18 in the journal Health Economics, Policy and Law. But I ask you, have you ever heard anything more absurd?

According to the study, which analyzed data on thousands of people who provided information about their mental well-being, a $1,329 course of psychotherapy increased happiness to the equivalent of a $41,542 pay raise.

Uh...anyone else see the stupidity in this?

"We have shown that psychological therapy could be much more cost effective than financial compensation at alleviating psychological distress," said study author Chris Boyce, of the University of Warwick. "This is not only important in courts of law, where huge financial rewards are the default way in which pain and suffering are compensated, but has wider implications for public health and well-being."

The absurdity keeps growing and growing...

"Often the importance of money for improving our well-being and bringing greater happiness is vastly over-valued in our societies," Boyce explained.

That's certainly true, evidenced by the completely over-valued premise directing this study.

"The benefits of having good mental health, on the other hand, are often not fully appreciated and people do not realize the powerful effect that psychological therapy, such as non-directive counseling, can have on improving our well-being."

OK, here's my problem: First, the notion that anyone can achieve perpetual happiness is ridiculous. Any pursuit of such is foolhardiness--the quickest way to depression. Who would want perpetual happiness, anyway? No growth or development can occur in that. And how would we know what makes us happy without unhappiness or dissatisfaction as a relative marker? Everything would be taken for granted. Perhaps we would be like satisfied zombies...on a never-ending Prozac trip. Yeah, that sounds awesome...

Next, how on earth do you qualify happiness? With a monetary figure? $41,000? Heck, not in my checkbook. I'm not happy with less than $50K. Freakin' idiotic I tell ya. And then it brings up the question of all the politically-based rhetoric revolving around socioeconomic status. Listen, I'm the first one to say that life is a hell of a lot easier when you know where the rent is coming from. Happier...no. Less freaked out? Damn straight.

Third, it's an awfully grand assumption to think this study reflects all people and what make them tick. Since the study is looking at an increase in happiness (whatever that is), then surely these findings do not reflect those people that either refrain from qualifying life in that manner (like me), or those that already consider themselves to be happy. So...how do we really know? I mean, I'm not interested one iota in psychotherapy, especially not as a pain and suffering substitute in legal proceedings. No thank you. I'll take the cash.

Happiness

As far as emotions go, happiness is highly overrated. Some pseudo-scientists (read: psychologists), however, feel that the pursuit of happiness is a worthwhile endeavor. Take, for instance, the latest study out of Rotterdam's Erasmus University in the Netherlands which links happiness to health. According to its lead author, happiness is the key to a long life. Hmmm...I'm skeptical. Here's why:

The study looked at 30 other studies (a meta-analysis) which were carried out worldwide over periods ranging from one to 60 years. The results were that "feeling good could lengthen life by between 7.5 and 10 years." In fact, it compared the effects of happiness on longevity to smoking on life expectancy.

Oy vey. Does anybody besides me see the nonsense in this junk science? First off, there is absolutely no such thing as a life of perpetual happiness. Every living being experiences unhappiness, loss, challenge, and so forth, at various times in their life. Life is a constant stream of varying psychological and emotional experiences. Even the human predicament of dissatisfaction is a necessary component to personal growth and development. Actually, it's the pursuit of perpetual happiness that leads to the inordinate amount of depression in our society. The people who choose this pursuit get let down again and again because they are chasing the unattainable. No wonder antidepressant use is beyond comprehension. The people who chase happiness the most tend to be the most unhappy, and more importantly, the most unsatisfied people in society. Just an observation.

I'm sure you won't find this surprising but the lead author of this study, Mr. Ruut Veenhoven, is a psychologist. The psychology profession stands to gain the most from putting forth the illusion that we can measure, and ultimately reach, a "state of happiness".

Listen, happiness exists, no doubt. But it's certainly as objective as beauty is. A Laker win might make me happy, but that sure as hell doesn't have any lasting effect on me. So whether or not that's going to have an effect on my health or longevity is simply ludicrous. In fact, it directly contradicts an earlier study that showed women end up more unhappy than men later in life, despite the fact that they generally live longer.

So striving for perpetual happiness, in my opinion, is futile. Fulfillment, however, is worth striving for; and this, like happiness, is completely subjective--so we aren't going to be able to measure it any better. Veenhoven's study discusses hedonics--the branch of psychology that studies pleasant and unpleasant sensations and states of mind, as well as the economic method of estimating demand or value. But this concept, like the entire measuring happiness thing, is flawed. According to critics of this pleasure measuring statistical regression, it's "impossible to measure the immeasurable", specifically because what makes an individual or society happy (or fulfilled) changes all the time. Well, no duh..uh..uh..uh..uh!

So I reiterate my earlier thought, the group most benefiting from this nonsense is the psychology profession. Not surprising since they are the professionals that strive the most to help people become happier. But I think the whole concept is bunk. You just can't put a measure on happiness, and you certainly can't link something that subjective to health. We need both happiness and sadness, challenge and support, pain and pleasure to grow and develop--it's part of human evolution. But wouldn't you expect psychotherapists to push the one-sided ideal of a happy life? Makes good business sense, anyway, don't you think?