Long-Term Happiness Good for Health

Tuesday, 15 March 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Don’t worry, be eudaimonic. The Wall Street Journal says in the field of happiness research, there is a difference between things that make you feel good in the short term (“hedonic well-being”) and those that have a lasting effect on your health (“eudaimonic well-being”). And researchers say the pursuit of short-term happiness can actually do more harm than good. Seeing a funny movie, eating a delicious cookie, watching a beautiful sunset—those are all things that make people feel good. But a growing body of research says long-term pursuits like raising children or volunteering actually give people the sense of fulfillment that translates into a tangible health benefit.

An example: Symptoms of “depression, paranoia and psychopathology” have increased in college-aged kids over the past 70 years. And many researchers blame the rise on “increasing cultural emphasis in the U.S. on materialism and status, which emphasize hedonic happiness.”