In another post over at PsychCentral, Jennifer Bechdel briefly describes a new book on positive psychology, entitled The How of Happiness, by Sonja Lyubomirsky. She mentions that the book reports both that at least 40% of our sense of happiness is directly due to our actions, and that antidepressant medication does not make us happy, it merely decreases our negative emotions.
This is consistent with I've recently heard and read, including in a presentation by Dr. Michael Yapko. In fact, Dr. Yapko stated that only 40% of depression is biological, while the other 60% is due to environmental influences and cognitions. While I've stated before that I'm a big believer in positive psychology, the minimal treatment requirements in my current job have left me reading other books and articles as a matter of necessity. However, as I've stated before, I see positive psychology as a potential big step forward in combating the global rise in depression, and personally, I do plan on reading more material in this area before too long. And when I do, I'll post about it!
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