The old saying “Health is a matter of luck” turns out to be more ambiguous than expected. Of course, being healthy and staying that way also has to do with happiness. However, researchers have now found that happiness has a direct impact on health.
- Problem factor back
- The search for happiness
- Paths to happiness
- Live more consciously and strengthen your awareness
Problem factor back
The best example is the topic of “back health”: People who spend a large part of their day sitting – the day on an office chair, the evening first in the car and then on the couch – will inevitably develop back problems at some point. Provided, of course, that they do not provide a balanced program of sports, breaks and relaxation exercises. Doctors and health insurance companies have recognized this for a long time, offer appropriate back schools and invest in prophylaxis in order to keep consequential damage for the insured and, of course, consequential costs for the health system low. One point comes up again and again: back health is also a question of mental health. A quarter of the population has to deal with back pain in the course of their life - and the causes are not always just physical.
Chronic back problems in particular often have psychosomatic backgrounds. This does not mean that the patient is imagining their pain. Quite the opposite: They are usually very real, but in many cases their causes are more likely to be found in bullying, stress or unprocessed blows of fate than in the wrong desk chair, inadequate exercise or skeletal diseases. You guessed it: the psyche has an influence on health. Now scientists have discovered that the psyche not only influences the back, but also the overall health. In short: physical health is also a question of mental balance.
The results of the current studies are summarized as follows: Mental health has a significant influence on how susceptible someone is to back problems, circulatory problems or viral diseases, for example. Specifically, gloom and stress hit the heart directly, pessimism affects the blood pressure. Subjects who go through life optimistically and with a contented attitude have fewer problems with high blood pressure and even cope better with infectious diseases. Even viruses have a harder time with sunny dispositions. The results of a study with women show most clearly the effect of the basic mental mood on health: those who go through life cynically and hostile die earlier than those who are fundamentally satisfied. Another study shows how much psychological stress can affect the heart: In four out of five cases of heart attack patients, researchers suspect that psychological influences are the cause.
The search for happiness
This of course raises a whole series of questions. The most important one is: What is happiness? The Duden, the standard work for German orthography, describes happiness as “something that is the result of a coincidence of particularly favorable circumstances”, alternatively also as a “favorable turn of fate” or as a “pleasant and joyful state of mind in which one finds oneself”.
The appropriate definition for this case is probably the one that describes happiness as a pleasant and joyful state of mind. Because according to experts, the short-term happiness, the euphoria, is less good for your health. Rather, it is a fundamental satisfaction, a good attitude towards life and a positive or constructive approach to problems and obstacles that protects against health impairments. In this context, experts speak of a “mental immune system” that develops in early childhood.
Specifically, people who are lovingly cared for as babies and children and do not have to suffer violence develop more resilience to stress and strokes of fate. Sie gehen besser mit Belastungen um, sind weniger schnell psychisch angegriffen und bauen körperliche Folgen von seelischer Beanspruchung auch schneller ab als Menschen, die als Kinder vernachlässigt wurden oder Unsicherheit beziehungsweise körperlicher Gewalt ausgesetzt waren. Between the ages of five and ten, a kind of happiness level develops that remains largely the same for the rest of the future. Apart from fluctuations up and down, people always return to the basic state that they acquired at a young age. Which doesn't mean that it can't be changed if necessary. If you make an effort, you can increase your satisfaction level through targeted exercises.
Paths to happiness
It's certainly easy to reward yourself with an ice cream, the occasional trip to the cinema or a short vacation to boost your feelings of happiness in the short term. It is a proven fact that chocolate also makes you happy at the moment; ebenso lassen Sex und regelmäßiger Sport Glückshormone frei werden. Even hot chili peppers, ginseng or vanilla flavor are said to release endorphins, i.e. happiness hormones. Now it certainly doesn't hurt to treat yourself to a little piece of happiness on a regular basis. But anyone who goes through life with a disgruntled or even cynical attitude will, after the small emotional high, fall back to their previous level of satisfaction.
So what can be done to ensure long-term happiness – and therefore a better chance of health? Since a lot of things are a matter of opinion, including your own life situation, it might help to take a different perspective on everyday mishaps every now and then. Anyone who tends to sing the usual “Why does this only have to happen to me?” song at a moment like this should be told without any moral pointing finger: Firstly, that’s nonsense, fate strikes anytime and anywhere. Secondly, there is an admittedly stupid saying: “It can always be worse”. And despite all the stupidity, there is something to that.
For example, as annoying as a flat bicycle tire might be in the garage in the morning; Firstly, this can happen to every cyclist on the planet. Secondly, the hose could have burst on the way to work, causing a fall and serious injury. Wen juckt da noch, dass er mal die verstopfte Trambahn nehmen oder zu Fuß gehen muss? Who cares about coming to work a little later? Passionate happiness seekers even try not only to get something good out of the situation, but to add it. The bike stops - but the sun is shining, so the way to work can be combined with a stroll through the park or a quick espresso in the little café on the corner. If you're late for work anyway, you can do so in a good mood.
Drama generally doesn't help much when it comes to coping with everyday life. And it may sometimes be work and also take some time. But working on your own happiness is certainly worthwhile. With very small exercises you can look at things in a more nonjudgmental way: If you look at every event from two sides for a day, you will see how diverse possible solutions suddenly appear. In addition, it can't hurt to take a closer look at your surroundings: Am I surrounded by people who are good for me?
Life partners, friends, your social network and, last but not least, your own family contain enough explosives that can accumulate bit by bit and go off all of a sudden. A “Stop, this far and no further!” does no harm and is good for friendships or relationships when spoken in the right tone and supported with the appropriate arguments. Because the reverse conclusion has been scientifically proven: non-functioning or one-sided relationships are harmful to health. A functioning social environment is also an essential component of a basic sense of happiness.
Live more consciously and strengthen your awareness
The fact that organic markets, slow food and physical relaxation methods such as yoga are very popular also shows the essential need of a fast-moving world: slowing down. Where the day begins with a glance at the smartphone that shows upcoming appointments, and breakfast has to be a quick coffee-to-go on the way to the office, it's no wonder that the countertrend was only a matter of time. What is expressed is the need to be aware of things and not have to do them on the side. Aside from the fact that conscious engagement with a topic is many times more efficient than error-filled, casual fussing, small moments of conscious enjoyment create a significant increase in the quality of life. The conscious moment with a real cappuccino in the café, the enjoyable sniff of the aroma of coffee and the genuine joy of the small chocolate biscuit that comes with it brings more happiness in life than the quick caffeine bomb from the machine during a casual break at the desk. The same applies to consciously enjoying a bubble bath instead of a practical shower or visiting a Thai restaurant instead of a quick take-away from the sales window.
Of course, these little islands of happiness take a little more time in everyday life. But what are a few minutes of saved time worth compared to increased happiness and health?