Real Life: When you smile, the world smiles with you
How do you break free from the cul-de-sac of negative thinking? You do a happiness course, that's what
Upbeat: Dr Deirdre MacIntyre, director of the Institute of Child Education & Psychology at Maynooth, reveals the formula for happiness.
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Ireland is in the depths of depression but it has a thriving new industry which is teaching the rest of the world how to be happy.
In January a course on happiness, originally created in Maynooth for teachers, was opened to everyone, including psychologists, social workers and other professionals working with young people.
In February a link-up with a UK charity which has members in 63 countries saw a flood of international applications for the programme from as far away as Singapore, Australia and Nigeria.
"We introduced the happiness course in the summer of 2010 for teachers. The impetus came from the pervasive climate of doom and gloom," explains Dr Deirdre MacIntyre, director of the Institute of Child Education & Psychology Europe, Maynooth.
"We did an online survey of about 400 teachers and parents in May 2010 and discovered that more than 75pc of respondents reported that children and young people were anxious about the recession. We decided to look for an antidote to this depression -- helplessness and pessimism."
Integrated
The result is an eight-week online course, 'Teaching Happiness: Positive Psychology for Behaviour and Learning', which teaches students the key skills, the science and the practical implementation of positive psychology through a range of learning activities.
"These are practical exercises which can be done on a daily basis and integrated into people's personal lives, working lives and relationships," explains Dr MacIntyre.
It's about learning new ways of thinking and looking at the world, she says. The course helps you change the way you respond to situations, which in turn impacts significantly on how you feel.
"We know there are key skills and techniques which you can implement in your life to influence your levels of happiness, optimism and creativity, improve your health and impact on the lives of others with whom you have relationships."
In order to thrive, Dr MacIntyre explains, human beings need a 3:1 ratio of positivity to negativity in their lives.
To really flourish, you need a ratio of 5:1 -- and for most of us, this needs some conscious effort.
We need, in other words, to consciously practise certain skills and techniques to maintain our happiness levels.
The Teaching Happiness course, which costs €99, basically helps participants exploit their personal well of optimism by teaching them to restructure their thinking patterns.
In February the Institute teamed up with the UK charity, Action for Happiness, sparking an avalanche of applications from around the globe.
"It may seem ironic, given where we are currently, with the implosion of our banks and economic system, that Ireland is teaching happiness and optimism to people from around the world.
"But it makes sense because it's at times like this we need positive psychology even more," says Dr MacIntyre.
"We're getting applications from interested people all over the world.
"Life needs to be about people leading happy balanced and fulfilling lives rather than basing our existence on material wealth and consumerism.
"A society based on competition and on every man for himself is not a happy society.
"The measures of happiness should be engagement and employment etc, and at a personal level it's about having time with your family and being able to feel valued in the work you do. It's not about a false sense of optimism in the face of disasters.
"We joined with Action for Happiness because their mission is to promote instances of good practise in the area of happiness and in building resilience and optimism."
As part of the link-up, she reveals, the Institute initially provided four scholarships for the happiness course, however the offer was met with such a phenomenal response from around the globe it increased the number to 10.
"We got applications from Singapore, Australia and Nigeria among others," she says.
Mark Williamson, director of the London-based Action for Happiness says, "We are a society that has its priorities wrong.
"We're very focused on wealth creation and economic growth but if you look at the data over the last 60 years, although we've grown considerably richer, we're are not actually any happier since the 1940s or 1950s. We've seen increases in depression and anxiety in young people and higher levels of anxiety in society."
Part of the reason for the link-up was that the Maynooth syllabus "was very much in line with what we see ourselves doing".
"We are delighted to offer these materials to members of our movement. We have members in 63 counties including the UK, Canada, the US, Australia and Italy and we have a whole range of initiatives at different levels of society," says Mark Williamson.
Optimism
"As individuals we really need to tap into optimism and creativity, which will allow us to solve our problems," says Dr MacIntyre.
"If we stay stuck in negativity it drives us deeper into depression and into a cognitive and emotional cul-de-sac."
As a result of the success of the course the Institute is now planning a second programme focusing on building optimism, hope and resilience and how to bounce back in the face of challenges.
"Cognitive behavioural therapy is the most effective form of psychological therapy -- changing how we think about something improves how we feel about things," says Dr MacIntyre.
- For information go to www.icepe.eu, call 01 6510618 or email info@icepe.eu
- Ailin Quinlan
Originally published in
