Happiness or joy

Last week we wrote about some of the unpleasant emotions, and today we bring you a pleasant one – the feeling of HAPPINESS or JOY.

Happiness or joy is one of the primary emotions in us humans. We all know that feeling of happiness and how pleasant it is for us … A feeling that consumes us from head to toe. It is a pleasant emotion that is often associated with a feeling of freedom, satisfaction, security, inner peace, and can occur for a several reasons (e.g. delicious meal, exercise, participation in our beloved activity/hobby, being hugged, good grades, achieving our goals, etc.). As we said last week, children express emotions much more intensely than adults, and in a happy child, happiness can be seen much more clearly through the child’s behavior, facial expression or even physiological reactions. When we close our eyes, we can easily imagine a picture of a happy child – a smile from ear to ear, a beaming face, smiling and narrowed eyes, which can sometimes be accompanied by a child’s excitement manifested through loud laughter, jumping, dancing cherry or even screaming when feeling of joy’s too big to hold.

Feelings of happiness in children can occur for a reason that does not seem special to adults. To help the child name his/hers emotional states, establish good emotional regulation, and also contribute to the feeling of acceptance – it is important to show that we noticed the child’s expression of happiness; to say how we noticed his/hers feeling and to talk to him/her about what made him happy.

The very image of a happy child in us can evoke a feeling of happiness. Why? Positive feelings, and especially feelings of happiness, have been shown to be contagious at times! No, we are not talking about any virus today, but a sense of happiness. When we are happy we are ready to share our happiness with others, we are more creative, flexible, and open, which is why we can make a pleasant company to others and induce pleasant emotions in them. Nevertheless, this does not mean that we must be constantly happy or if we show happiness that others will necessarily be happy as well. All emotions are natural and normal, including unpleasant ones, and have their role in our relationships and lives in general. Therefore, children mustn’t be sent a message that some emotions are more desirable than others. The child should be sent a message that he/she should freely experience and adequately express his/her emotions, even though they are sometimes not pleasant so that the child does not conclude that he must express happiness for others around him to be happy. Children, especially the smaller ones, show the so-called magical thinking, and can, therefore, draw wrong conclusions that may seem completely illogical to adults. By using it, for example, a child may associate how he must constantly express happiness so that its parents or the others do not feel bad, which in turn can lead to the child suppressing the expression of unpleasant feelings. As we wrote earlier about sadness, fear, and anger, suppressing uncomfortable feelings can have major, long-lasting, and extremely harmful consequences to an individual. Thus, the feeling of happiness is important to acknowledge, not diminish or belittle, as in the case of every other feeling. In this way, we send a message that we accept them as they are and care about their well-being.

Happiness, like other feelings, usually lasts for a short time, while their maintenance is achieved by thinking about the situation that triggered the emotion. Also, when experiencing feelings of happiness, reactions occur in our brain that stimulates the secretion of serotonin – known as the hormone of happiness! Serotonin has an important effect in regulating feelings of tension and stress and can contribute to feelings of satisfaction and relaxation. Positive or happy moods, on the other hand, are longer-lasting, but less intense than feelings. For example, if we get and eat the chocolate we craved, we can experience a feeling of happiness, which is short-lived and can last for several minutes. On the other hand, if we make an effort to prepare for an exam and get a good grade from it, we can be happy for a few hours or days.

Of course, it is important to know that while we can all imagine a happy child, we do not all show happiness in the same way, nor with equal frequency. This largely depends on our temperament, which is our typical way of emotional experience and reaction, largely conditioned by hereditary factors. Of course, we all express both positive and negative moods, but temperament determines which mood we will be more inclined to experience and express.

It was shown that participation in our pleasant activities or hobbies, such as exercise, cooking, knitting, drawing, playing, and many others – can also contribute to the feeling of happiness. As we have now learned something about the feeling of happiness, we present to you our today’s activity! We encourage participation in the activity you love, which brings you a sense of happiness and enjoyment, for at least 15 minutes. Today our Kristina will take a walk in nature with her dog, Dajana will play a board game with friends, Ana will read a chapter of an interesting book, Laura will go for a bike ride, and Ines will watch an episode of her favorite series. Join us today, and share with us what activity you participated in. Let’s experience a sense of happiness together! ?

Your Center Luka Ritz