The Benefits of Happiness: Research Suggests Positive Emotions Can Reduce the Likelihood of Developing Anxiety and Depressive Disorders

By Anna Stone

Edited by Dr. Johanna Peetz and Dr. Marina Milyavskaya

I am a graduate student studying Psychology, and a researcher at the Mental Health and Well-Being Training Hub (MeWeRTH) at 杏吧原创 University. As a student that is very interested in positive psychology, I am interested in examining the benefits positive mental health and well-being can promote in everyday life. While completing research on positive mental health and well-being, an article by Rackoff and Newman published in 2020 stood out to me because it emphasized the importance that experiencing daily positive emotions can have on one鈥檚 mental health and wellness. This research is important because mental health is an important aspect of one鈥檚 overall health and greatly impact one鈥檚 overall well-being. Furthermore, this research helps explain why some individuals may be more susceptible to developing mental health disorders than others.

In a study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology and conducted at Pennsylvania State University, Gavin Rackoff, and Michelle Newman explored whether individuals who experienced lower levels of positive emotions on stressful days were more likely to develop depression and/or general anxiety disorders. The researchers highlighted that having positive emotions may buffer against psychopathology by reducing feelings of worry and rumination. In contrast, having more negative emotions when under stress can lower one鈥檚 ability to cope with mental health difficulties.

To examine how positive emotions can influence one鈥檚 mental health when faced with stressors, Rackoff and Newman examined a community sample of 1,527 participants over the course of seven years. Participants received an initial mental health screening and then, a year and a half later, participated in phone interviews over eight days that assessed daily stress levels and mood. Seven years later, participants鈥� mental health was reassessed through a phone interview, and participants completed a survey to assess the emotions they experienced during that month. The results suggested that after accounting for  individual鈥檚 daily stress and negative emotions, those who experienced fewer positive emotions during stressful days were more likely to develop depression, general anxiety disorder, and experienced lower positive emotions after seven years.

Rackoff and Newman鈥檚 investigation furthers the understanding of how positive emotions can influence mental health. In addition, their study supports the idea that clinicians can target positive emotions as an intervention strategy against daily stressors to reduce the risk of developing general anxiety disorders and/or depression.

Mental health and well-being are important to one鈥檚 overall functioning and requires further examination. Rackoff and Newman鈥檚 article brings further light to understanding that experiencing more daily positive emotions is important for promoting one鈥檚 well-being long-term. Many research studies, including some conducted here at 杏吧原创 suggests that there are many ways to promote positive moods, such as spending time with others, engaging in physical activity, and/or spending time in nature. As such, finding ways to incorporate more happiness into one鈥檚 life may be incredibly important, not only for promoting mental health, but for a happier and healthier future.

Keywords: Mental Health, Well-Being, Positive Emotions

References

Capaldi A., C. A., Dopko L., R. L., & Zelenski, J. M. (2014). The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 976. 

Galderisi, S., Heinz, A., Kastrup, M., Beezhold, J., & Sartorius, N. (2015). Toward a new definition of mental health. World Psychiatry, 14(2), 231鈥�233.

Mack, D. E., Wilson, P. M., Gunnell, K. E., Gilchrist, J. D., Kowalski, K. C., & Crocker, P. R. E. (2012). Health-enhancing physical activity: Associations with markers of well-being. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 4(2), 127鈥�150.

Rackoff, G. N., & Newman, M. G. (2020). Reduced positive affect on days with stress exposure predicts depression, anxiety disorders, and low trait positive affect 7 years later. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 129(8), 799鈥�809. 

Slade, M. (2010). Mental illness and well-being: The central importance of positive psychology and recovery approaches. BMC Health Services Research, 10(1), 1鈥�14.

Umberson, D., & Montez, J. K. (2010). Social relationships and health: A flashpoint for health policy. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51, S54鈥揝66.

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When mental illness kills

By Lindsay Healey

In 2020, a Nova Scotian man, Richard Maidment, was awarded his wife鈥檚 life insurance money after she was murdered. Outrage ensued nation-wide, because Richard was the one who killed his wife. However, Richard was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, NCR for short, for this offence. I saw Facebook friends, whom are openly supportive of controversial social causes, share the article in open disgust. It was a stark reminder that not only is there a serious lack of knowledge about the NCR defence and population, but there is an entrenched stigma, that sensationalized cases such as this one, resurfaces.

To be found NCR in Canada one requires a serious mental illness, and to either not understand the nature or quality of the act they committed, or understand that what they did was wrong. Almost three quarters of NCR individuals have a psychotic disorder, which can alter both the thought process and sensory perceptions of the individual. Contrary to what the average Canadian may think, in part due to selective coverage of sensational cases, serious acts of violence are highly uncommon. In a novel, national examination of our NCR population (National Trajectory Project), Crocker and colleagues found that only 9% of the offences NCR patients commit are of a serious violent nature. In fact, individuals with serious mental illness are no more likely to be violent than the general population, but they are 11 times more likely to be the victim of violence according to a study by Teplin and colleagues.

When an individual found NCR has shown marked recovery from their mental illness, and has demonstrated to no longer pose a significant threat to the public, they are reintegrated slowly into the community. If this news goes public 鈥� most commonly due to the sensational nature of their offences – it is often met by irate cries of scared and angered Canadians. I typically do not hear this same passion when a violent individual is released on parole from the traditional correctional system, and these are individuals who by definition intentionally committed their crimes. These irrational fears of individuals found NCR contradict the evidence we have. Once released from the forensic system, 17% of NCR individuals reoffend, compared to 34% of offenders from the general correctional population. Further, only 0.6% of reoffences are considered seriously violent. The public wants these individuals to remain locked up and suffer indefinitely, but what they don鈥檛 know is, despite being released, they often do suffer significantly for the rest of their lives.

I cannot think of a more stigmatized population 鈥� facing double stigma, stemming from having a serious mental illness and from being deemed a 鈥榗riminal鈥�. Individuals found NCR often live unfulfilled lives, commonly void of healthy social support, freedoms and under distaste of the community they try to reintegrate into. Livingston and colleagues called it a 鈥榝orensic label鈥�, and this stigma has been linked to barriers in obtaining housing, employment, deterioration of mental health and even ironically, reoffending.

By definition, the offences that NCR individuals commit are unintentional, and are a direct consequence of symptoms caused by debilitating mental illness. As a result, the greatest proportion of victims (34%) are family members, who are often in the closest proximity to the ill individual. Could you imagine anything worse than living with the guilt of unintentionally hurting or killing someone you love? And if that torture isn鈥檛 enough, you are feared by the community, and face the risk of being shunned by your personal support system as well. Individuals found NCR do not ask for a mental illness, nor did they ask to commit a crime, they were just dealt a really bad hand in life.

We don鈥檛 ostracize individuals with physical illness, or blame them for their symptoms, so why do we do it for individuals with mental illness? If the article from Nova Scotia read, 鈥淕rieving husband gets life insurance money when wife, attacked by stranger, dies鈥�, would we have the same outrage? Of course not, but neither would that article have been published. We need to understand that it was a stranger that murdered Richard Maidment鈥檚 wife. Richard, by definition, was not himself during those moments, and the real culprit was not him, it was his mental illness.

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Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace
By Christine Tulk

For many individuals struggling with mental health problems, maintaining employment and prospering in their careers is an important concern. In recent years, there has been a lot of media attention regarding the negative impact of mental health stigma, which can be a devastating form of prejudice and discrimination in employment. Although there is no doubt that we need to continue to work on reducing mental health stigma, we also need to understand that supervisors and coworkers can respond negatively to working with individuals with mental health problems for reasons other than stigma. In fact, my research suggests that one of the primary reasons for negative responses to individuals with depression or anxiety is likely to involve concerns about increased workload or unfair distribution of work rather than stigma.

As part of my research on stigma towards depression and anxiety, I asked 400 Americans and 260 Canadians to read a fictitious scenario about a coworker returning to work following a leave of absence for depression, anxiety, or surgery and to answer questions about commonly held negative stereotypes regarding people with mental health problems. These stereotypes included beliefs that people with mental health problems are 1) faking illness to get out of work 2) less competent 3) to blame for their health problems and 4) a danger to themselves and others. In addition, I also asked participants to write about their own personal experiences with colleagues who had returned to work following a leave of absence for mental or physical health reasons.

I was not surprised to find that participants rated the coworker from the scenarios about depression and anxiety to be more of a danger to themselves or others than the coworker from the scenario about surgery. Individuals with mental health problems have long been stigmatized in this fashion. Participants did not, however, rate the coworker with depression or anxiety as more likely to be faking, a surprising finding given the general thinking that less visible health problems are used as an excuse to get out of work. Overall endorsement of negative stereotypes was also fairly low, suggesting that participants as a group had relatively positive attitudes towards working with colleagues with health problems.

When I analyzed what participants wrote about their own personal experiences with colleagues who had taken a leave of absence, I found that attitudes were indeed generally supportive but that workload and overwork were big concerns. The vast majority of comments expressed goodwill towards colleagues who were struggling. Participants felt that it is somewhat expected that coworkers will get sick and that it is morally the right thing to do to help people with health problems, particularly those people who are hard workers or who would return the favour if needed. But, many of these participants also expressed feeling conflicted when the amount of help needed interfered with their ability to get their own work done or resulted in more work than they were able to handle. Although they felt it was not the fault of the coworker who was sick for being on leave or for needing help when they eventually returned to work, participants expressed feeling stressed out about having extra work or not knowing how to help.

A smaller number of participants were much more negative about “picking up the slack” of colleagues who were either on leave or who had returned to work with an accommodation such as a reduced workload or schedule. Stigma was certainly a part of these responses with participants expressing anger towards coworkers they believed were faking to gain advantages like time off work or reduced workload.

But, participants were also angry and frustrated for reasons unrelated to stigma. For example, there was a belief that it was management’s responsibility to provide more resources or extend deadlines when a team member took a leave of absence or needed help getting back up to speed when they returned to work. There was also a sense that in many cases management didn’t really care about employees and that already overworked employees were being asked to do even more with no extra compensation. This was the case for both mental and physical health problems.

This is not to say that mental health stigma is not important 鈥� there is no doubt a portion of the population that continues to have outdated and uninformed attitudes about mental illness. But, we also need to be aware that organizations can do more in terms of planning for absences and that negative responses from colleagues are not necessarily based in stigmatizing attitudes.

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