Interdisciplinary Psychology:

            While reading An Introduction to Positive Psychology I was drawn to the wellness, health psychology, and positive coping chapter. This chapter fascinated me because I have always had trouble coping with things that have happened in my life. When problem situations have occurred in my life I usually try to ignore them or downplay them, such as with the death of all of my grandparents within the same three month block. And with not coping with things in an appropriate way for me, I have become somewhat closed off from being able to experience the joys in life because I am always trying to stop the negative felling from flowing in.

In general I am extremely satisfied with the basic concept of positive psychology. The idea of focusing on all of the good in people and in life is a concept that I have tried to practice in my life, but it has been the main guiding force in my personal life for the past year.

            I was very interested in chapter 5 and the information on love’s relation to well being. I have experienced increase in my personal well being when I was in a long-term relationship but the statement on page 87 “a number of studies have found that being married is the only really significant bottom-up predictor of life satisfaction” surprised me. In the long run I would believe this to be true but I also know that at least for me I had to develop a firm satisfaction for my life as a single woman before I was able to be truly satisfied within a serious long-term relationship.

Elevator Ride

Goin’ Up,

Self regulation is something that I have not given too much conscious thought so here it goes.

Gemeinschafsgefuhl

“Do Unto Others”

I am in a constant search for ways to incorporate this principle into my daily life. Last night at work I was headed for the elevator coming from the cafeteria, and there was a woman coming out of the elevator. She made a left turn and this indicated to me that she was lost. I asked if I could help her to find her way and she acknowledged she was lost. She was in search of the “family birth center” where her daughter was preparing to give birth to her first grandchild. She was about as far away from her destination as she could get. I was not in a big hurry to return to the emergency room at 8 pm on a Friday night, so I made the decision she was in need of a personal escort. After delivering her to the delivery area she apologized for inconveniencing me. I told her it was my pleasure and it really was. I returned to the high pressure of my job with a renewed sense of purpose I would not have experienced had she not got lost. Sometimes it is like there is a voice that tries to tell me I am too important or too busy to do the little things I know I should be doing, like just saying “Hi” to someone passing in the hallway.