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FEBRUARY 2021: Start of Principles of Positive Psychology

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FEBRUARY 2021: Start of Principles of Positive Psychology

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I embark on my journey in the online version of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program with the foundational subject, Principles of Positive Psychology. This subject introduces the key concepts and theories of positive psychology.

A critical exploration were the different waves of Positive Psychology. That is, the initial skewed focus on the positive, the inclusion of the negative as also producing positive growth in the second wave, and the emergence of systems and complexity informed approaches in the third wave (Positive Psychology 3.0) (Lomas et al., 2020).

INSIGHT

Change is constant and well-being appears differently for everyone and can change within the same person relative to context, time and resources. It is both personal and collective. Well-being science continues to extend knowledge and understanding.

References:

Kern, M. L., Williams, P., Spong, C., Colla, R., Sharma, K., Downie, A., Taylor, J. A., Sharp, S., Siokou, C., & Oades, L. G. (2020). Systems informed positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(6), 705–715. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1639799

Lomas, T., Waters, L. E., Williams, P., Oades, L., & Kern, M. L. (2020). Third wave positive psychology: Broadening towards complexity. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(5), 660-674.

Wong, P. T. P. (2019). Second wave positive psychology’s (PP 2.0) contribution to counselling psychology. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 32(3-4), 275–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2019.1671320

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Study the science of wellbeing

Learn from internationally recognised academics

Evidence-based research and training

Our research Centre for Wellbeing Science is globally renowned

Apply positive principles in your professional and personal life

Study on campus or online, granting you greater flexibility

Entry and exit points available

This course has two intakes with different delivery modes. Semester 1 commencement is face-to-face delivery only and Semester 2 commencement is online only.

The online commencement offers the same outcomes as the face-to-face commencement. The online course is not available to international students who are holders of an Australian student visa, for study onshore in Australia. This online course is available to all other international students to study wholly online.

Australia's leading Master in Applied Positive Psychology explores the science of wellbeing with an evidence-based approach. You will gain a scientific understanding of how humans flourish and communities and institutions can be strengthened through positive psychology. The course will equip you to apply positive psychology principles in your professional and personal life.

The course provides a deep and strong foundation of the historical developments of the field of Positive Psychology; explores key elements, theories, and perspectives from a range of scholars and practitioners; and introduces innovations within the field. Through experiential learning approaches, students explore applications of the positive psychology perspective and wellbeing science with individuals, organisations, and communities.

The course also addresses issues related to ethical and professional practice. As part of the learning and assessment processes, students are expected to engage in a range of conceptual, applied and research-informed tasks. The program draws on a variety of pedagogical approaches to promote deep learning, connection with others, and critical scholarship, providing students with skills to confidently apply their knowledge in the future.

Who is the course for?

The course is for students looking for a scientific approach to studying wellbeing and anyone in a professional setting wanting to increase productivity. The course aims to equip graduate students with the skills, knowledge and abilities to competently apply positive psychology and wellbeing science principles to a range of real-world contexts. Graduates with either professional experience or post-graduate study are welcome to apply. The program is ideal for teachers, HR professionals, entrepreneurs, consultants, health or law professionals.

Please note: the Master of Applied Positive Psychology does not carry professional accreditation and is not a pathway to professional registration as a psychologist.

Why choose the Master of Applied Positive Psychology with us?

On the Master of Applied Positive Psychology, you'll be taught by a number of internationally recognised education experts, including Professor Lindsay Oades, Professor Dianne Vella-Brodrick, Associate Professor Aaron Jarden and Associate Professor Gavin Slemp. As students of Faculty of Education researchers, you'll experience evidence-based research and training with a rigorous scientific approach.

Our Centre for Wellbeing Science has a reputation as one of the best in the world, and the best in Australia. The research undertaken here feeds directly into your curriculum, bringing you a thought-leading program.

The course has a strong cohort experience and attracts students from varied backgrounds and experiences enabling experiential cohort learning and understanding.
Explore our Centre for Wellbeing Science
SUPPORT WHILE YOU LEARN

We take pride in the excellent support we offer our Master of Applied Positive Psychology students from enrolment, throughout their studies, and beyond. If you are an Indigenous student, we offer a range of support services here at the University of Melbourne via Murrup Barak.

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Master of Applied Positive Psychology - The University of Melbourne

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This course will equip you to apply positive psychology principles in your professional & personal life. Learn more and discover how to apply.

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A highlight was learning about the history of positive psychology, including key figures like Martin Seligman, who is often considered the founder of this field through his provocation to build the positive.

Reference:

Seligman, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction.
American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.

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MARCH 2021: Introduction to the PERMA Model

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MARCH 2021: Introduction to the PERMA Model

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I delve into the PERMA model developed by Martin Seligman, which stands for Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.

Reference:

Seligman, M. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466

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PERMA and the building blocks of wellebing

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APRIL 2021: Fredrickson's Broaden and Build 

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APRIL 2021: Fredrickson's Broaden and Build 

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Assessment 1 provided opportunity to write about postive psychology with a health care focus. Enabling to build confidence, the writing process provided opportunity to explore Broaden and Build.

INSIGHT

In writing this assessment, the Aha moment! was realising that 'strengthening' positive affect can dissolve the 'negative' AND has physiological benefits in health recovery (Papousek et al., 2010). This was based on clinical applications of Broaden and Build Theory (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005). Previously, my health care training had separated 'well-being' as something separate from clinical treatment of health-related disease and dysfunction. I had fallen into the binary trap (despite also working with well-being practices). Rather humbling.

This assessment motivated me to re-examine my health care discipline and look at ways of re-integrating well-being practices into clinical care - for example, prescribing gentle exercise routines to build stamina, rather than treating fatigue.

Reference:

Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Cognition & emotion, 19(3), 313–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930441000238

Papousek, I., Nauschnegg, K., Paechter, M., Lackner, H. K., Goswami, N., & Schulter, G. (2010). Trait and state positive affect and cardiovascular recovery from experimental academic stress. Biological psychology, 83(2), 108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.11.008

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Abstract

As compared to negative affect, only a small number of studies have examined influences of positive affect on cardiovascular stress responses, of which only a few were concerned with cardiovascular recovery. In this study, heart rate, low- and high-frequency heart rate variability, blood pressure, and levels of subjectively experienced stress were obtained in 65 students before, during and after exposure to academic stress in an ecologically valid setting. Higher trait positive affect was associated with more complete cardiovascular and subjective post-stress recovery. This effect was independent of negative affect and of affective state during anticipation of the stressor. In contrast, a more positive affective state during anticipation of the challenge was related to poor post-stress recovery. The findings suggest that a temporally stable positive affect disposition may be related to adaptive responses, whereas positive emotional states in the context of stressful events can also contribute to prolonged post-stress recovery.

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national center for biotechnology information

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Trait and state positive affect and cardiovascular recovery from experimental academic stress - PubMed

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As compared to negative affect, only a small number of studies have examined influences of positive affect on cardiovascular stress responses, of which only a few were concerned with cardiovascular recovery. In this study, heart rate, low- and high-frequency heart rate variability, blood pressure, a ...

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Eudaimonic well-being: life flourishing requires attention to emerge 

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Eudaimonic well-being: life flourishing requires attention to emerge 

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It was this stage in the PPP subject and my MAPP journey I 'finally' began to appreciate the deeper aim of Positive Psychology towards life flourishing or living a life worth living (Ryff, 2014). This includes how might strengths and virtues enable individuals and communities to thrive. It's about looking at what makes life worth living.

INSIGHT

Due to adversity in my life at this time (facing homelessness) and continuing impacts of trauma from earlier life happenings - well-being for me had been about the absence of adversity. I realised that the absence of adversity was not the same as well-being as posited by positive psychology. I also began to appreciated the framing by Baumeister et al., (2001) that the 'bad is stronger then the good' (Baumeister, et al. 2001). That is, eudaimonic well-being required active attention to thrive.

Reference:

Baumeister R. F., Bratslavsky, E, Finkenauer, C., Vohs, K.D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4):323–370. 10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323

Ryff, C. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10–28.

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MAY 2021: A lived experience re-frame of life without  self-determination.

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MAY 2021: A lived experience re-frame of life without  self-determination.

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My introduction to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2004) emerged outside the classroom and in an unintended conversation with Lara Mossman.

A personal discussion via Zoom with Lara Mossman, originally on the topic of identifying and applying personal strengths, segued to a conversation about my current life context - which were difficult at this time. I vividly recall Lara's shocked silence and facial appearance before her incredulous reply 'but what about your self-determination?' after giving her insight into my insecure home circumstances and being stalked by an ex-housemate.

I was shaken and shocked at the depth of emotion in her reply - a realisation at how I had 'normalised' what was happening and challenged me towards seeking assistance. Concurrently, I started looking into SDT - which I had not previously heard about.

Reference:

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806

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Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a framework for understanding the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning. In this authoritative work, the codevelopers of the theory comprehensively examine SDT's conceptual underpinnings (including its six mini-theories), empirical evidence base, and practical applications across the lifespan. The volume synthesizes a vast body of research on how supporting--or thwarting--people's basic needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy affects their development and well-being. Chapters cover implications for practice and policy in education, health care, psychotherapy, sport, and the workplace.

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Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a framework for understanding the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning. In this authoritative work, the codevelopers of the theory comprehensively examine SDT's conceptual underpinnings (including its six mini-theories), empirical evidence base, and practical applications across the lifespan.

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After my conversation with Lara, I discovered Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET), a sub-theory of SDT. Specifically in relation to diminishing internal motivation when external rewards were controlling.

INSIGHT

This helped understand how my intrinsic motivation was being facilitated or compromised through external events I was experiencing at this time in my life, further to how I was interpreting these events.

For example, 'life is difficult' and that 'people cause harm' were mental models amplified through impending homelessness and being exposed to violent behaviours from others. My response was to remove myself from others to avoid being harmed – in effect, isolating and severing connections through my avoidance and amotivational behaviours. The consequences were to further impact my well-being (the absence of social support and connecting with others), resulting from self-limiting my life goals towards being left alone to avoid being further harmed. In effect, my competence in living a life worth living was compromised.

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JUNE 2021: Final Assessment - Reflection

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JUNE 2021: Final Assessment - Reflection

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I completed the final reflection assessment focusing on life flourishing in the context of Positive Psychology.

At the completion of the subject and due to undertaking this last assessment, I realised I had more questions than answers relating to 'what is the soil of wellbeing'? To explore and make sense of this, I became focused on forests as a metaphor for well-being and positive psychology. That is, by focusing on the trees in a forest (the constructs of Positive Psychology) are we missing the sense of the forest? That is, where is the forest? I considered how a forest is more than tress, it is also the soil, the mycelium, moss, ferns, and air together.

INSIGHT

Through the metaphor of the forest I understood that well-being resides in the inter-relational life processes - that is, the forest is NOT the trees but rather the inter-relationships between trees, and soil, and ferns etc. Positive Psychology interventions can catalyse action attention towards nourishing the 'well-being' soil of self and/or community.

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MARCH 2021: Introduction to Positive Psychology and Organisations

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MARCH 2021: Introduction to Positive Psychology and Organisations

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I start a new subject focusing on the application of positive psychology in organisational settings.

I am in a state of 'shock'! I have avoided business and organisational studies all my life and have been 'forced' to do this subject and open my mind to different lived/work experiences of others and their passion with organisations. Well, I wasn't forced, but I decided an appreciative approach is more constructive and an opportunity to strengthen my knowledge and learn about a different professional 'ecosystem'.

REFLECTION

I could have been more appreciative of the insight provided and reached out to class colleagues for their lived experiences in this space. I resisted too much - personal ideologies and biases framing my perspectives. Bah humbug... my goals didn't necessarily align to my values.

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Dr Peter Cotton FAPS, InsightSRC and Medibank Health Solutions, and Dr Peter Hart MAPS, InsightSRC and Deakin University

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InPsych is the member magazine for the Australian Psychological Society and provides the opportunity for members to feature and share their work and knowledge in psychology.

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APRIL 2021: Ethical guidelines for positive psychology practice

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APRIL 2021: Ethical guidelines for positive psychology practice

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I enjoyed Aaron's discussion on ethics. First it was familiar as i also work ethics and so I felt competent (so my approach motivational behaviours were in high gear). Second, I was amazed at the 'energy' and 'vibrancy' in the Positive Psychology movement for people to be thinking about longer-term goals.

REFLECTION

Positive Psychology was not just methods - but also the way the person brings attention and secondary care for the unknown into their practice with others.

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Learning about virtue ethics and how cultivating virtues can lead to a fulfilling life. However, this is easier said than done given my continuing life experiences.

INSIGHT

I realised that the Basic Psychological Needs are so foundational - along with social-determinants of well-being. Despite a desire to build well-being and apply Positive Psychology to my life and work contexts or even 'virtue ethics' - ultimately, I needed to first attend to my needs and security. There was some grief in this realisation that there is no 'pill' to make things better but that real inner-work with self was required to emerge changes to affect my life contexts.

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MAY 2021: Identifying Personal Strengths

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MAY 2021: Identifying Personal Strengths

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Using tools like the VIA Survey to identify my own personal strengths and how to apply them in daily life.

REFLECTION

(Writing while a life low-point)

While great to know, my basic psychological needs and safety are prioritised. I don't appreciate why people value these so much or perhaps I don't as much as I should. It has made companies, coaches, business and consultants lots of money to teach people about their strengths (me being cynical) - but I begin to wonder if positive psychology and strengths are for those in more priveleged life positions than mine - ie, those people with with secure housing, caring parents and families, or schools that care enough to support positively children and youth in their care.

Is it something that is practical for a portion of the population only?

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Millions of people have taken the free VIA survey to discover their greatest strengths so they can use them in their everyday lives.

How is a Report different from the free VIA Survey?

Our free survey provides your rank order list of character strengths with the strengths that are most core to your identity at the top. A VIA Report provides personalized, in-depth analysis of your character strengths, including actionable tips to apply them to find greater well-being.

Explore Reports

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Millions of people have taken the free VIA survey to discover their greatest strengths so they can use them in their everyday lives. Our free survey provides your rank order list of character strengths with the strengths that are most core to your identity at the top.

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JULY to DECEMBER 2022: Starting Applications of Positive Psychology

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JULY to DECEMBER 2022: Starting Applications of Positive Psychology

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This subject explored Positive Psychology applications across different domains such as education, healthcare, and personal development. We were asked to apply interventions to ourselves or others in an assessment.

REFLECTION

This subject thoroughly frustrated me. As a health care practitioner I was used to my specific discipline and had not appreciated how much of my work and thinking was no longer active but immersed and implicit in just 'doing' something. I did not feel competent and so despite having motivation, my goals were not aligning to my values.

INSIGHT

This subject was humbling, highlighting my hubris in thinking that I could 'take' the Positive Psychology constructs and apply them - but not doing the real work to dig deep into the construct and understand the specific domains and alignment with outcomes. For example, the importance of goals having a person's values if these goals are to sustain a person overtime (after the SDT sub-theory Goals Context Theory).

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SEPTEMBER 2022 - Forest therapy and wellbeing

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SEPTEMBER 2022 - Forest therapy and wellbeing

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I was introduced to the concept of 'Forest Bathing' from a classmate when the concept of 'green and blue space' was introduced as a way of building well-being through perspective and relational connection.

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Authors

Colin A. Capaldi Carleton University Department of Psychology 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6

Holli-Anne Passmore University of British Columbia Department of Psychology 1147 Research Road Kelowna, BC, Canada, V1V 1V7

Elizabeth K. Nisbet Trent University Department of Psychology 1600 W Bank Drive Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9J 7B8

John M. Zelenski Carleton University Department of Psychology 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6

Raelyne L. Dopko Carleton University Department of Psychology 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v5i4.449

Keywords:
nature, nature connectedness, flourishing, subjective wellbeing, eudaimonic wellbeing, human-nature relationship

Abstract

From the increasing number of people living in urban areas to the continued degradation of the natural environment, many of us appear to be physically and psychologically disconnected from nature. We consider the theoretical explanations and present evidence for why this state of affairs might result in suboptimal levels of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing by reviewing the large body of research on the mental health benefits of connecting with nature. The advantages of contact with nature as a potential wellbeing intervention are discussed, and examples of how this research is being applied to reconnect individuals to nature and improve wellbeing are given. We conclude by considering the limitations of, and proposing future directions for, research in this area. Overall, evidence suggests that connecting with nature is one path to flourishing in life.

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Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention

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Colin A. Capaldi Carleton University Department of Psychology 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6 Holli-Anne Passmore University of British Columbia Department of Psychology 1147 Research Road Kelowna, BC, Canada, V1V 1V7 Elizabeth K. Nisbet Trent University Department of Psychology 1600 W Bank Drive Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9J 7B8 John M.

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Relief in exploring more about 3 Good Things in my assessment. A relatively easy intervention for enhancing well-being is explored for my assessment. I learned that even simple Positive Psychology Interventions such as gratitude journals can boost emotional resilience and reduce burnout for up to 12 months, with just a two week intervention. That is, it strengthens the positive.

INSIGHT

The relief is that i feel competent in applying this - where as some of the other Positive Psychology Interventions are complex with respect to all the sub-theories involved. I find this doubly difficult when the intervention is posited as part of a 'program' - for example, building resilience (and its various domains) and needing to juggle and align each element to various measures and activities (reflecting my perceived competence and hence motivation.)

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MARCH 2024: Introduction to Systems Informed Approaches

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MARCH 2024: Introduction to Systems Informed Approaches

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I start learning about systems thinking and how it can inform change processes in various contexts. Specifically noted were system informed approaches to Positive Psychology (Lomas et al., 2020).

REFLECTION:

This resonated for me - knowing that my well-being has changed overtime based on contextual factors and also cultural contexts. Critically, knowing that contexts of a person's life intersect and abduct - there are not clean boundaries between 'work' you and 'non-work' you and that factors intersect and pattern in ways unexpected to influence well-being.

Reference:

Lomas, T., Waters, L., Williams, P., Oades, L. G., & Kern, M. L. (2020). Third wave positive psychology: broadening towards complexity. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(5), 660–674. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1805501

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APRIL 2024: Study of Complex Adaptive Systems

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APRIL 2024: Study of Complex Adaptive Systems

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The concept of complex adaptive systems and their application was explored through several system mapping techniques, such as Stocks and Flows (Headey & Wearing, 1991).

Discussed was the system informed approaches to Positive Psychology and how contextual factors and social determinants influence Positive Psychology Intervention outcomes and well-being. that is well-being looks different to each person and to the same person across different contexts and time.

References:

Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1991). Subjective well-being: A stocks and flows framework. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 49–73). Pergamon Press.

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REFLECTION

I realised I was increasingly feeling isolated and lonely in life (and after finally moving home, finding security and reclaiming 'me' in life). This was not good for neither health nor well-being. I started to dig deeper into the 'why'' and returned to Baumeister & Leary's article on belonging (2000). It resonated that fundamental need to connect and to maintain connections and that it also motivates us.

Again, the two sub-theories of SDT that resonated for me were 'Goals Context Theory' and 'Cognitive Evaluation Theory'

INSIGHT

Despite the need to connect I was having difficulty in doing so - was it just me, despite trying to reach out to family and people I knew? The more I explored I realised it wasn't just me - there is a pandemic of loneliness in society. Why was this happening? Yes - i needed to approach my attempt at engaging with others more appreciatively, but wondered further on how loneliness is not an individual happening but a 'collective disease' that needed addressing at the societal level in order to effect individuals - systems approach.

Reference:

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (2000). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In E. T. Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Motivational science: Social and personality perspectives (pp. 24–49). Psychology Press.

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MAY 2024: Revisiting 'Goal Contents Theory'

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MAY 2024: Revisiting 'Goal Contents Theory'

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This sub-theory caught my interest because ‘goals’ emerge in several positive psychological frameworks and interventions such as in Hope Theory and in Resilience frameworks. Specifically, I realised that my intrinsic motivation was waning - and I linked it to the absence of life-orientated goals that incorporated my values.

INSIGHT

The insight was how critical it is to emerge values in goals (again). This re-learning was prompted when a class-mate noted his experience of working with youth and setting goals.

He said (paraphrased)... 'my goals for youth are so much better than the goals they can think for themselves, but despite youth thinking of goals that i think could be strengthened - the youth meet their goals because they valued them'.

This was a critical AHa Moment! when reflecting on self and my current life. While my basic needs (security, housing etc.) are now being partially met, I realised I had no life goals. This was exemplified when another class-mate noted: 'My goal is to establish a research and education centre focusing on relationships'. I was amazed at his life goal but horrified when I realised I had none. All my 'goals' had been towards 'safety' not about life flourishing. The further insight was I had been 'reading the map' of Positive Psychology but not actually walking the terrain and experiencing it for myself.

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I have seen this video several times and use it in my own teaching about systems and complexity. However, when Rachel showed this in class, I instead watch the wonder on my class-mates faces emerge at seeing this for the first time.

INSIGHT

Ultimately, context is everything when it comes to Positive Psychology Interventions - the need to align the construct to needs, and the person to goals and emerge their values. The Dadirri video by Miriam Rose Ungunmerr encapsulates this beautifully through context - and the importance of acknowledging the various aspects of a person's culture/s and the need to connect (to people, culture and place) as intrinsic to their well-being.

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Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health

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Kim S. Cameron and organisational virtuousness

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Kim S. Cameron and organisational virtuousness

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Strength of virtuousness and striving towards good in organisations.

Reference:

S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 48-65).Berrett-Koehler.

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SWellbeing theory summary - screenshot 2021-02-25 210426

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Third places are good for your wellbeing and wallet. This is how to find yours

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When you're not at home or at work or school, where are you?

Perhaps it's a local park, swimming spot or the library.

Whether you're familiar with the term or not, these are all examples of 'third places'.

The term comes from American Sociologist Ray Oldenburg who understood them as having eight characteristics.

They include being on neutral ground, where social or financial status is not important, where conversation is a main activity. They're also accessible and homely.

So a favourite pub or cafe where you're expected to buy something doesn't count.

Annie Raser-Rowland, co-author of The Art of Frugal Hedonism, says these places are "invaluable" and shares how to find them.

Why third places are good for our wellbeing and wallets

Ms Rowland-Raser lives on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk people in Fremantle WA, and says her third places are "pretty common ones".

"I go sit down in the same corner in the library probably three mornings a week. I know the same people will be there at that time of day," she says.

Ms Raser-Rowland says the community and familiarity which comes with that is "really crucial for mental health", especially as she works from home.

"Humans - even introverts - need to be around other people," she says.

One of the benefits of third places is you can go to the park and strike up conversation or you can simply walk or people-watch, she says.

The need for these spaces can also reflect your living situation, whether you're in an apartment, busy family home or share house.

In a previous house that Ms Raser-Rowland says sometimes felt "too chaotic and too busy", sitting in a gazebo at the park and eating lunch or reading a book was "incredibly precious".

Dr Milica Muminovic is a lecturer at the University of Canberra, on Ngunnawal country, specialising in architectural and urban design and place identity.

During the pandemic her research showed a 75 per cent increase in the use of accessible green spaces.

Dr Milica Muminovic says this shows how vital these spaces are as "community facilities".

How to find third spaces near you

For those looking to find their own third place, Ms Raser-Rowland says you can have a think about the criteria and see if there's any places in your life that fit the bill.

"The beach is one for heaps of people," she says.

"So many people meet for their regular swim on the beach every morning, and then spend an hour afterwards chatting or drinking a thermos of tea, or getting a cup of coffee," she says.

While the coffee isn't free, "there's no obligation to spend a large amount of money to be there".

Ms Raser-Rowland says a way to introduce third places is suggesting to friends a walk around a park or neighbourhood instead of meeting at a restaurant for dinner or a bar for drinks.

"Then that space becomes a place to meet and to relax and to socialise," she says.

There's nothing stopping you from bringing some snacks and sitting on a bench with friends, she says.

Dr Muminovic counts Canberra's Mount Ainslie among her third places.

She says with a lot more people working from home "it's really important that [green public] spaces are actually spread out ... so that everyone has access to those spaces where they live".

Cafes and shopping centres are "privately owned public spaces" which can be a "vibrant addition to a city" but can also be "quite problematic", Dr Muminovic says.

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Third places are good for your wellbeing and wallet. This is how to find yours

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When you're not at home or at work or school where are you? Perhaps it's a local park, swimming spot or the library. Whether you're familiar with the term or not, these are all examples of 'third places'.

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In the era of COVID-19, many people have suffered high levels of stress and mental health problems. To cope with the widespread of suffering (physical, psychological, social, and economical) the positive psychology of personal happiness is no longer the sole approach to examine personal wellbeing. Other ...

In the era of COVID-19, many people have suffered high levels of stress and mental health problems. To cope with the widespread of suffering (physical, psychological, social, and economical) the positive psychology of personal happiness is no longer the sole approach to examine personal wellbeing. Other approaches such as Viktor Frankl's theory of self-transcendence provide a promising framework for research and intervention on how to achieve resilience, wellbeing, and happiness through overcoming suffering and self-transcendence. The existential positive psychology of suffering complements the positive psychology of happiness, which is championed by Martin Seligman, as two equal halves of the circle of wellbeing and optimal mental health.

This Research Topic aims to examine the different approaches to Positive Psychology and their influence on individual wellbeing during the COVID-19 era. One of the exciting development in the positive psychology of wellbeing is the mounting research on the adaptive benefits of negative emotions, such as shame, guilt, and anger, as well as the dialectical process of balancing negative and positive emotions. As an example, based on all the empirical research and Frankl's self-transcendence model, Wong has developed the existential positive psychology of suffering (PP2.0) as the foundation for flourishing. Here are a few main tenets of PP2.0: (1) Life is suffering and a constant struggle throughout every stage of development, (2) The search for self-transcendence is a primary motive guided by the meaning mindset and mindful mindset. (3) Wellbeing cannot be sustainable without overcoming and transforming suffering.

In this Research Topic we welcome diverse approaches discussing the following points:

* The dialectic process of overcoming the challenges of every stage of development as necessary for personal growth and self-transcendence;
* The role of self-transcendence in resilience, virtue, meaning, and happiness;
* The upside of negative emotions;
* The new science of resilience based on cultivating the resilient mindset and character;
* How to make the best use of suffering to achieve out potentials & mental health.

***Due to the exceptional nature of the COVID-19 situation, Frontiers is waiving all article publishing charges for COVID-19 related research in this Research Topic. Please be aware that only manuscripts submitted by 31 December 2020 will be considered ***

Keywords: Positive psychology, existential positive psychology, resilience, suffering, flourishing, Viktor Frankl, self-transcendence, spirituality, religion, positive change, mental health, personal wellbeing, wellbeing

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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COVID-19 and Existential Positive Psychology (PP2.0): The New Science of Self-Transcendence

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In the era of COVID-19, many people have suffered high levels of stress and mental health problems. To cope with the widespread of suffering (physical, psychological, social, and economical) the positive psychology of personal happiness is no longer the sole approach to examine personal wellbeing.

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Your workplace wants you to swallow a happy pill. What if you found collective joy instead?

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here are 11-year-olds with dyed blue hair, ripped men in their 40s and dirtbag hipsters in their 20s, all hanging from plastic crimps on the walls of a high-ceilinged gym. As electronic dance music plays loudly, Gatorade and microbrews are being served to the audience. They dance and clap in unison. Some gather to chat and cheer at those climbing the walls around them. It's exuberant, anarchic, and although I am not a climber, I am in the middle of it, sitting cross-legged on the sweaty floor.

I'm not attending the event, which was organized by a Brooklyn climbing gym, because I love dim lighting, relentless bass and beer - although I do like these things. I am here because my tween daughter has a gift for climbing, and my attending those competitions turned parties is a requirement - she's still a kid - but it also further connects us to this community. Watching her do "beta" with dance-like hand and arm movements to figure out a climb before she gets on the wall or smile shyly at the crowd when she "tops" and waves to her friends make me proud: she is thinking with her body, but also anchored in a group of enthusiasts I had never known of before she showed them to me.

I am also here because these days I find happiness, like a growing number of Americans do, in something I like to call "collective joy". And it might be our best answer to the diktat of the corporate happiness industry.

Happiness as a pill to swallow

For much of my life, happiness was neatly sold as a product I could purchase, like a pill I was supposed to swallow. Happiness could be bought as literal medicine - Wellbutrin, Zoloft - or found in the self-help books and retreats. This idea of happiness was something one should achieve on one's own, by mastering one's own pessimism. And it had a serious business angle: a happy worker was supposed to be more productive.

That notion of happiness took something from positive psychology, the movement that took hold in the 1990s. Martin Seligman was a supporter of this school of thought, saying in the American Psychologist journal in 2000 that he was seeking to "change the focus of psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities". Or as he said at the first Positive Psychology Summit in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1999: "Psychology was half-baked." What was "unbaked", he continued, was "the side of strength, the side of what we're good at".

Google and other tech companies focused on getting workers to work until the wee hours, using corporate happy talk to convince them to do so. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

It made sense that such focus on power and skill would appeal to American corporations more than the visceral slog of what caused unhappiness in the first place. Soon, companies like Google began employing someone called a "jolly good fellow". The first of these was Chade-Meng Tan, also known as Meng, a software engineer with an added mission: he was to cheer co-workers while also greeting celebrities at the Google campus.

Meng was not alone; he was part of a larger Silicon Valley tech ideology that focused on getting workers to work until the wee hours, using corporate happy talk to convince them to do so.

It was also peddled by the likes of Tony Robbins, Dan Harris and Rick Hanson. (The latter's tech-accented book Hardwiring Happiness offers a "recipe" for how to weigh positive experiences more heavily in one's life.)

The happiness industry was soon in full bloom: the so-called Happiness Business School, which offers a certificate program that produces chief happiness officers with international trainings that include a lesson in the "ROI of Happy Workplace", established itself; a Buddhist monk discussed happiness at Davos; happiness-themed Ted talks multiplied; mugs with sayings like "Positivity Is a Choice" or "Make Happiness Your Business Model" proliferated.

This theory morphed depending on what platforms were popular. We were promised glee and resulting efficiency on social media, but if only we'd buy "mindful" mayonnaise and nail polish, "happy" aromatherapy products or "mood-supporting" vitamins. We are also, not coincidentally, sold those things on platforms like Instagram, where illusions of personal happiness enshrined in sunshine-laden individual accounts abound.

One recent embodiment of this corporate philosophy is the AmaZen, a closet-sized meditation chamber offered by Amazon in May 2021 to supposedly soothe its workers. Inside the booth, employees could use a computer to view mindful practices, which included screen-guided meditation videos and positive affirmations. (That the booths resembled toilet stalls in size and shape was ironic, because workers at the company had said they had to fight for bathroom breaks.) These "practice rooms" stood within warehouses, and employees were told to lock themselves into the "individual interactive kiosks" during exhausting work shifts, all during a union-busting era when they were being discouraged to organize.

I spoke to Will Davies, author of the 2015 book The Happiness Industry. He sees the happiness industrial complex as one in which "negative thoughts and low moods were simply caused by bad habits". This view, he argues, relies on an "impoverished view of what a human being and what boredom is".

As Davies says, this is "a post-human understanding of the workforce", where workers are assets to be rented for the day and have to be happy to boot. (The television show Severance, in which workers are given a brain surgery so they forget their non-work lives when they are in the office, might not be just sci-fi after all.)

Seeking transcendence

The pandemic changed this paradigm. It's not that the happiness industry is over, exactly - it's just that Covid and its aftermath of so-called " quiet quitting " showed us a way out of the buying-happiness-so-you-are-more-productive game.

Today, we can see the other option: collective joy.

What is collective joy? It's a kind of happiness experienced in groups. It's found in meaningful occasions, like marches and celebrations of identity, but also in communal events that might otherwise seem trivial. For me, this might also include a reproductive rights event where people are dressed as uteruses but also things that are more hedonistic, like a large dance party that features at least two acrobats, a Reiki practitioner and a tarot reader. According to a 2022 Pew study, 21% of those surveyed had a renewed appreciation for social activities following lockdown, with many of them noting that large gatherings in particular were more cherished than ever.

Events such as Pride offer individuals a communal glee that can ultimately transform for them into meaning and power. Photograph: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

I am not the first to name the potency of celebration and mass public expression. My late friend and colleague Barbara Ehrenreich wrote about this in her book Dancing in the Streets, describing the power of spectacle and carnivals, in culture, politics and sports, including Pride, rock festivals and football matches. Such events, she wrote, offer individuals a communal glee that can ultimately transform for them into meaning and power.

Take movements and phrases like "Black joy", which has nearly half a million posts under it on Instagram. The idiom refers to what Kleaver Cruz, founder of the Black Joy Project, says is an account of Black life that doesn't simply create an "alternate" Black narrative that ignores the realities of collective pain, but, as Cleaver says, holds it "in tension with the joy we experience". Thinkers like adrienne maree brown, in her book on the joy possible within Black liberation, Pleasure Activism, has written about extending the intimacy of romantic relationships to more public networks, encouraging people to "cultivate collective agency" as well as to "dance when you make decisions".

As I reported in my book Bootstrapped, collective resilience also includes new directions in the labor movement. It also consists of a growing number of mutual aid groups offering reciprocal altruism on a community level, participatory budgeting collectives, or even groups like peer therapy communities where informally trained people relieve the unmet need for licensed therapists around the country, including on college campuses. (In 2021, researchers with the Mary Christie Institute and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation surveyed more than 2,000 college students and found one in five had received peer counseling.)

In addition to these earnest collective encounters, there are more hedonistic gleeful communities. The most striking thing about "dance culture" post-pandemic, says the DJ Tasha Blank, who founded the large dance and party project formerly known as the Get Down and now called Body Lvnguage, is that "new people are coming to it, people who may not have been interested or willing before".

Blank's events tend to have between 250 and 500 attendees, as well as drummers, poets and greeters at the door adorning dancers with glitter (partiers surrender their drinks and phones there as well). Blank, who lives in Nevada City, California, travels the country DJing and says she has seen how the pandemic has not only increased the number of revelers, but that those who come to her dance parties are "embracing more connection". They are doing so paradoxically because they have been, she says, "traumatized by the experience of having everything taken away and by being afraid of invisible danger". Blank also cited a rash of new community singing groups - drum circles for voices.

Claudia Cuentas, a Portland-based member of some of these singing circles, therapist and self-described Peruvian immigrant, sees those around her "as relying on their own community more and more, seeing that being together and enjoying resources together is a life requirement: we need to be together to be coherent and healthy." They include Bipoc-specific singing circles, where Cuentas found collective joy.

During the pandemic, partiers brought their own speakers and generators and DJs to Brooklyn's Prospect Park, near my home, where sometimes as many as 200 people danced at free gatherings. Some of the ringleaders have since created an informal club in a nearby house with electronic music playing all night long in the basement. And every Sunday morning up to 16 or so New Yorkers don their headphones and dance around the circumference of the park, listening to their own music, writhing and jumping in a free meet-up. The organizer of these dance meet-ups, Joanne Nerenberg, described them as an "incredible catharsis". Among the collective activities that are in the same expressive vein yet slightly different are the new giant and sometimes illicit literary readings in the streets and private houses of Los Angeles; a recent gathering was replete with nitrous-filled balloons.

A theory of radical happiness

Part of the appeal of Ehrenreich's version of collective joy is that it highlights the destabilization of roles. "At the height of the festivity, we step out of our assigned roles and statues," she wrote, "of gender, ethnicity, tribe and rank - and into a brief utopia defined by egalitarianism, creativity and mutual love." (This was over a decade before the pandemic: as usual, Ehrenreich was ahead of the curve.) This take stands in sharp contrast to the happiness preached by the happiness industry, which tended to be more about burrowing further into the possibility of wellbeing of whatever social identity the market and our unequal society had assigned you.

The theorist Lynne Segal continued this line of thinking in her book Radical Happiness. Collective campaigns, however limited in their gains, can take ordinary, lonely geographies and transform them, she writes, "into spaces of hope".

Embracing collective joy may well rest, though, on vanquishing the punishing, singular idea of happiness - that it's connected to efficiency, a person's job or even our individual wellbeing. Collective joy, in contrast, is an attempt to alchemize, say, loss or powerlessness into significance, through physical movement, sound and embodied politics. As brown, Pleasure Activism's author, writes, we need to make "justice and liberation the most pleasurable experiences we can have".

Every summer, I experience this joy when I read poetry out loud with many inhabitants of an upstate New York town on 4 July. In 2021, we attended a nearby parade led by local artists - this was back when my daughter still thought it was fun to dress in costumes and make festive flags made of recycled turquoise toile scraps. We did so, joining hundreds clad in thrift finery, bearing noisemakers and hula hoops. In the midst of the crowd, I felt part of a single entity, as if I was obtaining a more real kind of happiness.

That feeling was instructive: it's part of why lately, when I have been invited to do almost anything involving celebrating with strangers, I have almost always said yes. I've never been sorry.

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Your workplace wants you to swallow a happy pill. What if you found collective joy instead?

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For years the corporate diktat has been that happiness must be achieved alone, but many are turning to communities for joy

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Onet - job crafting - some links from Gavin

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Onet - job crafting - some links from Gavin

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Pilots: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-2011.00 Cleaners: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/37-2011.00 Warehouse worker / farm workers: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-7065.00 Truck driver: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-3032.00

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Prosocial Behavior Definition

Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior intended to benefit another. Thus, it includes behaviors such as helping, sharing, or providing comfort to another. Prosocial behavior is evident in young children but changes in frequency and in its expression with age. Individual differences in prosocial behavior are caused by a combination of heredity, socialization, and situational factors. Prosocial behaviors can be preformed for a variety of reasons, ranging from selfish and manipulative reasons (e.g., helping get something in return) to moral and other-oriented reasons (e.g., helping because of moral principles or sympathy for another's plight). Prosocial behavior that is not performed for material or social rewards (e.g., rewards, approval), but is based on concern for another or moral values, is usually labeled "altruism."

A topic of attention in the social psychological literature is whether there is true altruism-that is, if people ever help others for reasons that are not really selfish. Although people sometimes assist others even when they receive no social or material benefits, some psychologists argue that there is always a selfish reason underlying altruistic motives. For example, they argue that people actually help because of the psychological merging of the self with another, the desire to elevate one's own mood or to avoid negative feelings or a negative self-evaluation (for not helping). People sometimes help others to alleviate their own feelings of distress when dealing with someone else in distress or need, or primarily because of personal ties to needy others. Nonetheless, C. D. Batson has provided evidence that people often assist for other-oriented sympathy, and there is likely at least some selfless motivation for some types of prosocial actions.

Prosocial Behavior Importance

Prosocial behavior is relevant to both the quality of close interpersonal relationships and to interactions among individuals and groups without close ties. People, as individuals or as members of a group, often assist others in need or distress, as well as others whose needs are relatively trivial. Charities and societies depend on people helping one another. In addition, prosocial behavior has benefits for the benefactor. For example, children who are more prosocial tend to be better liked by peers, and adults who engage in helping activities tend to have better psychological health.

Personal Characteristics Associated with Prosocial Behavior

As is evident in everyday life, some people are more prosocial than others. Prosocial children and adults tend to be prone to sympathize with others. They also are more likely to understand others' thoughts and feelings and to try to take others' perspectives. In addition, people who tend to assist others often hold other-oriented values (e.g., value others' well-being) and tend to assign the responsibility for actions such as helping to themselves. Prosocial children tend to be positive in their emotional expression, socially competent, well adjusted, well regulated, and have a positive self-concept. In both childhood and adulthood, people who reason about moral conflicts in more mature ways (e.g., use more abstract moral reasoning, with more sophisticated perspective taking and a greater emphasis on values) are also more likely than their peers are to help others. Of particular note, preschool children who engage in spontaneous, somewhat costly prosocial behaviors (e.g., sharing a toy they like) engage in more prosocial behavior as adolescents and tend to be sympathetic and prosocial as adults. Thus, there appears to be some continuity in prosocial responding from a fairly early age.

Situational Factors and Prosocial Behavior

Even though some people are more prone to help than are others, situational factors also can have a powerful effect on people's willingness to help. For example, people are less likely to help when the cost of helping is high. They also are more likely to help attractive people and to help if they are the only ones available to help (e.g., there are no other people around who see an individual who needs assistance). People in good moods are likely to assist others more than are people in neutral moods, although sometimes people in bad moods seem to help others to raise their moods. People also are more likely to help if they are exposed to models of prosocial behavior. Moreover, the interaction of situational factors with personality characteristics of potential helpers is important; for example, sociable people seem more likely to provide types of helping that involve social interaction whereas shy individuals often may tend to help in situations in which they do not need to be outgoing or socially assertive.

Origins of Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial behavior is a complex behavior affected by numerous factors, both biological and environmental. Findings in twin studies support the view that heredity plays a role: Identical twins (who share 100% of their genes) are more similar to each other in prosocial behavior, as well as sympathetic concern, than are fraternal twins (who share only 50% of their genes). Heredity likely affects aspects of temperament or personality such as self-regulation, emotionality, and agreeableness, which contribute to people engaging in higher levels of prosocial behavior.

Considerable evidence also indicates that individual differences in prosocial behavior also are linked to socialization. For example, adults are more likely to help others if, as children, their parents were models of prosocial behavior. Warm, supportive parenting, especially if combined with the use of positive discipline (e.g., the use of reasoning with children about wrongdoing), has also been linked to prosocial tendencies in children, whereas punitive parenting (e.g., parenting involving physical punishment, the deprivation of privileges, or threats thereof) has been inversely related. Parents who help their children to attend to and understand others' feelings tend to foster prosocial tendencies in their offspring. Appropriate levels of parental control, when combined with parental support, prosocial values, and behaviors that help children to attend to and care about others' needs, seem to foster prosocial responding.

Age and Sex Differences in Prosocial Behavior

Even very young children, for example, 1-year-olds, sometimes help or comfort others. However, the frequencies of most types of prosocial behavior increase during childhood until adolescence. It currently is unclear if prosocial tendencies increase or not in adulthood. This increase in prosocial behavior with age in childhood is likely caused by a number of factors, including increased perspective-taking skills and sympathy, internalization of other-oriented, prosocial values, greater awareness of the social desirability of helping, and greater competence to help others.

There also are sex differences in sympathy and prosocial behavior. In childhood, girls tend to be somewhat, but not greatly, more likely to engage in prosocial behavior. Girls also are more empathic or sympathetic, albeit this sex difference is small and depends on the method of assessing empathy or sympathy. Women are perceived as more nurturant and prosocial, although they likely help more only in certain kinds of circumstances. Indeed, men are more likely to help when there is some risk involved (e.g., interactions with a stranger on the street) or if chivalry might be involved.

References:

1. Eisenberg, N. (1992). The caring child. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

2. Eisenberg, N., & Mussen, P. (1989). The roots of prosocial behavior in children. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

3. Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., & Schroeder, D. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 365-392.

4. Schroeder, D. A., Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., & Piliavin, J. A. (1995). The psychology of helping and altruism: Problems and puzzles. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Prosocial Behavior Definition Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior intended to benefit another. Thus, it includes behaviors such as helping, sharing, or providing comfort to another. Prosocial behavior is evident in young children but changes in frequency and in its expression with age. Individual differences in prosocial behavior are caused by a combination of heredity, socialization, ...

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An applied positive psychology model

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Communicating the evidence
Latest: Read about Five Ways to Wellbeing during the Coronavirus crisis.
On the available evidence to date, this report identifies five key actions around the themes of social relationships, physical activity, awareness, learning, and giving. In general, the evidence base around the influencers of well-being is growing. Having strong social relationships, being physically active and being involved in learning are all important influencers of both well-being and ill-being. By contrast, the processes of giving and becoming more aware have been shown to specifically influence well-being in a positive way. A combination of all of these behaviours will help to enhance individual well-being and may have the potential to reduce the total number of people who develop mental health disorders in the longer term. However, there is agreement in the Foresight Challenge Reports that more work needs to be completed on intervention-based strategies to better understand issues of causality, effect size and favourable conditions for sustainable behavioural change.

The messages identified in this report are intended to have generic appeal, while offering concrete activity-based ideas on how to improve personal well-being. They aim to prompt people into thinking about those things in life which are important to their well-being and perhaps should be prioritised in their day-to-day routines. It is almost certainly the case that people will, to some extent, already be involved in specific activities under the overarching themes of connecting, being active, learning etc. Rather than encouraging a completely novel set of behaviours, the outcomes of a campaign of this kind are, therefore, more concerned with increasing the time people spend in activities known to enhance wellbeing.
Check out NEF's more recent wellbeing analysis.

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Communicating the evidence Latest: Read about Five Ways to Wellbeing during the Coronavirus crisis. On the available evidence to date, this report identifies five key actions around the themes of social relationships, physical activity, awareness, learning, and giving. In general, the evidence base around the influencers of well-being is growing.

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How a simple T-shirt message widened Maureen's world

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When Jim walked his wife Maureen along the seafront at Manly in her wheelchair, he felt she went largely unnoticed. She would reach out with her hand as people went by and never get a response. He thought some level of interaction might be beneficial.

That's when he had the idea of getting a T-shirt printed. He found a shop off the Corso in Manly. On the front and back of the shirt a message read: "My beautiful wife has dementia please say 'HELLO' to her". The effect was immediate.

"Now, with the shirt, people have been wonderful," Jim says.

Jim and Maureen on one of their regular trips to Manly seafront. Credit: CRE8withJAZ

Maureen went for a voluntary memory assessment on offer at her local hospital eight years ago. She thought she'd done quite well.

In 2019, she was invited to return for a six-week memory course, one day a week. But shortly after, she experienced what Jim describes as the "dramatic event".

One afternoon, he left their three-acre block at Erina on the Central Coast to buy some screws at the local hardware shop. By the time he got back 40 minutes later, Maureen was gone.

A neighbour had seen her walking down the street with her handbag. After an extensive search by the family and transport police, she was found five hours later at Manly Wharf. Other "escapes" followed.

Jim and Maureen in their younger days.

In September 2021, Maureen was admitted to hospital. Jim got a call that night saying she was unlikely to last the weekend. When he turned up to visit the next morning, he was told he couldn't see her because of COVID restrictions.

"That was the only time I was fully disheartened," he says. "I thought, 'She is going to pass away by herself, she won't know what's going on.' That really destroyed me."

An MRI scan revealed Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. Jim - he has asked us not to use their surname - sold up in Erina and moved to Manly to be nearer their four children.

Today, as we look out over the beach busy with families on the first days of the school holidays, Maureen, in a lilac fleece, sits in the shade whispering a few words now and again. She sips a warm flat white from a beaker and Jim passes her pieces of biscuit.

A nurse wanders past and engages with Maureen, eliciting a smile.

"Thank you for saying hello to her," Jim says. "When people talk to her, she starts talking. This is a good day, she's happy and she's healthy. That's the good thing about dementia, she's in no pain. Normally, she can't drink like this, I would normally have to put it to her mouth."

"The only thing that gave me a clue [of her decline] was the Anthony Hopkins film The Father. It gave me an impression of what she must see in her head," Jim says.

"Something I read in a book made me realise she is not making any new memories. She doesn't know that she has been to this beach before, even though we have been coming here for four and a half years. If I ask about her childhood or anything else, no answer. It's all gone."

"I'm taking credit for the fact that she's still here. Getting her out in the fresh air."

Maureen and Jim before her dementia diagnosis.

Their daughter Natalie arrives. "I think Dad is coping amazingly, but he is absolutely exhausted because it is a really hard job," she says. "He is only ever looking forwards. You can see the love in his eyes when he's walking her, he's constantly texting us with little snippets that she's said."

Jasmin Stockwell from printers CRE8 with JAZ says the T-shirt was "probably the most heartfelt I've created for anyone with such a touching message. Others have now come to me to tweak the text to suit their own loved ones".

Jim phones the day after our meeting. "There's one thing I didn't tell you," he says.

"Last thing every night, I hold her, tell her I love her, tell her I am so glad I married her ... because you don't know what the story will be in the morning. When she wakes up, she looks at me with bright eyes and a smile, and she often whispers, 'I love you.' That's been the ritual for the two and a half years."

National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.

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How a simple T-shirt message widened Maureen's world

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Living with dementia, Maureen went largely unnoticed in her wheelchair on Manly seafront until her husband created a touching message T-shirt that changed everything.

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the differences between measuring happiness and subjective well-being

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What does it take to be comfortable in your own skin? At a moment when social media allow us to project whatever public face we desire, but popular culture pushes us to look ever deeper within to find happiness, it's easy to face a crisis of identity. Two new books address this dilemma from very different perspectives.

In Awkward, psychologist Ty Tashiro attempts to do for his cohort what Susan Cain did for the introverted in her 2012 bestseller, Quiet. It's a somewhat greater challenge: To begin with, people may be less willing to acknowledge that they are socially inept. Tashiro does, though, and claims to have the personality scores to prove it. He also helps ease reader resistance to identifying with the awkward by revealing embarrassing anecdotes from his own life, including a traumatizing first slow dance in junior high, when he struggled to come up with anything to say or to figure out where to look and ended up with his mouth around the girl's hair.

Awkwardness is not a formally diagnosed clinical condition. To pinpoint what it actually is, Tashiro cites research based on a standard 50-item measure of autistic traits, pointing out that in such studies, the average person claims to have 16 of them, while the generally accepted baseline for an autism diagnosis is 32. "So what do you call someone who is not autistic but has considerable difficulty with social skills, communication, and an unusually obsessive focus?" he asks.

"I would call that awkward."

Tashiro uses some clever analogies to explain how awkwardness feels: When reading faces for emotions, awkward people may look first at someone's mouth, then at their eyes, and finally put them together-the way we decode a colon and a parenthesis as an old-school smile emoticon. Socially fluent people, on the other hand, read faces at a glance, just as we see a modern emoji. Further, when reading a room, awkward people may employ "localized processing," focusing a bright spotlight of attention on the area that most interests them and leaving the rest of the scene unlit, while others take it all in, if perhaps with less depth.

Tashiro zeroes in on the trait of focus to suggest that, while it may seem evolutionarily odd that people who struggle to connect with others have survived throughout human history, there is a need for what awkward people bring to the table. They may miss the bigger picture at times, but they also see details others don't. Awkward people are likely to be the ones devising better algorithms for food distribution, or bolstering cyber-security protocols. In ancient times, they may have stuck with a hunt long after others went home-or concluded it was time for a tribe to move to more productive lands.

There has been a good deal of research into people who are both socially awkward and intellectually gifted -in other words, nerds. In just one example Tashiro cites, a study of university students found that those majoring in computer science scored higher on measures of awkwardness than those in the humanities, but that the high-achieving members of the Math Olympiad team had the highest scores of all. Not all awkward people are gifted, of course, but Tashiro believes that all have "remarkable potential, regardless of their level of ability, that arises from doing what they love with an obsessive energy, sharp focus, and tireless persistence."

And there are subtler benefits of awkwardness that are less practical, and perhaps sweeter. "Being awkward can be humbling," Tashiro writes, "and I think that it can instill a particular kind of empathy for others who do not fit the traditional societal mold."

Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann's Stand Firm, already a bestseller in his home country, stands to find a ripe audience among America's awkward and insecure. His manifesto for "resisting the self-improvement craze" urges readers to stand and unite in Stoic opposition to "liquid modernity," our era of perpetual change in which the prime directive is to keep up. Brinkmann instead suggests deceleration: When pushed to adapt yet again, we should ask, "Why bother?"

Stability, Brinkmann observes, has been wrongfully devalued by those who whisper about people being "stuck" instead of admiring individuals who have put down roots. To keep up, we commit ourselves to endless cycles of self-development, rushing to heed the latest findings on wellness, diet, and positive psychology. In his "anti- self-help book," Brinkmann details seven steps toward a more grounded life. Anticipating criticism that this outlook is conservative, he argues that as everyone else hurtles from one trend to the next, "some form of conservatism may actually be the truly progressive approach."

The first step: Drop the navelgazing. Brinkmann quotes the late Leonard Cohen, who sang, "I don't trust my inner feelings. Inner feelings come and go," to argue for rejecting a deep focus on the self and its elevation of gut feelings. "The self does not hold the key to how to live your life," Brinkmann maintains; your inner voice is probably not even worth listening to because it's so self-centered. Rather than struggling to please the self, he writes, direct your focus on outward actions with ethical value, like apologizing to those you've wronged or donating more to charity. If doing so makes you feel good (as numerous studies say it will), that's great; even better, it fulfills your duty to the world.

And when you feel bad, Brinkmann advises, don't flush the feeling; own it. "We need to regain the right to think that things are bad-no holds barred," he writes. Life is hard, and no one should have to pretend it isn't. Forced positivity, taken to its extreme, means that when things go wrong, our attention is fixed at least as much on our internal response as on the external force that has wounded us. This, in turn, can distract us from the actions necessary to stand up for ourselves.

Brinkmann also encourages us to practice memento mori-remembering that we will die-as a way of valuing life, strengthening familial bonds, and becoming more forgiving. Citing the guidance of the Stoic Epictetus, he specifically suggests that we think about our children's mortality every time we put them to bed. Such daily reminders that life is short should bolster our will to resist giving in to emotions. It may make you less likely to blow up, for example, when a child breaks your coffee mug. This is the crux of his brief-that "if you want to stand firm, it is a precondition that you aren't easily knocked off your stride."

Newfound confidence in standing firm might make life easier for Tashiro's coterie of the awkward, concerned as they are not only with avoiding social faux pas but also with trying to fit in. A better approach may be to embrace restraint, focus on results, and know that, as Brinkmann writes, "it isn't a feeling inside of you that determines whether you are doing the right thing."
Submit your response to this story to letters@psychologytoday.com. If you would like us to consider your letter for publication, please include your name, city, and state. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Pick up a copy of Psychology Today on newsstands now or subscribe to read the the rest of the latest issue

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In an age of constant movement and feedback, it's not just the socially awkward who sometimes feel ill at ease. Did the ancient Stoics have a solution?

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Upfront

May 2010, Vol 41, No. 5

Print version: page 11

2 min read

Azar, B. (2010, May 1). Are your findings 'WEIRD'? Monitor on Psychology, 41(5). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/05/weird

The over-sampling of American college students may be skewing our understanding of human behavior, finds an analysis by researchers from the University of British Columbia. In a forthcoming issue of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, anthropologist Joe Henrich, PhD, and psychologists Steven Heine, PhD, and Ara Norenzayan, PhD, review the available database of comparative social and behavioral science studies. They found that people from Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) societies - who represent as much as 80 percent of study participants, but only 12 percent of the world's population - are not only unrepresentative of humans as a species, but on many measures they're outliers.

In one illustrative study from the 1966 book "The Influence of Culture on Visual Perception," researchers found that U.S. college students perceive some visual illusions to a much greater degree than people from many other cultures, including the San foragers of the Kalahari. In fact, people from some cultures were completely unaffected by certain illusions. If such seemingly basic processes as visual perception can differ across cultures, says Henrich, it makes sense that others do, too.

He and his colleagues use many examples to demonstrate that studies that rely on a narrow swath of the world's population need to be careful in assuming, as many do, that their results are universally applicable to the human species.

"We hope that researchers will come to realize just how precarious a position we're in when we're trying to construct universal theories from a narrow, and unusual, slice of the population," says Heine.

To address the problem, Heine and his colleagues suggest that journal editors and funding agencies encourage researchers to discuss the limitations of their samples and seek more representative study participants.

Not all researchers agree with Heine. In a commentary that will accompany the article, University of Tennessee at Knoxville psychologist Lowell Gaertner, PhD, and his colleagues argue that simply looking at surface differences among cultures - what they call the phenotype - does little to advance the understanding of universal human behavior or genotype.
- B. Azar

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Upfront May 2010, Vol 41, No. 5 Print version: page 11 2 min read Azar, B. (2010, May 1). Are your findings 'WEIRD'? Monitor on Psychology, 41(5). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/05/weird The over-sampling of American college students may be skewing our understanding of human behavior, finds an analysis by researchers from the University of British Columbia.

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'There I was, a tiny speck in a vast universe' ... How awe made my life worth living again

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or the first two months of this year, I was ill. I don't mean the kind of ill that you can soldier on through, sniffing as you go. I mean properly, cancel-everything-and-take-to-your-bed ill. I was not sure when I would feel well again, and that was a problem because I had a book that was about to be published - a book about rekindling awe, wonder and fascination. I could barely stand up, let alone hold a thought in my head. Those soft emotions felt very far away.

But in my experience, Enchantment, my new book, always was intended for dark times, rather than easy ones. It emerged from the depths of the pandemic, when successive lockdowns had left me so burnt out that I felt as though I'd ground to a halt. Time looped and skipped, and my mind seemed unable to rest on the most simple activities, like holding a conversation or filling out a form. Worst of all, I lost my ability to read for pleasure. My solace and retreat, the place I turn to when I want to escape into the world of stories and ideas, was gone. It was as though desire itself had left me. I wondered if I'd ever be able to find it again.

In that time, I dreamed of mountains. I had never been much drawn to them before, but they suddenly seemed like everything I needed: grand and sweeping, overwhelming in their beauty but at the same time able to speak of hardship and struggle against the elements. This seemed cruel, because for the first time in my life I was forbidden to travel to them. I was craving awe - physically needing it, like a vitamin - and being denied it. It was a small thing amid the horrors of that time; nevertheless I felt that I was being denied my own healing. Every part of me wanted to go out on an expedition to absorb the enormousness of the world.

Katherine May. Photograph: Faber

One night, when I was sleepless enough to pad downstairs in search of a crossword, I decided to step outside for a few moments to see if the moon was visible above the rooftops. And there she was, bright and gibbous, surrounded by a drift of clear stars. Bathing in that pale light, I realised that I had been a fool to pine after mountains. I had access to abundant awe, three footsteps from my back door. There, stretching across the sky, was Orion, the first constellation I'd learned to identify. There was Mars, slightly red to the naked eye. And there was I, a tiny speck in a vast universe with an inflated sense of my own self-importance.

Awe has always been available to us. It's an artefact of our own attention, rather than a force that emanates from magnificent things. It is perpetually nearby, but we like to imagine that it's far away, a place that we visit on once-in-a-lifetime holidays, rather than a practice that we can foster across a lifetime. I've tended to see it as a frippery, an unnecessary decoration on the edges of experience that I can safely afford to ignore most of the time. I no longer think that's true. Instead, I think that those vulnerable, ground-shifting encounters like awe, wonder, fascination and mystery are crucial to our survival.

It wasn't just the pandemic that had brought my brain to a standstill. It wasn't simply the weight of home schooling and the bitter fight for time to work against a husband who had colonised my desk. It was the product of years of dislocation, years of living in a world that felt cruel and conflict-ridden, years of watching a slow apocalypse unfolding, and feeling helpless to stop it. Or perhaps that's not quite it. After all, human life might have always felt like this. The problem is that we're enduring this in a disenchanted age, when all of the magic has seeped away from our understanding. We're no longer fluent in the language of folklore and mythology. We're rejecting the spaces in which we once worshipped, reflected and congregated. We've come to see ourselves as profoundly separate from the landscapes we inhabit, as superior beings who do things to the world, instead of being woven into it. When we speak of nature, we mean "not us". Bereft of the beliefs and practices that once sustained us, we're left picking over the carcass of our human experience.

I'd spent my adult life pushing my sense of enchantment away, denying its calling because I saw myself as a rational being who didn't need such things. Without it, I was unable to make meaning as I aged, to feel any faith in this planet and its inhabitants as everything changed. But there was a yearning still there in me, a persistent, insurgent desire to connect and engage in shifting acts of understanding. The input of my own senses so often told me that there was something more to this life than the mere observable facts. If this was a spiritual longing, then it was also political: I did not want to follow arcane rules set down by distant patriarchs. And I refused to believe that enchantment was only available to those who could travel to far-flung places, led by expensively procured gurus. If enchantment mattered, it had to be democratic. It had to be the business of real life.

hen sickness arrived at my doorstep in January, it was deeply familiar, and not just because I'm used to contending with chronic illness. Something about the uncertainty of that time - the constant state of wondering when and if it would end - reminded me of that anxious first year of the pandemic, when the world felt remade in a new and incomprehensible shape. There was a state of mind, too, that was particular to that time. I drifted in and out of sleep in a perpetual twilight of stasis and drawn curtains. I lost my sense of night and day, and cursed my inability to do simple things.

But the difference, this time around, was that I had now been practising enchantment for long enough to know that I could find it close by, and all around me. At night, when I was feverish and wandering, the moon was still there. I could step outside to see her, and be soothed in her constant, silvery light. Sometimes, the most I could do was to squint at her through a crack in the window. But that was something. It was, in fact, a small taste of everything. It was beautiful, and timeless enough to put me back into context again.

In those cold months, I listened to the birdsong gradually returning, to the sparrows finding their way back into the nesting box I erected for swifts, to the robin singing its silvery thread into the dawn. When I had the energy, I watered my plants, clipping away their dead leaves, and using them to mulch the soil. I noticed as they began to put on new growth, tender and bright green, and I admired their survival in the face of my neglect.

A single crocus sprang up in the middle of my garden, and it felt like a miracle. I certainly didn't plant it, and I've been in this house for 17 years now. A part of me wanted to see it as a mysterious gift that showed me how life finds a way again, despite the odds. A different part of me wanted to understand the biology of crocus bulbs, to research how long they can survive under the soil and how they spread. I found that I could hold both kinds of knowing at once, without much conflict. It was like slipping between different layers of a well-made bed.

Crocus flowers in bloom ... Photograph: Kalbar/EPA

My phone from that time is full of photographs of my bathroom window, which hosts a spotted begonia and a candle. At certain times of day, the light shone through the plant's red leaves and made them glow like stained glass. At other times, I lit the candle and admired its glow against the darkening evening. Sometimes, sunlight would glance through the glass at a certain angle and project a small, crisp-edged rainbow on to the opposite wall. All of the ancient elements were right there in my bathroom: soil, water, fire and air. All of them were spaces in which to contemplate.

I began to feel a little better again, and a halting walk down to the beach - which usually takes me four minutes, but now took 15 - revealed a riot of fresh colours, as if the world was entirely new. Or perhaps I was the one who was new. I felt as tender-leaved as my plants, moved by the exuberance of the strangers who rushed past me, exhilarated by the sight of friends who I'd only known through text messages in the preceding months.

There was enchantment in all of it. Even in the long, dark nights, there was connection, and a sense of my place in the fabric of humanity, the weft of nature. My sense of enchantment sustained me through difficulty, but it, in turn, was fuelled by the empty, intimate space that opened up in those months. There is an exchange here that I've learned to carve: the binding of a small life to a vast universe. The way that the insignificant can speak of the whole.
Enchantment: Reawakening Wonder in an Exhausted Age is published by Faber

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'There I was, a tiny speck in a vast universe' ... How awe made my life worth living again

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or the first two months of this year, I was ill. I don't mean the kind of ill that you can soldier on through, sniffing as you go. I mean properly, cancel-everything-and-take-to-your-bed ill.

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Kindness, humility and equality: how the Sikh tradition of Sewa can transcend cultural boundaries and foster unity | Jaswinder Singh

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At the core of Sikhism lies the philosophy of selfless service, known as Sewa.

Sewa is a principle that transcends religious boundaries and holds universal relevance. The philosophy encourages individuals to engage in acts of kindness, compassion and service without expecting anything in return.

While deeply embedded in Sikh tradition, people of all backgrounds can adopt the principles of Sewa to enhance their day-to-day lives.

Start small

Sewa is not so much about a set of specific actions but about the intent behind those actions. It emphasises performing service with a pure heart and without expecting any kind of personal gain. The driving force behind it is the genuine desire to alleviate the suffering of others.

Sewa can be as simple as performing daily acts of kindness. Holding the door for someone, helping a neighbour with groceries, or offering a kind word to a stranger are all examples of selfless acts. Individuals can create a positive ripple effect in their communities by making these actions a regular habit. In more direct ways, one can engage in volunteer work. Whether it's contributing time at a local soup kitchen, participating in community cleanup projects, or offering assistance at a local charity.

By actively participating in the wellbeing of others, you contribute to creating a supportive and interconnected society

Recognise the divine

Sewa promotes the idea that everyone is equal in the eyes of the divine, and serving others is a way to break down societal hierarchies.

Sikhs are taught to see the presence of God in everyone and everything. This concept is beautifully integrated into the practice of Sewa. When engaging in selfless service, try to recognise the "divine spark" within the person you are helping. This recognition transforms Sewa into a sacred act, and a direct expression of devotion to the divine present in all.

The langar - a central aspect of Sikhism where a free meal is served to all - exemplifies this principle. By serving food without discrimination, Sikhs embody the belief that everyone, regardless of background or faith, is a manifestation of the divine.

Be humble

At the heart of Sewa is the principle of humility. Sikhism teaches us that true service requires people to shed their ego and approach every act of kindness with a sense of humility. By humbling oneself, individuals acknowledge the interconnectedness of all beings and recognise that each person, regardless of their social status or background, deserves respect and compassion.

Humbleness in Sewa is not just a superficial display but a genuine acknowledgment of the equality of all human beings. The intent of doing Sewa is rooted in compassion, kindness, and selfless dedication to serving humanity.

Show empathy

Sewa extends beyond physical acts to include emotional and intellectual support. Mentoring someone in need, offering guidance, or simply being a supportive friend are potent ways to practise selfless service. By uplifting others, individuals can create a supportive and harmonious environment. Understanding the struggles and challenges others face is an aspect of Sewa. By actively listening, empathising, and helping, individuals can build connections and foster a sense of unity within their communities.

Embrace the spirit

Engaging in selfless service - or Sewa - promotes personal growth and can give youa sense of purpose and fulfilment, contributing to overall wellbeing.It can also create a more robust, more resilient community. By actively participating in the wellbeing of others, you contribute to creating a supportive and interconnected society.

Sewa transcends religious and cultural boundaries, fostering unity among people from diverse backgrounds. In essence, embracing the spirit of Sewa is a powerful way to positively impact the world and promote a more compassionate and interconnected society.

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Kindness, humility and equality: how the Sikh tradition of Sewa can transcend cultural boundaries and foster unity | Jaswinder Singh

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At the heart of selfless service in Sikhism is the genuine desire to alleviate the suffering of others

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'Why am I crying over this?': how corecore TikTok videos caught the mood of Gen Z

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immy Nguyen, an 18-year-old student, saw his first "corecore" video on TikTok in January. He can't remember which one it was - there are so many of them now. But he says it was typical of this new trend of video: other TikTok videos, celebrity or podcaster interviews, TV show and film clips spliced together over some sad or ambient music. They're depressing, full of existential dread and usually and always broadly speaking on the theme of disconnection and alienation. Nguyen initially thought, like other users, that these videos were a joke. They're crudely edited and the name in itself is a sarcastic reference to the proliferation of micro-trends emerging from TikTok since 2020. But he was soon staying up late at night in his bedroom making corecore of his own.

"As I was making my first video I started to really see myself expressing how I was feeling and it felt relieving because I didn't have anyone to talk to and explaining my emotions is hard," he tells me. "But that video felt like an exit or gateway to those feelings." In it, clips of Lee Jung-jae, the lead in Squid Game smiling broadly and falsely at the camera, someone recounting how in school kids would ask which super power you'd want out of invisibility and flying but he says "I'm already invisible" and Jake Gyllenhall in Stronger(2017) screaming "Why do you even want me? I'm such a fuck up!" run into each other over a morose Arcade Fire track. Now Nguyen makes these videos in an attempt to help people, he says, to let them know that they're not alone.

To date, the corecore hashtag on TikTok has 2.1bn views. Some young people consider this genre to be merely content or, worse still, content about content. But many feel it speaks to them and their experiences on a deep emotional level. "They're my favourite type of TikTok video because they feel raw and real," says 20-year-old Annabelle from London. "The combination of clips just somehow summarises everything that's bad about life but I couldn't quite tell you why." Or as one commenter put it on a corecore video about struggling to date and the toxicity of modern relationships perpetuated by all genders: "why am i crying over this".

'Explaining my emotions is hard' ... screengrabs from a corecore TikTok video using a clip from Squid Game. Composite: Jimmy Nguyen @jimmys_eggs

"This form of video started with 'nichetok' where you'd see really random clips spliced together, like footballers scoring goals, Peep Show clips and performances from Oasis and Blur. It was masculine and all the boys were making it," says Eden Young, managing editor of Polyester zine and podcast co-host. "People wanted something a bit deeper and carved something more meaningful from this trend, which led to corecore."

It's fairly obvious why Gen Z would enjoy corecore. You can be moved by these videos without knowing the sources of the clips but if you understand the pop, cultural and internet culture references, you feel special. Like most internet humour, if you get it, you get it. "Everything feels very hopeless and corecore speaks to these frustrations and anxieties. It's a way to laugh at how hopeless everything is - or at least get some meaning from it. You have a lightbulb moment that says: oh yeah, the world is bullshit," says Young.

Are these videos art? A new frontier in amateur documentary making? "I can't see why they wouldn't be art if people are capable of reading things into the juxtapositions they're presenting," says art critic and author, Philippa Snow. "Whether they're 'good' art or not is obviously debatable on a case-by-case basis, but that's true of absolutely every artform on Earth." She references a quote from a TikTok user called Dean Erfani, who said that corecore is essentially the abstract concept of taking random videos and editing them together to the point that it makes sense to the viewer. Or at least have the viewer interpret it in their own way. "That does not sound all that different to me from looking for meaning in 'the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table' as the famous mantra of surrealism suggests."

In my favourite corecore video, almost euphorically bleak in its composition, Ampers Anthony edits together the following: a woman talks about her last boyfriend who had a no-crying rule, a hot man appears with the caption that he texted his ex to slow down her healing process, there's commentary on "bad boys" and "good guys", a guy laments that he can't manipulate his current partner, women talk about not dating broke guys. The accompanying music (Darker Than This by composer Emile Mosseri) is bright, hopeful and against this noxious film feels faintly humorous, ironic. Its top comment reads: "This needs to be seen by everyone. Somehow this video captures it all. We are a loveless generation. You can't pour from an empty cup.

'Euphorically bleak' ... A still from Ampers Anthony's corecore TikTok video. Photograph: Ampers Anthony @ampersanthony

To me, it, like the others of its kind, is a simple and accessible version of an Adam Curtis film, adopting his humour and slant, the seemingly unrelated clips with his voiceover. Young notes that the writer Mark Fisher's ideas shine through in this genre: Fisher was anti-capitalism, spoke a lot about isolation and wondered how we can process the hopelessness in the modern world.

When I watch corecore, as someone who only sporadically uses TikTok, it mimics the way using the app is an overstimulating act of binge-watching a stream of short videos and voices. This trend is a smart - and sad - comment on the proliferation of content in culture: self-focused, often narcissistic commentary, opinions, life-hacks and problem sharing - it's everywhere. The videos make me feel despondent and sorry for a generation who grew up during the pandemic and have never in their lives logged off. Whether we enjoy them or not, they're probably the avant garde documentaries we deserve and certainly the ones that make the most sense.

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'Why am I crying over this?': how corecore TikTok videos caught the mood of Gen Z

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immy Nguyen, an 18-year-old student, saw his first "corecore" video on TikTok in January. He can't remember which one it was - there are so many of them now. But he says it was typical of this new trend of video: other TikTok videos, celebrity or podcaster interviews, TV show and film clips spliced together over some sad or ambient music.

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When Kate Bendal told her bushwalking husband that she was going to try forest bathing, he wondered if it involved swimming or nudity.

Instead, it's more likely to include moving at a snail's pace and listening to the trees.

"It sounds airy-fairy, but when you're in the forest it all makes sense," says Kate, a Southern Highlands businesswoman who recently joined a guided forest bathing walk.

What is forest bathing?

It originated in 1980s Japan, designed to combat stress (and death) from overwork

No water is involved - it's all about moving slowly through a forest

The aim is to slow down and connect with nature using your senses

It's now being adapted to the Australian environment

The Association of Nature and Forest Therapy has enthusiastically adopted forest bathing internationally, while acknowledging its origins in the high-stress environment of 1980s corporate Japan.

According to the Association, "death by overwork", or karoshi, was a widespread phenomenon of ill health often resulting in fatal heart attacks and strokes, requiring a serious response.

Inspired by the Shinto reverence for nature, government-backed research focused on the measurable health benefits of a stroll in the forest.

A formal therapy was developed from the research and named Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing once translated.

Forest bathing has been shown to significantly reduce blood pressure and stress levels, as well as have cardiac and pulmonary benefits.

Becoming widely popular in Japan, Europe and the US, forest bathing has now arrived in Australia.

Christie Little is a mindfulness therapist who has incorporated forest bathing into her practice, with surprising results.(
ABC Illawara: Sean O'Brien
)

How does forest bathing work?

Forest bathing is about slowing down to connect with the forest, and yourself.

Christie Little is the first person in NSW to become a fully accredited forest bathing guide.

With a background in mindfulness therapy, she recently completed a six-month training course in New Zealand with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.

There are now about 1,500 accredited forest bathing guides worldwide.

"There are many similarities between mindfulness therapy and forest bathing, connecting mind and body, heart and soul," Christie says.

"But in the case of forest bathing, I'm the guide only and the forest is the therapist."

Forest bathing basics

Find a suitable place that's easy and pleasant to walk on, has places to sit, and ideally with access to natural waterways and different aspects. It also helps if it's close to home.

On arrival, notice the place you are in, notice your body, and tune in to your senses.

Walk slowly with steady step-by-step pace, while silently noticing what is in motion in the forest. If you start to feel distracted or rushed, come to a complete halt.

Make friends with the forest. Notice the trees, stones, plants and flowers. Listen to the forest. Let the natural world make an impression on your mind.

Sit down. Find a comfortable place to sit, staying still for up to 20 minutes, cultivating awareness.

Give back. Quietly acknowledge everything the forest gives you.

Source: The Nature and Forest Therapy Association
Christie explains that a typical two-and-a-half-hour guided walk will move through a ritualistic series of invitations.

"We begin with an invitation called Pleasures of Presence, asking all participants to leave past or future concerns behind at the head of the track, and to be here in this place, to awaken to the senses," Christie says.

Forest bathing involves walking slowly but also taking a moment to sit and notice your surroundings.(
Unsplash: Zach Searcy
)

"The second invitation is called What's in Motion, and it's about really slowing down. We'll walk so slowly that we may only cover 250 metres - just noticing the forest around us, listening to the silence, the sound of the trees, or even how the trees are communicating.

"We're slowing down the body's responses to stress, with biomarkers like cortisol and heart rate going down, and sympathetic 'flight-or-fight' activity calming down."

The forest bathing walk concludes with the Way of Council, with participants passing around a talking stick and sharing, which could be anything from their intense emotions, to noticing the movement of ants, to remaining silent.

Christie says participants experience forest bathing in different ways, with reactions ranging from introspection to exuberant joy. By connecting with the forest, she hopes that those who take part connect to themselves in a new way.

What is forest bathing like?

Kate Bendal, Southern Highlands businesswoman and yoga practitioner, recently tried forest bathing for the first time.(
ABC Illawarra: Sean O'Brien
)

When you begin forest bathing, set off with an open mind (and without your phone).

Kate Bendal attended a forest bathing walk with guide Christie Little, among the spectacular towering gums of Budderoo National Park in New South Wales.

She arrived open-minded, having practised yoga and meditation.

"I'm tough on myself when I meditate and feel that I don't calm my mind enough, but I felt very mindful on the forest bathing walk," Kate says.

"It shows you don't have to be sitting cross-legged and chanting to achieve a meditative state - it's about being in the moment and present."

For Kate, leaving technology behind was crucial.

"On the walk we made a bush mandala from objects on the forest floor, and immediately we thought, 'That is so Instagram-worthy'," she says.

"But having left our phones behind, the option was simply to take it in, commit the image to memory and don't facilitate it via a screen."

Having tried forest bathing with an accredited guide, she's now aware of different mindfulness exercises that can be applied throughout the walk.

"Although it's Japanese in origin, it's completely applicable to Australian conditions, and I'm keen to try it in different types of environments. Perhaps in a rainforest, or even the desert, as long as the senses and mind are engaged through nature," she says.

Finding ways to incorporate ancient knowledge

As forest bathing continues to grow in Australia, Christie Little says it's important to acknowledge that Indigenous and ancient populations have been connecting with nature for more than 50,000 years.

"I hope that we could partner with local Indigenous communities and introduce Welcome to Country with each guided walk," Christie says.

Christie firmly believes that forest bathing holds up against other mindfulness practices, and is here to stay.

"Forest bathing is one of the most surprising things that I've come across," Christie says.

"I've noticed that a two-and-half-hour forest bathing walk can achieve as much as an eight-week course of mindfulness practice."

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Forest bathing is the nature therapy you didn't know you needed - ABC Everyday

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When Kate Bendal told her bushwalking husband that she was going to try forest bathing, he wondered if it involved swimming or nudity. Instead, it's more likely to include moving at a snail's pace and listening to the trees.

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Opinion

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Embracing uncertainty has become a catch cry in an uncertain world. For many, however, they see nothing to embrace, or if they do, they want to embrace uncertainty like a wrestler embraces their opponent in order to prevent any harm.

Before embracing uncertainty, we play mind games that serve to convince us that doing nothing is the best option. This is always a popular strategy, because doing nothing almost always costs less in the short term. Identifying our self-limited thinking can be a useful first step in challenging this inertia.

Illustration: Kerrie Leishman Credit:

When confronted by the possibility of uncertainty, the most common defensive reaction is to deny its existence. This can be achieved by pointing out the similarities between this new situation and past events. The idea is that this is nothing new, and therefore nothing to be worried about or to be acted upon. My father's rather crude retort when he did not want to engage with new ideas was to state rather finally that "I've seen ducks fart before".

Another rather more widespread bit of folk wisdom is that dangerous expression "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Of course this begins from the dubious premise that whatever it is, it is in fine working order. It also contains the hidden and therefore more dangerous assumption that by dint of it working, that it must be fit for purpose. Apply this logic to typewriters, and you can strangle word processors at birth.

Another common denialist strategy is to undermine the credibility of the evidence pointing to the uncertainty. This can be achieved by pointing out exceptions, casting doubt on the methods or logic used to assemble the evidence, and if all else fails, going after the individuals or organisations by sullying their reputations. There is no shark here, you are overreacting Sheriff, open the beaches!

If we can get past denying uncertainty, we can move instead to overconfidence in our ability to manage uncertainty. We convince ourselves that we do not need to do anything because we have a plan. We have contingency plans and the capability to address any eventuality. We sound like the invited guests at the top floor cocktail party in the Towering Inferno. Spoiler alert. That didn't work out well for them.

Lacking self-confidence can be equally effective in barring any genuine action. In can be quite easy to convince ourselves or others not to act because we will never be able to cope in the new world offered by uncertainty, or that we risk failing , being out of our depth, and thus risk losing everything. Learned helplessness can have very debilitating impacts.

Minimising the impacts of uncertainty is another tempting strategy. We can minimise the duration "It will pass", or use exceptionalism "it won't affect me". We can kid ourselves that it is no big deal, and as long as "we keep our heads down" we will be ok. One is put in mind of King Canute and an incoming tide. Prepare to get your feet wet.

Celebrating what we have is another strategy. Highlighting how we enjoy our current routines and rituals, and encouraging people to keep on keeping on, can be potent messages to resist uncertainty. Rocky V or Porky's Revenge anyone?

Finally, we can employ pessimism and doom-mongery to encourage a "stick to your knitting" strategy. Nothing in the future can ever be better than now. Given that our world is inherently uncertain, and like the poet Philip Larkin on death, is no different whined at than withstood, it might be a better strategy to accept this critical fact and work from there.
Jim Bright, FAPS is Professor of Career Education and Development at ACU and owns Bright and Associates, a Career Management Consultancy. Email to opinion@jimbright.com. Follow him on Twitter @DrJimBright.

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How to embrace uncertainty in an uncertain world

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Opinion Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Embracing uncertainty has become a catch cry in an uncertain world. For many, however, they see nothing to embrace, or if they do, they want to embrace uncertainty like a wrestler embraces their opponent in order to prevent any harm.

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The importance of setting SMART goals and how achieving them can lead to increased life satisfaction.

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SMART Goals - How to Make Your Goals Achievable

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Finally made it to the Capstone subject - a very difficult 3 years with life happenings.

Looking forward to learning more about research and programs of applications.

However, i have fears that I may not pull it all together - I have been frustrated by my inability to 'get' the inter-play between the domains in some theories and frameworks - terrible at aligning Positive Psychology theory to an intervention and outcome measure according to tutor feedback and commentary on assessments. I am intrinsically motivated but the 'external rewards' (or non-rewards for effort) begin to take a toll. Worried about returning to familiar academic ways of thinking (fitting Positive Psychology into my disciplinary framings rather than engaging authentically within Positive Psychology framing.

Must re-orientate my goals and reignite that internal motivational spark...

Stay tuned... hope remains... optimistically stated :)