How Happiness Affects Health

August 3, 2012

Interview with Rick Foster, co-author of the book Happiness & Health: 9 Choices That Unlock the Powerful Connection Between the TwoThings We Want Most

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Mike Carruthers:
Science has now proven that there is a definite link between happiness and health.

Rick Foster:
So the things that make us happiest, give us a very positive biochemical rush. And those biochemical rushes are very much associated with good health.
 

Rick Foster, co-author of the book Happiness & Health

And the most interesting part of the whole thing is why do we get positive biochemical rushes for doing certain things? And if you really look at medical anthropology you’ll find that we’re rewarded for doing the things that are most healthful to the survival of the species.

So leading a happy life is good for you and it’s good for humanity. But on the flip-side, leading an unhappy life is bad for your health. Particularly, says Rick, feeling like a victim.

In fact, when we ask doctors and nurses all over the world, "Is there one thing that marks your patients who are most successful or least successful?" What we heard almost uniformly was that the patients that see themselves as victims have a much harder time healing - even though sometimes we are victims.

And one important element to leading a happy life day-to-day, says Rick, is choosing your intentions.

It’s waking up in the morning and saying, “How do I want to be today?” The opposite is just responding to circumstances. We have a lot of control that many people don’t recognize.