Blog And Be Happy
Friday, April 7 2006Dear friend,
we all want to be happy. And if research is to be believed it's harder for us than our parent's generation. We're more affluent and comfortable but depression rates have soared.
Today's twenty-five-year-olds are three times more likely to suffer serious depression than their predecessors in 1950; in America the rate is ten times higher. In Britain, mild depression had risen from 22% to 31% in nine years from 1977 to 1986.
Violence rates complete the picture. In 1950, a total of 6,000 crimes of violence against the person were recorded. By 1997 there were 42 times more (253,000).
Given that three quarters of convicted violent men are suffering from depression, this is further evidence for a rise in depression - the great majority of violent men are suffering from some kind of mental illness.
Experts say that we live in an "anxious age" full of impatience, in which the pressures of work have a lot to answer for. Ever-increasing levels of disposable income have always been assumed to be directly linked to quality of life, but we now know that beyond a certain level of comfort, more money does not lead to more happiness.
A new book out this week, The Challenge of Affluence, by Economist Avner Offer says, "The paradox is that success breeds affluence, which creates permanently expectations... but by gorging ourselves with the fruits of our success, we forget to stop and savour the taste."
So, what is the solution? According to happiness expert Martin Seligman it lies in expressing your true self through using your signature strengths, making more time for connecting with others, and contributing to something bigger than yourself. In other words, we need to spend less time shopping and more time with others! And in our modern world, connecting with others can include the glorious world wide web!
The Power Of Blogs
A recent report showed that people who blog have less tension after blogging as they express their point of view, join in a debate with others and contribute to important issues. I experienced this myself first hand last week when I sat at home fuming after watching the dreadful new BBC programme, Don't Mess with Miss Beckles.
I desperately needed to connect with other people and reassure myself that I wasn't going mad, that I had just watched a "motivational expert" who couldn't motivate and a mother who had just thrown her 15-year-old son out of the house, leaving him to sleep on a park bench and friend's floors! I needed to blog!
After hitting the Conversation Board and connecting to hundreds of other members there, I felt a lot better. My outrage also led to a superb feature in The Observer newspaper last Sunday (02/06/05) quoting myself and other critics. Had I not taken this action I would have felt dreadful – and powerless.
So – it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of our new member blogs facility, including my very own blog. Hooray!
And to celebrate we're kicking it all off with a competition. The prize is me – a month of me as your personal coach. See here for more details.
