Apps To Track Happiness

“Mobile wellbeing apps do not provide magic cures,” says Dr Kevin Kok, a medical consultant and former chief operating officer of a telemedicine firm. “They are good in motivating behavioural changes to improve well-being, but users still have to put in the effort. If they don’t act on the advice, they won’t get better.”

Then, there’s the privacy issue. Personal information can be leaked, hacked, or sold, to the users’ detriment. Companies like Mindfi comply with bank-grade data encryption and healthcare data protection policies, with its data servers ensuring that personal data is “firewalled” from health information.

There’s a gentler way of improving one’s psychological wellbeing that precludes the input of hard data into an app but is backed by data and evidence-driven methodologies nevertheless.

Happiness Scientists founder Yeo Sha-En is out to help people feel happy. The positive psychologist expert and professional speaker highlights three broad, research-proven strategies. They include gratitude giving. Research by Dr Robert Emmons and Dr Michael McCullough in the United States found that participants who wrote about three good things weekly were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. In another exercise, writing a “gratitude letter”, then delivering it, or even reading it aloud, resulted in huge increases in happiness scores, with the benefits lasting beyond one month.  

See also: How Writing Gratitude Letters Can Improve Your Life And Career

Show Kindness To Everyone And Everywhere

Engaging in random acts of kindness, too, such as complimenting someone, buying someone a coffee, or reaching out to talk to a new colleague, can also increase your happiness. According to some studies, these gestures can make individuals feel happier and less depressed or anxious. The acts tap into humans’ natural pro-social behaviours of wanting to help others, activating the brain’s reward system to make the person feel good.

Strengthening social connections by spending time with family and loved ones is also a way to increase happiness. In the longest study of happiness in humans, conducted by the Harvard Study of Adult Development, strong relationships were the biggest factor in people feeling happier, physically and mentally healthier, and living a longer life.

To measure the effectiveness of the strategies, Yeo suggests that individuals monitor their happiness level pre and post-intervention, through interviews, or by asking friends and family to assess. 

See also: Playlist: 10 Songs Chef Julien Royer Uses To Boost His Mood

The Strategy To Happiness

“Science tells us there are effective strategies to increase our happiness,” says Yeo, to the question of whether one can learn to be happy. “What makes the difference is not just learning it or knowing it, but practising and applying these strategies to truly experience their positive impact on our life. Sometimes, it is easier said than done,” she says. People with chronic depression will require a multi-pronged approach that includes medication, therapy, or other methods depending on the severity of the condition.

Some people experience trauma and may have difficulty overcoming it to find happiness. Others may chase what they think makes them happy, such as promotions or material success, but find that these things don’t ultimately satisfy. Yet others may be grappling with negative self-talk, which can limit their ability to achieve what they want in life.

Yeo’s strategy to find happiness applies even when the world is on the brink of an apocalypse, it seems. In Don’t Look Up, DiCaprio’s everyman character finds solace not in a spaceship, but in sitting down for a simple dinner with good friends and family, and with humility, give thanks for the life they’ve been given. It makes sense, even if you revile the film.

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