Pursuit of Happiness: Resilience and Positive Psychology

Course overview

Happiness. It is a mindset that people have pursued for millennia. Philosophers, saints, sages, and even our founding fathers considered it a worthy goal. There are no lab tests or imaging studies that measure happiness. This webinar addresses the physiologic and psychosocial aspects of happiness that are crucial for comprehensive patient care in any field. Unhappiness is a major factor in addiction, abuse, anxiety, depression, and professional burnout. Nearly every illness or medical condition is exacerbated by unhappiness. Sleep disorders, chronic pain, obesity, eating disorders, cardiopulmonary conditions, and even neoplastic processes are often influenced by a lack of emotional well-being. Prolonged stress and unhappiness frequently take a terrible toll on neurologic and cognitive function. This webinar will address the neuroendocrine pathways involved in the stress response, as well as the principles of stress management essential for recovery. Additionally, this course will focus on resilience, a vital factor in the recovery process. Stress and unhappiness, especially when severe or prolonged, can have far ranging results at different life stages. Research on Early Life Stress, extreme threats and trauma, and the challenges of aging will be covered in detail. Record high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as record low levels of happiness now plague adolescents. The disturbing negative influence of social media on teens is increasingly clear and will be an important topic in the webinar. Finally, this course will conclude with a summary of daily practices to cultivate and sustain genuine happiness. A good clinician in any field should also be a good teacher for his or her patients. And, since we cannot teach what we do not know, a practical course on the pursuit of happiness is a good place to start.