Articles

Happiness is Contagious in Harvard Study
Happy Emotions Spread Through Three Degrees of Social Network
© Christine Nyholm
Happiness can spread like social contagion that creates happy emotions up to three degrees of a social network, meaning that positive feelings make others feel good.

Happiness really is contagious, according to a new study released by Harvard Medical School. Happiness can spread through social networks like social contagion. One happy person can trigger a chain reaction that benefits friends, friends’ friends and friends’ friends’ friends.
The happiness effect that spreads through social networks can last for up to one year. Conversely, sadness does not spread through social networks as robustly as happiness.
Happiness Study
The study by Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego is the first to demonstrate the indirect spread of happiness.
The study, described in a Harvard Medical School Press Release, looked at the happiness of nearly 5,000 people over a period of 20 years. Researchers found that when a person is happy the network effect can be measured up to three degrees. Therefore one person’s happiness can trigger a chain reaction that benefits their friends, their friends’ friends and their friends’ friends’ friends’. The happiness effect can last for up to a year.
Sadness does not spread through social networks as efficiently as happiness.
Emotional State Related to Social Network
“We’ve found that your emotional state may depend on the emotional experiences of people you don’t even know, who are two to three degrees removed from you,” says Harvard Medical School professor Nicholas Christakis, who, along with James Fowler from the University of California, San Diego co-authored this study. “And the effect isn’t just fleeting.”
Framingham Heart Study Data
Christakis and Fowler have been mining data from the Framingham Heart Study, a cardiovascular study that began in 1948. Researchers found a treasure trove of date dating back to 1971. Study participants in the Framingham Study had recorded all family changes, such as birth, marriage, death and divorce. In addition, participants had listed contact information for friends, coworkers and neighbors. Coincidently, many of the listed friends were also participants of the heart study. Researchers focused on 4,739 individuals and analyzed how happiness spread through over 50,000 social and family ties.
Using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Index (a standard metric) that study participants completed, the researchers found that when an individual becomes happy, a friend living within a mile experiences a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy. A co-resident spouse experiences an 8 percent increased chance, siblings living within one mile have a 14 percent increased chance, and for next door neighbors, 34 percent.
Surprise of Study: Indirect Effect of Happiness
The happiness effect on indirect relationships was the real surprise of the study. While an individual becoming happy increases a friend’s chances of happiness, a friend of that friend experiences a nearly 10 percent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of *that* friend has a 5.6 percent increased chance—a three-degree cascade of happy emotions.
“We’ve found that while all people are roughly six degrees separated from each other, our ability to influence others appears to stretch to only three degrees,” says Christakis. “It’s the difference between the structure and function of social networks.”
The Happiness study was published in the BMJ online publication for medical professionals on December 4, 2008.

The copyright of the article Happiness is Contagious in Harvard Study in Social Therapy is owned by Christine Nyholm. Permission to republish Happiness is Contagious in Harvard Study in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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Suffering from Low Self Esteem
How the Behavior of Others Can be Harmful to Your Self Image
© Janet L. Savage
The damage to one's self esteem usually starts in the early childhood years. The cruelty of children, and adults later in life, can affect how a person sees themselves.

What Is Self Esteem?
Self esteem is the component of a person's personality that dictates how they view themselves. One of the primary influences on how self esteem is formed is one's environment.
Environmental Causes
A great majority of adults can recall either being the target of the insults of their peers as children; or, being the one that targeted the other kids.
Those who were the instigators have, in all probability, shrugged it off as a part of growing up. However, for the victims of this practice, there are often deep scars.
Some environmental elements that may contribute to poor self esteem are:
* Harsh criticism from family and peers
* Physical and emotional abuse
* Social ostracism
* Unreasonably high standards to meet
Signs of Low Self Esteem
People who suffer from low self esteem often experience myriad problems in their adult life, for instance:
* Inability to meet academic and work standards
* Increased instances of depression, anxiety, stress, and feelings of worthlessness
* Difficulty maintaining friendships and relationships
* Higher risk of chemical dependency
Recognizing People Who Suffer from Low Self Esteem
It is virtually impossible to know who has low self esteem. Because the damage is done so early in life, sufferers have usually learned how to hide behind a façade.
People with low self esteem are typically adept at giving the impression that they are well-adjusted members of society. The truth is that they are terrified of failure and ridicule; and, often they are their own worst critic.
What Can You Do for Yourself?
People who suffer from low self esteem already know. It is really just a matter of modifying the way that they see themselves. This does not happen overnight. A good start would be to adopt some of the following practices:
* Take better care of yourself. Make sure to get enough sleep, eat healthy, start an exercise program, etc.
* Make a list of your positive traits and accomplishments. Refer to it whenever you start to get down on yourself.
* Remind yourself that you are a better person than those that have treated you poorly in life.
* Avoid people and situations that seem to have a negative affect.
* Request the support and reinforcement of loved ones. It is okay to confide in friends and family.
* Seek help from a counselor or a therapist. Just because a person feels the need to speak with a professional does not make them a failure!
What Can You Do to Help Others?
If you believe that someone in your life suffers from poor self esteem, they may withdrawal from you if you try to talk to them about it. However, actions do speak leaps and bounds!
* Always treat others in the same fashion that you expect to be treated
* Pay them a genuine compliment
* Tell them how thankful you are that they are in your life
* Praise them for their accomplishments
* Give them a hug for no reason at all
* Make it your practice to never insult anyone, especially out of anger
With very little effort, you could change someone's life profoundly!
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The copyright of the article Suffering from Low Self Esteem in Social Therapy is owned by Janet L. Savage. Permission to republish Suffering from Low Self Esteem in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.