Psychology and the Good Life

The most popular course at Yale University is Psych 157, Psychology and the Good Life.  In fact, it's the most popular course ever in the history of the school.  Why?  Probably because so many students are NOT happy.  Statistics show that 47% of college freshmen me feel anxious, stressed and depressed.  It's even higher for women.  So Laurie Santos, professor of psychology at Yale, created a class to help students understand why they are feeling this way, and ways to change their behavior to live a happier life.

The students who attend Yale are goal oriented, and much of their teenage years has been spent studying and planning for the future.  This is not a bad thing, but when it's the focus of your life at the expense of developing and maintaining friendships, it's not so good.  Dr. Santos feels that students are very involved in social media, but differentiates this from social interaction.  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are interactions, but not personal.  A face to face interaction is what we all need.  Yale freshmen, and young adults in general, are interested in getting good grades, to get them a good job, to get them lots of money.  Studies have found that none of these things lead to happiness.  Acts of kindness and social connections lead to happiness.  Psych 157 gives the students exercises to improve their chance at happiness.

Of course we also know that young adults feel unhappy, anxious and numb, by the rise in suicide and drug use.  Society, not just schools, have to get involved in turning half of our young adults from depressed to happy.  Hopefully, more schools will follow the lead of Yale.  It sounds to me like a course kids should be taking much earlier, say middle school.  Let's see what happens.