#234 Your Happier Hour | Robin Engelman, PhD

Funny fact: until the 90s, research psychologists did not really study happiness. According to University of Pennsylvania professor, Dr. Martin Seligman, they avoided it because it was so difficult to define or quantify. And, get this, he said that for every 100 studies on depression, there may have been 1 on happiness.

In short, we were good at reducing depression but not so good at finding happiness.

That was until the early 2000s when the rigorous study of what makes us happy called Positive Psychology emerged. I have studied Positive Psychology intensely and you regularly hear me talk about it, because it is endlessly fascinating and helpful.

A few months ago, I attended a training called Happier Hour: Life Hacks for Well-being (https://happierhour.com/ ) given by my guest, Dr. Robin Engelman, where we learned how to engage daily habits to increase our happiness. She is also a psychologist in private practice in the Bay area and a fellow positive psychology practitioner, so I knew we’d have a lively conversation. I loved every second of it, and you will too! Robin has worked in a wide variety of settings, including many years at a maximum-security prison as well as with movie stars on the Oprah Channel. 

So, listen in as Robin and I geek out to the research on happiness and how you can have a happier hour!