There is an enormous mental health crisis among young people, including college students, with statistics showing that over 40% of college students report being too depressed to function most days, over 60% feel overwhelmingly anxious, over 60% feel extremely lonely most of the time, over 80% feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and more than one in 10 has seriously considered suicide in the last year. This crisis is not limited to one university or the Ivy League, but is a national issue that universities must address.
Can you accurately identify what aspects of life make you happy? Would you even know if you found true happiness? Leading psychology professor and happiness expert Laurie Santos dives deep on all the factors that contribute to our happiness, why we spend so much energy pursuing it, some evidence-based methods to boost your happiness, why it’s crucial to protect yourself from unhappy people, and so much more.
Santos is a Professor of Psychology and the Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Since 2018 she’s been teaching Psychology and the Good Life, which is one of the most popular courses at Yale and at one point included approximately a quarter of the school’s undergraduates. She has also turned her course into a popular podcast series, The Happiness Lab.