The Science of Wellbeing Course

There were two online courses that I took during the pandemic in order to stay current and energize my work. One was called “Right to Be'' and was a free bystander intervention course and the second was “The Science of Wellbeing.” Both of those courses were amazing and have transformed my beliefs about what daily practices will be important for us as we move through the world as it currently is and as it will be.

Now, I have received a fortuitous email saying that Laurie Santos, the Yale professor who developed The Science of Wellbeing course, has adapted a version for teenagers.

It is a six week, online course that is free. Here is the link:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being-for-teens?utm_source=YALE&utm_medium=institutions&utm_campaign=202301-SWB-Coursera-Blast-SWBT

I loved this class because it provided me with much needed, actionable ideas for how to improve my levels of happiness, joy, and contentment during a time in our world that was difficult to bear. The skills and ideas presented in this course are equally important now and of the utmost importance for children and teens. We need all the extra help and love and support that is available to help heal from the pandemic and all that has come with it.

Happiness is defined in this course in two ways: the experience of positive and/or pleasurable feelings (the feelings state of happiness) and the cognitive experience of being satisfied with your life as a whole (feeling it is meaningful, feeling that your life overall is good).

The course dispels some persistent myths about happiness: the notion that the pursuit of one's own happiness is selfish and the idea that positive psychology only promotes toxic positivity. To the argument of selfishness, it turns out that when a person engages in the behaviors of happiness, they actually become better able to help others. Increased levels of happiness actually increase prosocial behavior and helping of others. It also lends energy that is needed in order to face difficulties, or advocate for change.

Toxic positivity is a concept that is useful, and that I am glad we have language to talk about, but it is not well connected to increasing our own wellbeing. Toxic positivity is when someone is promoting happiness as an erasure of real and appropriate negative feelings. It is, for example, when your dog dies and your parent rushes in to talk about how great a new puppy will be without giving any time to hear your grief for the dog you lost. This course draws a clear difference from toxic positivity by setting itself apart entirely. It focuses on what you can do to increase good feelings whether or not other hard things are going on as well.

Here is another reason I love the course and find it important. In my work as a therapist, I work hard to give space and attention to the very real and hard things we face. I find it extremely important for me to strive to listen well and be a sounding board for all of the difficult parts of being alive. Much of my session time is spent doing this, but not all. The behaviors of happiness, the skills of increasing joy, are just as important to attend to, maybe even MORE important when times are tough.

And so, I am going to take this free six week course again, even though I'm not a teen (I lied about my age). I invite anyone interested to take it with me. In fact, I will give $10 to every teen I know every week that they take this course (if your parents let me, and if you can prove to me you've taken the course by discussing it with me.) I will also post a review every week of what I have learned so that everyone can get a sense of what we can do to promote better wellbeing for ourselves every day.