We often think of positive emotions as helping psychological health or wellness in a general sense. Who doesn’t want to feel better in the day-to-day? But we often don’t think about how these emotions might combat specific mental health difficulties like anxiety, depression, or loneliness.
Researchers are starting to find that building a tendency to experience more positive emotions seems to have a big benefit for those with certain clinical disorders. The reason is interesting, though: these emotions seem to have a big impact on social processes. They appear to build social connectness, which in turn appears to relieve specific mental health symptoms.
What the positive emotions research says.
Research finds that positive emotions can increase well-being, creativity, mental clarity, and self-concept. Building positive emotions also reduces biased attention toward negative information and helps people focus on more positive or relevant information.
We tend to experience emotions internally, but also in the context of social interactions. Positive emotions in particular tend to lead to increased cooperation and deepening social bonds between individuals. These emotions bring people together!
This benefit of positive emotions may come as no surprise, but recent rigorous and tightly controlled studies find that therapists can use them to help clients. Purposefully increasing one’s own internal positive emotional states actually contributes to increased social connectedness. This increasing social connectedness actually prevents social anxiety or improves the benefits of exposure for social anxiety.
It also appears to decrease depression by way of making people experience greater social connectedness. This may be because increased positive emotions and social connectedness leads to increased social support. However, more research is needed to understand the exact connection between social connectness and depression.
This is where social psychology and mental health care meet. So that undergrad social psych course really did pay off for working with clients!
The same researchers developed an exciting treatment modality aimed at increasing the frequency and intensity of positive emotions. This treatment approach puts multiple positive emotions strategies within a five week treatment. Clients have the chance to learn these strategies to see which ones work best for them. This individualized approach helps reinforce the use of strategies and produce the best bang for the emotional buck.
Participants in this treatment showed increased activation in an area of the brain associated with social reward. This means individuals who use the treatment may be more likely to initiate social interactions and find social connectedness. Where the neural rubber hits the social road.
Their positive emotion approach also decreases anxiety and depression! That’s huge on its own, but early research also suggests this treatment can reduce loneliness for some individuals. Reducing loneliness is welcome news to combat the loneliness epidemic.
What the research means for clients.
This research is very promising, but the protocol itself is still moving through testing phases. Stay tuned for more updates about this exciting treatment!
So how can therapists help clients for now? There are a number of strategies shown to enhance positive emotions. Some of these strategies are used in that new positive emotion treatment.
One commonly used technique is gratitude journaling. This journaling is effective at the right intervals throughout the week. Writing down 5 positive events throughout the day, every day, is also straightforward method shown to boost positive emotions. Positive events can be major or very minor (like the weather or a smile from a stranger).
Studies also find that initiating small and purposeful acts of kindness a few times per week boost positive emotions. The strategy of initiating meaningful, enjoyable, or engaging activities also shows promise and is similar to behavioral activation. Behavioral activation is a straightforward and established approach therapists can learn to conduct via online trainings or with books and supervision.
One thing we know so far is that enhancing positive emotions has many benefits for mental health in general. But it may also help decrease anxiety, depression, and loneliness by improving social connectedness. Now that news makes me feel positive.
