CH.

1 INTRODUCTION TO
WELL-BEING

1.1 Well-being: Definition and Concept in the context of Positive Psychology

1.2 Pillars of well-being: Physical, Psychological, Social, Spiritual
1.3 Models of Psychological well-being: Carol Ryff and Martin Seligman
1.4 Psychophysical ways to promote Well-being
QUIZ TO BE RATED ON 1 TO 10
 I know how to maintain my happiness. 
 I believe that I can learn skills to increase my happiness. 

 I have good work-life balance. 

 I hardly ever feel stressed. 

 I feel good about myself. 

 I think positively. 

 I can calm myself down after an upsetting experience. 

 I stay present in every moment. 

 I know what matters most to me. 

 I voluntarily engage in behavior to benefit others. 


I have meaningful relationships with others. 

I eat foods that support both my body and my mind. 

I know myself inside and out. 

 I am happy. 

 I am really ready to put in the effort to increase my happiness. 

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:
 The focus of psychology has always been the negative
side of human nature.
 Eg: the study of abnormal behaviour

 There have been many research studies providing

instances for negative aspects of human behaviour.
 But no data available on the human capacity of
goodness.
 Since the period of evolution human species have
survived many disasters and helped each other during
those times.
 Positive Psychology aims to offset the negative image of
human nature with a more balanced view.
 Sigmund Freud- emphasized on negatives focusing on
negative image of human nature.
 Positive psychology focus on the positive qualities as
they are just as authentic as negative ones.
 Greater attention given to negatives compared to positive
depicting the universal tendency that the bad is stronger
than the good.
THE DISEASE MODEL
 Martin Seligman argued that the dominance of disese
model within psychology has focused the field on
treating illness and away from building strengths.
 Only focused on treating psychopathology

 Psychology should be more than a repair shop for broken

lives.
 Health promotion and preventing should be the focus .

 Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness.

 Eliminating illness does not ensure a healthy, thriving
and competent individual.
 In 1998, Martin Seligman presented this viewpoint in his
presidential address to APA.
 To study best in human behaviour than the worst.

 Focusing on joy and courage than depression and

despair.
 Expanding the scope beyond the disease model to
healthy human functioning.
WHY NOW?
 Paradox of Affluence: stark contrast between
unprecedented levels of affluence and increasing distress
in the society.
 Csikszentmihalyi (1999) wrote an article “ If we are so
rich, why aren’t we happy?”
 Though material affluence, rise in personal income, there
is also rise in unhappiness and distress.
 So, interest in the concept of well being has increased.
 Where Does Well-Being Come From?
 Well-being emerges from your thoughts, actions, and
experiences — most of which you have control over.
 For example, when we think positive, we tend to have
greater emotional well-being. When we pursue
meaningful relationships, we tend to have better social
well-being. And when we lose our job — or just hate it
— we tend to have lower workplace well-being. 
 Well-being is the experience of health, happiness, and
prosperity. It includes having good mental health, high
life satisfaction, a sense of meaning or purpose,
and ability to manage stress.
 More generally, well-being is just feeling good and
functioning well.
 Well-being is something sought by just about everyone,
because it includes so many positive things — feeling
happy, healthy, socially connected, and purposeful.
 Well-being is a positive outcome that is meaningful for
people and for many sectors of society, because it tells us
that people perceive that their lives are going well. 
 Good living conditions (e.g., housing, employment) are
fundamental to well-being. Tracking these conditions is
important for public policy. However, many indicators
that measure living conditions fail to measure what
people think and feel about their lives, such as the
quality of their relationships, their positive emotions and
resilience, the realization of their potential, or their
overall satisfaction with life—i.e., their “well-being.” 
 There is no sole determinant of individual well-being,
but in general, well-being is dependent upon good
health, positive social relationships, and availability and
access to basic resources (e.g., shelter, income).
 Well-being generally includes global judgments of life
satisfaction and feelings ranging from depression to joy.
 There is no consensus around a single definition of well-
being, but there is general agreement that at minimum,
well-being includes the presence of positive emotions
and moods (e.g., contentment, happiness), the absence of
negative emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety), satisfaction
with life, fulfillment and positive functioning.
  In simple terms, well-being can be described as judging
life positively and feeling good. For public health
purposes, physical well-being (e.g., feeling very healthy
and full of energy) is also viewed as critical to overall
well-being. 
 Researchers from different disciplines have examined
different aspects of well-being that include the following4, 34,
38, 39, 41-46
:
 Physical well-being.

 Economic well-being.

 Social well-being.

 Development and activity.

 Emotional well-being.

 Psychological well-being.

 Life satisfaction.

 Domain specific satisfaction.

 Engaging activities and work.

 Genes and Personality
 At the individual level, genetic factors, personality, and
demographic factors are related to well-being. For example,
positive emotions are heritable to some degree (heritability
estimates range from 0.36 to 0.81), suggesting that there may be
a genetically determined set-point for emotions such as happiness
and sadness.
  However, the expression of genetic effects are often influenced
by factors in the environment implying that circumstances and
social conditions do matter and are actionable from a public
policy perspective. Longitudinal studies have found that well-
being is sensitive to life events (e.g., unemployment, marriage).
 Some personality factors that are strongly associated with well-
being include optimism, extroversion, and self-esteem
 Age and Gender
 Depending on which types of measures are used (e.g.,
life satisfaction vs. positive affect), age and gender also
have been shown to be related to well-being. In general,
men and women have similar levels of well-being, but
this pattern changes with age, and has changed over
time.There is a U-shaped distribution of well-being by
age—younger and older adults tend to have more well-
being compared to middle-aged adults.
 Income and Work
 The relationship between income and well-being is
complex. Depending on which types of measures are used and which
comparisons are made, income correlates only modestly with well-
being. In general, associations between income and well-being
(usually measured in terms of life satisfaction) are stronger for those
at lower economic levels, but studies also have found effects for
those at higher income levels. Paid employment is critical to the
well-being of individuals by conferring direct access to resources, as
well as fostering satisfaction, meaning and purpose for
some.Unemployment negatively affects well-being, both in the short-
and long-term.
 Relationships

 Having supportive relationships is one of the strongest predictors of

well-being, having a notably positive effect.
DEFINITION:
 Well-being has been defined as the combination of
feeling good and functioning well; the experience of
positive emotions such as happiness and contentment as
well as the development of one’s potential, having some
control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and
experiencing positive relationships
 It is a sustainable condition that allows the individual or
population to develop and thrive. The term subjective
well-being is synonymous with positive mental health.
 The World Health Organization defines positive mental
health as “a state of well-being in which the individual
realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the
normal stresses of life, can work productively and
fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her
community”.
 This conceptualization of well-being goes beyond the
absence of mental ill health, encompassing the
perception that life is going well.