Happiness vs. Wellbeing

Happiness and wellbeing are often used interchangeably, but what exactly is wellbeing and how does happiness fit?

Wellbeing can be thought of as holistic happiness. Happiness is conceptualised as hedonia - the presence of positive effect and the absence of negative affect. Happiness is, of course, important in wellbeing, but it is not everything.

A holistic view of happiness includes eudaimonia - the idea of living a meaningful life and realising your potential. In shorthand, I think of hedonia and eudaimonia as feeling good and functioning well.

There are many theories which try to explain the multi-faceted nature of wellbeing which include domains of;

• relationships

• meaning or purpose in life

• personal growth, self-acceptance and self-esteem

• positive affect, positive emotions and life satisfaction

• social contribution

• competence and environmental mastery

• autonomy

• emotional stability

• engagement

• optimism

• resilience

• vitality

• physical activity

• nutrition

• sleep

Theories variously include/omit the domains above and, due to individual, social-environmental and cultural factors, and their interaction, it is largely personal what combination feels intuitively correct.

Martin Seligman's PERMA theory is one that resonates with many. He proposed five separated but correlated components; positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishments. It is adapted and widely used in positive education, hence it featured heavily in my studies. However schools and organisations (e.g. Geelong Grammar School, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) have often felt the need to add to it with concepts such as character strengths, resilience, optimism and physical activity. While it is catchy and easy-to-remember, PERMA may omit too much of such a complex concept.

From the list above, what matters to you?

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Kern, M. L., Benson, L., Steinberg, E. A., & Steinberg, L. (2016). The EPOCH measure of adolescent well-being. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 586-597. doi:10.1037/pas0000201

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