Can Happier Help Your Depression?
May 22nd, 2008 by zania
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment
By Ben-Shahar
Ben-Shahar is a proponent of ‘Positive Psychology’. In his classes at Harvard University, he teaches students that happiness can be learned by applying certain tecquniques.
A lot of this type of teaching has been done many times before in self help books, particularly those teaching self-awareness and positive thinking, but this book was still worth a look, if only for the bright yellow cover. A great asset to a happiness book!
Ben-Shahar explains that thinking positively about all aspects of your life will make you happier and gives you tips on how to review the way you think about things and change them for the better.
He asks his readers to reflect on how they view their emotions. For instance, do they think that negative emotions are ‘natural’? How do they view their work? Do they see it as a calling, or just a job?
Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment
Ben-Shahar has written other books with Positive Psychology as the key, so many of the ideas contained within Happier will not be new to his readers. However, if you are of the opinion that you can teach yourself to be happy by developing positive thinking strategies, then this book will cement that, and give you ideas to work on.
Happier is not a particularly long book, but the points are put across in a concise and engaging manner. And, despite the overall thinness, the book is well researched, containing references to many well known psychological figures, including Jung, Campbell, Seligman, and Gardner.
So what do I think about Happier?
First of all, let me say that I am a cynic when it comes to self help books and to the whole ‘niche’ of positive thinking in general, so I was well prepared to give a sceptical sigh or two as I read.
Well, I did give a few sighs, I must admit, but only because I know from experience that it is not easy for someone suffering from depression to have the energy or inclination for postive thinking.
However, Happier was actually an entertaining read. Ben-Shahar may tell you what he thinks works, but he also tells you that you have to work on the exercises he suggests (plus your own) in order to get the full effect and understand your thinking patterns. I quite enjoyed the ‘career exercise’. Shame it didn’t make me feel any more positive about my work 
If you want a book which is an easy, enjoyable read and you are looking for ways to question how you think about life in general, then you will like reading Happier. If you are just feeling a bit down, then you could get some benefit from reading this work, especially if you are looking for a simple, but engaging book on self-help.
However, if you are suffering from depression, you may well not be in the frame of mind needed to get much out of this book. In fact, on a ‘bad day’ I would probably have thrown it in the trash!
Overall, I would say that Happier is worth buying for the ‘good days’ but on the bad days it is better left on the shelf 
