The Science of Happiness

We study happiness so much, in fact, that the United Nations has begun issuing an annual World Happiness Report, breaking down happiness all around the world. (Finland ranks as the happiest country, as of 2021.)

What we take from all of this information, here at Reframe, is how we can utilize an abstract concept like happiness to help us achieve a more fulfilling life, including the way alcohol shows up for us. Consider your relationship with alcohol when you began the Reframe program—I might guess that alcohol was bringing some degree of unhappiness into your life. Was it the chicken, or the egg? Was alcohol bringing unhappiness, was unhappiness bringing increased alcohol use, or some combination of both? This is a great example of how intertwined these sorts of concepts are, and when we throw an addictive chemical substance into the mix, it adds yet another element.

Today, consider how alcohol has impacted your happiness in the short- and long-term. Is happiness mixed up with any memories you have of previous alcohol use? How can you honor those memories, while recognizing that alcohol shows up for you in unhappy ways, as well?