Is Happiness "Cessation" of Pain or Suffering?

As a behavioral scientist with a focus on studying happiness and well-being, I do not agree with the notion that happiness is cessation of pain or suffering.

Happiness, or positive feelings, used to be treated as “cessation”, or lacking, of pain and other negative feelings, even by researchers of human emotions.

This misconception led to the long history of research efforts predominately focused on negative feelings, leaving positive feelings/happiness much less studied and understood.

However, the establishment of the “science of happiness” (formally, Positive Psychology) at the turn of the millennium led to fast-increased understanding of happiness.

Since then, more and more research evidence has shown that positive feelings (including happiness) and negative feelings (including psychological pain) could be relatively independent from each other.

They can co-exist and they affect people in different ways, not just in opposing ways.

Using one of my own studies as an example, happiness or positive feelings over time showed significant positive impacts on health and longevity, while negative feelings do not necessarily lead to significant long-term impacts on health and longevity.

One implication of this for our everyday life is, while reducing pain and suffering is obviously important and many times urgent, getting rid of pain and suffering does not equal to achieving happiness.

To achieve happiness, one needs to put in additional efforts

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Although they are not exactly in a linear relationship, just for illustration purpose if we put negative feelings and positive feelings along a “number line”, then in the middle that separates the negative and the positive is zero, neutral.

“Cessation of pain” gets us from negative to zero, but we do not achieve happiness at zero.

We need additional force to move from zero/neutral to positive/happiness.

That is, we not only need to “destruct” negative feelings (including pain, suffering and other unhappiness), but we need additional efforts and skills to construct/build up positive feelings in order to achieve happiness.

That’s what this Substack is for, to share knowledge, and provide guidance and skill training, for building your happiness. Join us on that journey!