Have you ever wondered why some people always seem to be happy while others struggle? Could it be in their genes? While not everyone is born with a sunny disposition, experts agree we can all learn how to bring more meaning and satisfaction into our lives. On HEALTH LINK we’ll examine what it means to be happy; why your outlook on life is so important to your overall health; and how you can inject some happiness into your life.
GUESTS
Jeffrey Zahn, MD
Dr. Jeffrey Zahn is an obstetric anesthesiologist in New York City at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He trains medical students, residents, and fellows, lectures at international meetings, and conducts clinical research in his field. In his daily work he takes pain away from mothers-to-be and helps increase their enjoyment of one of the happier moments of their life.
Choose Happiness! is Dr. Zahn's first foray into publishing and introduces the Ten Precepts of Practical Perspectivism, a philosophy and way of life that focuses on choice and responsibility for one's own emotional state of being. With support from ancient philosophical writings and modern neuroscientific and psychological research, Choose Happiness! shows how most everyone can learn to be happier, and happier more often, through Practical Perspectivism.
In his personal life, he is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, loves travelling the world, and is happily married with a daughter, a dog, and two cats. Dr. Zahn’s long-lived philosophy has earned him the recognition of colleagues, friends, and patients as one of the happiest people they've ever met.
Maria Sirois, PsyD
Maria Sirois is an inspirational speaker and clinical psychologist who lectures internationally on the study and application of Positive Psychology, mind-body medicine, and resilience. She weaves together inspirational stories and poetry with data and research to enable people to move forward toward the life they most want—one filled with vitality, health, and meaning. Maria teaches frequently with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, leading expert in the field of happiness. She is the author of Every Day Counts: Lessons in Love, Faith and Resilience, used as a teaching tool in wellness centers, hospices, and hospitals around the country. Maria is also a frequent presenter at Kripalu in Stockbridge, Massachusetts:
Anne Bryan Smollin, CSJ
Anne Bryan Smollin is an international lecturer on wellness and spirituality. Her dynamic public speaking style and natural gift for entertaining have sent her far from her Albany, New York, home base to lecture on humor and its effect on wellness, aging, spirituality and stress. A Sister of St. Joseph, Smollin has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in counseling, as well as a doctorate in counseling psychology from Walden University in Naples, Florida. She became the first elementary school guidance counselor in Albany, New York, working on early intervention with the school’s students, parents, and teachers. In 1975, Smollin set out on the road to bring her message to even more people. As an educational coordinator for an Albany Consultation Center, Smollin presented parental effectiveness training workshops along the East Coast. She also worked as an adjunct professor for six colleges and institutes, teaching courses on humor as a tool to communicate and as a method in stress management. Smollin serves as the executive director of the Counseling for Laity center in Albany, which offers guidance for married couples, families, adults, and adolescents.
* We note the passing of Sister Anne Bryon Smollin *
RESOURCES
Authentic Happiness Resource Center - University of Pennsylvania
PBS NEWSHOUR – What Makes Us Happy
PBS – THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE: What is Happiness?
Your Friends' Friends Can Make You Happy
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