The document discusses the myths that lead people into the "happiness trap" and cause undue stress and mental health issues. It outlines four common myths: 1) happiness is the natural human state, 2) unhappiness means something is defective, 3) we must get rid of negative feelings, and 4) we can control our thoughts and feelings. However, the document explains that human minds evolved for survival, not happiness, and that suffering is a natural part of the human experience. It advocates understanding how the mind and stress response system work in order to better cope with stressors using techniques like mindfulness, flow states, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

1. Feeling stressed? Depressed? Anxious?Tired?
Put down the books
and grab a beer goat!
Dr. Rick Kauffman
SUNY Oneonta
Hulbert Hall
Health & Wellness Pillar Program
September 22, 2019

2. What’sthe lastlineof every fairy tale?
• You got it: “…and they lived happily ever after.”
• We love happy endings because society tells us that’s
how life should be: all joy and fun, peace and
contentment; living happily ever after.
• But does that sound realistic?
Does it fit in with your experience
of life?

3. TheHappinessTrap

4. The Four Mythsthat leadus to the HappinessTrap
• Myth 1: Happiness is the Natural State for All
Human Beings
• Myth 2: If You’re Not Happy, You’re Defective
• Myth 3: To Create a Better Life, We Must Get Rid of
Negative Feelings
• Myth 4: You Should Be Able to Control What You
Think and Feel
• 50% of all adults will contemplate suicide, 1/10 attempt
• 1 in 5 will suffer from depression
• 30% likelihood you are suffering mental illness right now
• Following from Myth 1, Western society assumes that mental
suffering is abnormal.
• Society tells us to replace “negative” feelings with “positive”
• Catch-22: the things we generally value most in life bring
with them a whole range of feelings, both pleasant and
unpleasant.
• We have less control over our thoughts than we think we do!

5. TheIllusionof Control

6. The Four Mythsthat leadus to the HappinessTrap
• Myth 1: Happiness is the Natural State for All
Human Beings
• Myth 2: If You’re Not Happy, You’re Defective
• Myth 3: To Create a Better Life, We Must Get Rid of
Negative Feelings
• Myth 4: You Should Be Able to Control What You
Think and Feel
• 50% of all adults will contemplate suicide, 1/10 attempt
• 1 in 5 will suffer from depression
• 30% likelihood you are suffering mental illness right now
• Following from Myth 1, Western society assumes that mental
suffering is abnormal.
• Society tells us to replace “negative” feelings with “positive”
• Catch-22: the things we generally value most in life bring
with them a whole range of feelings, both pleasant and
unpleasant.
• We have less control over our thoughts than we think we do!
However, we do have control over our actions!

7. TheHappinessTrap
• These four powerful myths set us up for a struggle
we can never win:
The struggle against our own human nature.

8. “The single most remarkable fact
about human existence is how hard
it is for humans to be happy.”
(Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999)

9. “Assumptionof HealthyNormality”
• By their nature, humans are psychologically healthy
• Abnormality is a disease or syndrome driven by
unusual pathological processes
• We need to understand these processes and change
them.
Accordingto the
➢…BUT, our minds have evolved
over a hundred thousand years to
think the way they do, so it’s not
likely that a few positive thoughts
will change them much.

10. TheStruggle For Existence
• Life is hard…

11. The ubiquity of human
suffering
Loss, Anxiety, Depression, Pain, Guilt,
Shame, etc.

12. “A mind is a wonderful tool for detecting
and evaluating external dangers and
developing plans for adapting to these
demands, but we cannot avoid applying
these same processes to the content of our
private world. When we do so, we both
see and produce negativity.”
…Steven Hayes

13. Our brainsuse the same mechanisms for internalstressorsas
theydo for our externalstressors.
Hindbrain

14. The Three MajorStressHormones
• Adrenaline – fight or flight
– produced by the adrenal glands after receiving a message from the brain
(hypothalamus) that a stressful situation has presented itself.
• heart pounding, muscles tense, breathing faster, sweating, surge of energy (which you might
need to run away from a dangerous situation)
• Norepinephrine – fight or flight
– produced by adrenal glands after receiving signal from brain
• arousal—when you are stressed, you become more aware, awake, focused, more
responsive.
• shifts blood flow away from areas where it might not be so crucial, like the skin, and
toward more essential areas at the time, like the muscles, so you can flee the stressful scene.
• Cortisol
– steroid hormone produced by adrenal glands; but first amygdala has to recognize
a threat, then hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
which tells the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH),
which tells the adrenal glands to produce cortisol.
• maintains fluid balance and blood pressure, regulates reproductive drive, immunity,
digestion and growth.
• But when you stew on a problem, the body continuously releases cortisol, and chronic
elevated levels can lead to serious issues.
– suppresses the immune system, increase blood pressure and sugar, decrease libido, produce acne,
contribute to obesity and more.
» "Ducks walk out of a lake, flap their wings and they fly off. When you face something stressful,
particularly if it's not likely to repeat or doesn't have a huge long-term impact, you want to be able
to shake it off and move on with life."

15. The Three MajorStressHormones
• Adrenaline
• Norepinephrine
• Cortisol
• Other hormones and neurotransmitters involved in
stress response:
– Estrogen and Testosterone
• Both sexes produce and require both hormones; and have a
monthly cycle
– Dopamine
– Serotonin

16. But understanding why we feel stressedis onlyhalfthe battle…
Hindbrain

17. But understanding why we feel stressedis onlyhalfthe battle…
• …because we also evolved mechanisms to help us
survive stressful situations in the past; we still fall
back to survival strategies that were made 500-mya.
– Our brainstem takes priority in an unthinking brain.
– The limbic system evolved to help control the brainstem.
– The neocortex was last on the scene.
• Makes it the most useful;
• But the hardest to learn to use.

18. Trying to get rid of, suppress, avoid, or escape from
unwanted “private experiences.”
Experiential
Avoidance
Mind is a problem-solving device
Problem = Something Unwanted
Solution = Avoid or Get Rid of IT

19. Examplesof AwayMoves

20. SuccessfulExperientialAvoidanceFeelsGreat…
…and so our brains remember this strategy for future
fight-flight stimulus.
➢Leads to Cognitive Fusion
‒ Cognitive fusion is when people are guided by the literal
content of their thoughts rather than by their direct
experience with the world.

21. By understandinghowour brainswork, we can uncover some
Keys to StressRelief
• Eating for the Zoo Inside of you
• Mindfulness
• Flow
• ACT

22. By understandinghowour brainswork, we can uncover some
Keys to StressRelief
• Eating better
• Mindfulness
• Flow
• ACT

23. By understandinghowour brainswork, we can uncover some
Keys to StressRelief
• Eating Better
• Mindfulness
• Flow
• ACT

24. By understandinghowour brainswork, we can uncover some
Keys to StressRelief
• Eating Better
• Mindfulness
• Flow
• ACT

25. Applying ACT in EverydayLife