People in our wee country are the happiest. Unexpected, perhaps, given the long history of violence and social unrest. But, people can be happy in the most difficult circumstances and happiness isn’t always related to the social or material environment. Almost impossible to define, we often only recognise true happiness when its gone. So, it’s […]
Tag: happiness
Richard Smith: The happiness questionnaire
My son, a chef, is part of a “pop up think tank” of people under 35 working on happiness. They are gathering evidence through a questionnaire, and I thought that some BMJ readers might be interested in both the questions and my answers. You might like to try answering the questions yourself. […]
Harriet Vickers: Is self-help making anyone any happier?
How to be happier? It’s a constantly pertinent question. Aristotle was occupied with it nearly 2400 years ago, and the UK prime minister David Cameron is today, as he plans to replace GDP with happiness as the UK’s primary progress indicator. […]
Juliet Walker on what’s new this week on bmj.com
This week sees the launch of the BMJ’s first Christmas appeal. The money we hope to raise will go to Medécins Sans Frontières. They provide an invaluable service in some of the toughest parts of the world, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. MSF staff and volunteers deal daily with extraordinary personal […]
Juliet Walker: What’s new on bmj.com
This new weekly blog tells you about what’s new on bmj.com and links to some of the national and international coverage that the BMJ has received this week, both on websites and in blogs. The BMJ paper that has received the widest coverage this week shows that happiness is contagious and can spread from person […]
Klaus Morales: Can doctors be healthy AND happy?
“Work is central to wellbeing, and certain features correlate highly with happiness.” Tony Delamothe (BMJ 2005;331:1489-1490). Agree. But to what extent? I just got home from a whole day of activities and duties at the hospital and let’s say – a bit of bla bla blas. Yes, I am a junior doctor, but not a […]