The ABC is conducting a fascinating social experiment through its program "Making Australia Happy". Taking a group of volunteers from Marrickville, an area shown by Deakin University’s recent research using an annual wellbeing index as one of the unhappiest in Australia, the producers of the show take the group through a series of challenges and interventions. These are directed by a group of three experts - a positive psychology coach, a mindfulness expert and a physiotherapist. Over the course of 8 episodes the "happiness rating" of the volunteers is measured as they engage in the program of mood altering activities.
In addition, the ABC have developed a whole website devoted to the show, allowing the general public to view episodes, take part in happiness exercises, read research literature and log their own happiness levels and ideas into a database.
As we would expect from the ABC, the site is engaging and well developed. I found myself, partly from a professional interest, but also a personal one, spending some time there to explore and take part in some of its activities.
The information that is presented is not exactly earth shattering - there is the usual self improvement message about taking sufficient exercise, eating a good diet, knowing one's strengths, and practising altruism, gratitude and forgiveness.
What is more interesting is watching the participants grow in confidence and seeing their happiness scores rise as the program unfolds. Which set me to wondering what was really going on for these people, since much of what is being presented they could have read in any women's magazine or newspaper article.
I found part of the answer buried in one of the research articles on the science of positive psychology. A meta analysis of research related to the application of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) with depressed people showed that the most significant effect was found in those people who received individual therapy along with PPIs. The authors concluded that it was the context of the individual relationship with the counsellor that facilitated the benefit of the PPIs. Which is what is being seen in the ABC experiment - a group of people being given a significant amount of individual focus within a structured program of PPIs.
What relevance does this show have for us in the Christian community? It is easy to dismiss the whole idea of happiness as a worldly construct and one we should ignore. But that is not what we learn from scripture about the created order being a place God sees as "good", and that we are to enjoy its blessings. Christianity is not an ascetic faith.
Maybe more fruitfully we can claim this recent research as supporting that which we have been teaching for two thousand years. That is, to honour, but not worship, our bodies. To know ourselves as uniquely created and valued by God, even in our flawed condition. To love others with generosity, gratitude and forgiveness. But what underpins all this is something that this program (so far) did not contemplate: our relationship with our loving Father God through Jesus Christ, which far outweighs anything we can have with a human coach, friend or counsellor.
