Positive psychology: No one size fits all

Falah Faisal | NT

Bengaluru:

Positive Psychology is concerned with how people can do well, be well, and flourish over the long term. It focuses on subjective well-being and how each individual works differently. So in order to spread the message, Urban Solace invited Louella Rogers, a counseling psychologist who specializes in marriage and family therapy, addiction, and rehabilitation and is also a hypnotherapist to conduct a one-day workshop.

“Earlier, psychology focused on disorders, diseases, and how to help patients to come back to normal. Positive Psychology instead focuses on the strengths and wellness of the person instead of the negatives. It’s a cognitive shift really,” says Rogers as she introduces the course which is attended by a range of people, with the youngest being in 12th standard and the oldest a grandmother.

She adds that “Everything is about our thoughts, how we think affects the way we feel, how we feel affects the way we behave, and how we behave brings consequences. It’s a thread and we keep moving up and down a continuum.

You might be strong and have things under control but then a curve ball hits you and you are down and out for that moment but then you pick yourself up and move on.” The workshop taught people how they can garner the energy and channel it towards goal setting and the five pillars of positive psychology which are positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

How does one pick themselves up on a bad day? Rogers says “We need to constantly tell ourselves that you are unique, you’re precious, priceless and there is no one like you anywhere in the world. Once you accept you are human, you can embrace your mistakes and weakness and move forward from there.”