College students are experiencing stress and mental health issues at unprecedented rates, and the trend continues after graduation. Anxiety levels skyrocket when recent graduates find themselves loaded with debt and unable to find a job in their field. So, it's an easy fix, right? Find your dream job, work your tail off, make buckets of money, and voilà! Happy.
Not so fast, says science.
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Take Time to Do...Nothing
It turns out, we're focusing on the wrong goals. Studies prove that it's not actually more money that makes us happy, it's more time on our hands. But with only 24 hours in a day, it's hard to find the time.
Here's a suggestion: Give up something that is proven to increase depression and anxiety. We're talking about social media. Take advantage of that latest phone upgrade to see how much time you're wasting spending online and decrease it by 30 minutes. Think of what you can do with that time: 30 minutes with absolutely nothing on the calendar; 30 minutes to rest; 30 minutes to think. It's called time affluence and it makes you happier than money ever will.
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Thanks a Lot
It's the little things in life that make it worth living — and even more so if you write them down. A study at the University of Pennsylvania (as well as other follow-up studies) showed that people were significantly happier when they wrote down three things they were grateful for at the end of their day. They don't even have to be earth-shattering:
1. My new dry shampoo worked
2. My boss wasn't a jerk
3. I had a healthy dinner
Boom. Your first day is done. Now keep it up.
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Do Something Nice for Someone Else
This one can be anecdotal. We all know how we feel when we bring bagels into the office, when we help out at a camp, when we volunteer at the phone bank... It feels so nice to help others. There's a study on this one too. People report feeling a "warm glow" when they give money to others.
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Hang Out With Friends
Socialization is good for you. Psychologists have discovered that people who spend a lot of time with friends and family report feeling depressed much less than people who don't. One caveat: it has to be face-to-face time, phone and email don't count. The more people spent actual time with friends and family, the lower depression rates were. Even connecting with strangers — a chat with your takeout delivery guy, a smile to the doorman, a hello to the lady down the street — shows improvements in mood.
