Rowan University Positive Psychology and Wellness Discussion

This is a chapter written by a psychologist on wellness.  Do you believe Wellness is a component of positive psychology or do you believe that positive psychology is a component of wellness?   

I believe that positive psychologic is a component of wellness. According to the textbook, positive psychology is the study of what goes right in life (Peterson, 2006, p. 4). The term wellness encompasses physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, social wellbeing (Peterson, 2006, p. 224). Wellness is also often expanded to include occupational satisfaction, environmental safety, and spiritual wellness (Peterson, 2006, p. 224). I believe that positive psychology can be used to enhance wellbeing. There are a number of psychological factors that contribute to overall health and wellbeing. Having positive social support, positive emotions, compassion, and humor are all aspects of positive psychology that have a direct influence on wellness. I will describe two examples of how positive psychology can be used to improve overall wellness.            A study published in 2021 aimed to enhance the wellbeing of older adults with serious mental illnesses by using a positive psychology program. The program focused on building wellness by amplifying positive emotions and validating feelings (Ogden, 2021). Social support was used in this study as the positive psychology program was administered by peers. Social relationships are important to adults who suffer from severe mental illnesses, but so are the relationships with service and treatment providers (Ogden, 2021). Having the focus groups be peer led increased social relationships for this population. This studied showed that focusing on validation of feelings and emotions enhanced the wellbeing of participants.              Another study on older adults used positive psychology interventions to enhance their wellness. The intervention lasted 9 weeks and was custom tailored focusing on optimism, gratitude, happiness, altruism, and the meaning of life (Ho et al., 2014). At the end of the 9 weeks, participants reported feelings less depressed and having increased levels of life satisfaction, gratitude, and happiness (Ho et al., 2014).ReferencesHo, H. C., Yeung, D. Y., & Kwok, S. Y. (2014). Development and evaluation of the positive psychology intervention for older adults. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(3), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.888577Ogden, L. P. (2021). Enhancing Wellbeing for Older Adults With Serious Mental Illnesses: Co-Producing a Positive Psychology Course With Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists. Qualitative Health Research, 31(6), 1105–1118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732321992047Peterson, C. (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology (Oxford Positive Psychology Series)(1st ed.). Oxford University Press.