Is Happiness Overrated? - Who cares if we exaggerate the joys of parenthood?

According to a March 15^th, 2011 WSJ article titled “Is Happiness Overrated”, there are two kinds of happiness:

1.       Hedonic:   Short term and fleeting, triggered by temporary pleasurable experiences such as one’s favorite sports team performing well, watching a good movie, or eating a delicious meal.

2.       Eudaimonic:  Long lasting and associated with positive physical and psychological health.  Volunteering, going to medical school, and raising children are the types of activities that promote this kind of well being.  Living with a purpose, while not as pleasurable day to day, is better for the physical and mental state.  Wait… raising children gives a sense of fulfillment? 

The article I posted in the blog below, titled “Why we exaggerate the Joys of Parenthood” states unequivocally that people are worse off with children.  Ms. Carol Ryff who is a professor and director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Wisconsin says, “Sometimes things that really matter most are not conducive to short-term happiness."  Perhaps this statement best reconciles the contradicting statements on parenting.  As a parent, one’s short term happiness (Hedonic) declines while long term well being (Eudaimonic) improves.  Nevermind that earlier today while I was trying to unbuckle my 2 year old out of her car seat to have her ride ponies and trains she screamed like a banshee because her favorite shoes were not in sight.  In the long run, I will avoid early death and disease and have my risk of Alzheimer’s cut in half, except my hearing may be slightly impaired; a small sacrifice.

“Symptoms of depression, paranoia and psychopathology have increased among generations of American college students from 1938 to 2007, according to a statistical review published in 2010 in Clinical Psychology Review. Researchers at San Diego State University who conducted the analysis pointed to increasing cultural emphasis in the U.S. on materialism and status, which emphasize hedonic happiness, and decreasing attention to community and meaning in life, as possible explanations.”

However, let’s not forget that while money can't buy you happiness, it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.