Happiness and Joy During Turbulent Times: Dr. Margaret Chisolm Of Johns Hopkins University On How To Live With Joie De Vivre, Even When It Feels Like The Whole World Is Pulling You Down

Get religion (or some kind of community): Believe it or not, studies have suggested causal links between engagement in a religious community and happiness and life satisfaction, as well as improved mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, close social relationships, and other aspects of a flourishing life. Of particular interest to me as a psychiatrist is the finding that regular religious service attendance lowers the incidence of depression by 30% and reduces the odds of suicide five-fold. Regardless of your views on organized religion, it’s pretty clear that religious community engagement offers many benefits.

It sometimes feels like it is so hard to avoid feeling down or depressed these days. Between the sad news…