Our degree of empathy influences our happiness

The human being is a social animalHe does not know how to live without relating to others. That is why he is constantly interacting with other people, interpersonal relationships that have a lot to do with the level of happiness that we can reach according to a University College of London. That is, the people we deal with throughout our day influence our mood.

This study reveals that, for example, inequality negatively affects our happiness, although this difference is beneficial for us. And is that the relationship we have with people around us, or that we are throughout the day, decisively influences our mood.


Empathy, the key to happiness

The researchers in this study followed the behavior of 47 volunteers, to those who asked them to solve activities in small groups. In one of these exercises, participants were asked if they would share an expense with a person they had just met. In a second experiment, the components participated in a game where you could win or lose money.

At the end of that game they were told the amount of money that another subject had obtained in the same game. On some occasions the other person had made the same amount of money, in others, the reward was higher or lower. After the conclusion of each test participants were asked about their level of happiness to see how they had influenced these games.


Those responsible found that economic inequality among participants caused dissatisfaction in volunteers in different ways, in case of earning less money than others, envy was more present happiness. But also when you got more reward than others, your sense of well-being was reduced. In this case it was the feeling of guilt responsible for not allowing these people to feel good emotionally.

In this way the researchers appreciated two behaviors: on the one hand, the researchers who voluntarily gave away half of their money at the first meeting did not show signs of envy after earning less in the second experiment. But instead they more easily felt guilt if they got a bigger reward.

On the other hand, those participants who chose to keep the money from the beginning did not feel guilty if they obtained more than other players, but they did experience envy if the others achieved higher profits than they did. The results show that there is a direct relationship between generosity and the way in which inequality influences the subjective feeling of happiness.


Other ways of working in our happiness

Although the relationship with other people also influences our happiness, on a personal level we can also work to benefit our emotional level. Some measures help greatly improve our mood, here are a few tips to apply in your day to day:

1. Exercise regularly. Exercising for at least 30 minutes a day of sports is a good way to keep sadness and stress away. There are experts who say that practicing a physical activity has the same effectiveness as taking an antidepressant.

2. Start the day with a good breakfast. Start the day with a good breakfast helps to have energy, think and perform successfully all the activities that occur on a daily basis.

3. Invest in experiences not in things. One study showed that 75% of people felt happier if they used their money for trips, courses and classes. Only 34% said they were better emotionally when buying things.

4. Wear shoes that do not hurt. If the feet are much easier to be in a bad mood, it is important to feel comfortable from the bottom up and for that it is best to use good shoes.

5. Arrange and feel attractive Who does not like to look in the mirror and look beautiful? For this it is always good to dedicate some time and get ready to meet whenever the person on the other side of the mirror is the prettiest we have seen.

Damián Montero

Video: The Secret To Increasing Your Empathy | The Science of Empathy


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