Painting life beautiful?
The North American painter Norman Rockwell is known for his paintings in which happiness is often a motif. What is less well known is that he has often been under psychiatric treatment for his depression. That a man whose work has happiness as a leitmotif should himself struggle with depression seems strange, but it is not.
Research shows that this "acting as if" can make one happy, even if only in the short term. On the one hand, this process is only short-term and does not replace therapy; on the other hand, this process does not come easily to us and is not meant to be repression.
So how should one go about it?
Researchers at the University of California were able to show that consciously choosing to act extroverted can help with this. Conversely, acting introverted caused the opposite. Analogously, giving gifts to people in one's own environment, donating and volunteering can also strengthen one's own well-being.
One explanation of why this works is that social behavior can promote cognitive dissonance. You don't feel good, but you act differently, which in turn can unconsciously make you feel happier.
Even more plausible is the explanation that like attracts like. If you act positively and socially, you will attract positive people as well.
Admittedly, this is no substitute for professional help. Norman Rockwell was in treatment most of his life. Painting, however, was part of his therapy. His biographer Deborah Solomon describes it this way: "He painted what he longed for.
So can you paint your life pretty? Yes, if you are aware that all these are not direct actions: The idea is that if you have a positive effect on those around you, those effects will soon come back and you can be happy out of yourself.
Learn more: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/03/making-people-happy-makes-you-happier-too/618190/