The opposite of depression is not happiness, according to Peter Kramer, author of“Against Depression” and“Listening to Prozac,” it is resilience: the ability to cope with life’s frustrations without falling apart.
Proper treatment doesn’t suppress emotions or dull a person’s ability to feel things deeply. It builds a protective layer — an emotional resilience — to safeguard a depressive from becoming overwhelmed and disabled by the difficulties of daily life.
However, the tools found in happiness research are those I practice in my recovery from depression and anxiety, even though, theoretically, I can be happy and depressed at the same time. I came up with my own recovery program that coincides with the steps toward happiness published in positive psychology studies.
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