The Fear of Being Happy

Leo Tolstoy once said, ‘If you want to be happy, be.’

On being asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, John Lennon simply replied, ‘Happy’.

It is often taken for granted that happiness is one of the most vital guiding values in people’s lives. After all, who does not want to be happy? It is perceived as a universal need. The United Nations celebrates this with the International Day of Happiness on 20th March, stating that ‘the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal.’

It may then be unsettling, shocking even, to think that people can be afraid of happiness. The feeling of happiness can stir feelings of fear in some, something not conventionally anticipated. What does it mean then, to be afraid of happiness? How can this fear be explained?

In a pioneering study to understand this phenomenon, Joshanloo and Weijers found three primary reasons why people experience this. First, individuals come to associate their feelings of joy with a sense of a something bad about to follow. Second, there exists a belief that happiness can make one a worse person. And finally, expressing as well as pursuing happiness is perceived as hurtful and harmful to both themselves and others.  

Where do these ideas and beliefs come from? Surely experience plays a major role but a primary factor is the cultural context. Every culture across the world holds different cardinal values, ones that colour every experience of individuals.

The study found that given the importance placed by Western society on happiness, fewer individuals within these societies displayed such a fear. Conversely, non-Western societies, which do not place equal value on personal happiness, showed a greater prevalence. These societies, particularly East Asian ones, emphasis more on communal harmony and togetherness, which can be at conflict with personal happiness.

Another important factor within this reasoning is the varying definition of happiness across societies. Uchida, Norasakkunkit, and Kitayama found that American culture defines happiness in terms of personal achievement while East Asian cultures define it in terms of interpersonal connectedness. Here, personal happiness is not given primary importance, to the extent that the Japanese often believe that expressing happiness is harmful because it might make others envious. Given such a cultural climate, being wary of being happy may not seem so surprising, after all.

Yet, in spite of Western societies’ acceptance and emphasis on personal happiness, individuals living in those parts of the world experience this fear as well, which points towards the important role played by individual experiences and differences. Irrespective of cultural background, Joshanloo’s study found that one major cause for this fear is the notion that happiness will be followed by something bad. Imagine an event in your life when you were perfectly happy but it was followed by something bad. Certain individuals perceive this pattern to be persistent in their lives and consequently develop this fear. Sometimes, traumatic experiences follow the same pattern. Individual accounts throw light on how traumatic experiences have made them sceptical about feeling happy.

Individual differences in self-esteem have also been found to play an important role. Wood et al. (2003) found that individuals with high self-esteem were more likely to savour a positive, happy moment whereas those low in self-esteem were more likely to dampen their mood following a happy moment.

Given how important happiness can be, how does this fear affect the lives of the individuals? Gilbert et al. (2013) found that the fear of happiness correlates highly with depression. Individuals with depression will often avoid activities that could make them happy, fearing that it would be taken away from them and would lead to further disappointment.

On a more general level, a study found this fear to significantly impact overall life satisfaction. This fear significantly biased individual responses on the Life Satisfaction Scale, implying that even if two individuals were leading a similar lifestyle, the person with the fear of happiness would indicate lower life satisfaction.

This brings an important issue to the fore. Countries are increasingly adopting the Gross National Happiness Index as a measure of national progress, with the U.N. even releasing a World Happiness Report. Within India, Goa has pioneered in adopting this model. But can it be perceived as a true measure, if a part of the population is simply afraid of it? The fear of happiness can be an overwhelming experience for the individual, one that deprives them of perhaps the best of human emotions. It is important to recognise this fear and help those in need. After all, happiness is a fundamental human goal. 

Chinmayee Kantak

A Perspective on the Refugee Crises

Human suffering is at the heart of all refugee crises.  And the Syrian refugee crisis is by no means different. Over 200,000 dead, over 6 million displaced, and only 4 million Syrians registered as refugees by UNHCR. Images of people protesting, over-crowded railway stations and rubber dinghies cramped with people however bear a striking resemblance to the 1939 Jewish refugee crisis. History is often the best teacher, and it is not surprising that the world is looking for historical parallels in attempts to understand and rectify the crisis.

Refugees are born out of political disharmony. Nobody would voluntarily leave behind their homes, braving dangerous and often deadly situations unless they were out of options that would guarantee their safety. A refugee crisis, has at its core, a common “us” vs “them” perception. And this perception lowers the odds of refugees being granted asylum. Most often, the West European continent and the USA are popular choices for such displaced individuals.

However, the political conflict that has caused a refugee crisis, often gets overshadowed by issues of race, religion and gender. The Syrian crisis in this regard shares similar tones with the Jewish Refugee Crisis of 1930. Jewish Refugees in the 1930’s were accused of being anarchic, communists, and were despised as they were believed to “taint the Aryan stock.”

Unfortunately today’s Syrian crisis is no different Facing the same xenophobic attitude, Anti-Semitism has merely been replaced by anti-Muslim bigotry. In drawing comparisons between the two crises, critics are quick to point out that the Jewish one was more “genuine”, seeing as the Jews did not have any safe alternatives unlike the Syrian refugees, based on their religious affiliations have many places to go. Furthermore, Jewish refugees already shared the democratic values of the West unlike Syrian refugees that are possibly more radicalized having been exposed to extremist tendencies of terrorists.  These critics citing security concerns as the primary reason for rejecting the Syrian refugee experience (valid as they may be taking into account current security concerns), fail to recognize that at the time Jewish refugees too were treated with the same hostility and fear. The rejection of Syrian refugees and their experience is apathetic to say the least. It took the death of an innocent boy for the world to sit up and take notice.

Invalidating the sufferings of the Syrian Refugees is equivalent to denying basic feelings of humanity. Yet in the age of free information, people continue to show ignorance towards the situation. Critics are protesting the idea that Syrian refugees are genuine. The assumption being that they are merely illegal migrants that are using the current world situation to manipulate and encroach upon jobs in the liberal and evidently richer countries. Citing images of refugees texting on smart phones and updating Facebook accounts (apparently only the right of rich white people), the critics assume that only “visibly poor” people could be refugees. Another failure of such critics is that they ignore the respectable status held by refugees in their countries of origin – specifically that the now-displaced individuals once enjoyed comfortable lifestyles, held stable jobs and were contributing members of society. Volunteers working at the Syrian refugee camps (the few that there are) bear witness to this fact.

One cannot justify stereotyping the ‘refugee experience’ However, in drawing comparisons between the two refugee crises, one can only hope to learn from past mistakes and thus avoid another a situation like the one involving the St.Louis ship.  The world needs to realize that the Syrian Refugee crisis represents a global problem. Every person deserves the chance to have a better life. Developed nations who have the resources to accommodate asylum seekers can be a beacon of hope in this grim situation and prevent the possible extinction of generations of families. 

Kimberly Rodrigues

The Power of Pottermania

A scrawny little boy with messy hair and special powers—she stumbled upon this idea on a train ride back home. It took her 6 years to complete the first book, followed by a relentless search for a publisher. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone finally released on 26th June, 1997 with an initial print of 500 copies. Today, the book has sold 107 million copies. The entire series has sold a whopping 450 million copies, making it the best-selling series of all time! Moreover, it has been translated into over 73 languages worldwide, including Ancient Greek. Through her books, Rowling managed to create something very special. Something more than a series, more than a collection of favourite characters. She created a phenomenon. Pottermania.

The Harry Potter series did not just gather a regular fan-following; it garnered an exceptional, extraordinary fan-base—intense, frenzied, obsessive, and ardent. ‘Potterheads’, as they are called, occupy every part of the planet, sweeping societies around the world with this craze for over a decade. One has to be a Potterhead to understand the strong emotions the series evokes.

But what makes the series so popular? Why do we love it so? The book that started off as being primarily a children’s series grew and continues to grow beyond its target audience to appeal to individuals across the ages. Lisa Damour asserts that the Potter appeal lies in its ability to speak to the dynamic and unconscious conflicts children encounter as they begin their journey into adulthood. The fears and insecurities depicted, along with a strong bond of companionship, make the stories particularly significant for children and preadolescents. It is this reminiscence of preadolescence that hooks adults as well.

The true power of the series, though, lies in the books’ ability to channelize an entire generation into book-readers. A study by Yankelovich and Scholastic found that a little over half (51%) of Harry Potter readers aged 5-17 did not read for fun prior to the series. 89% of the parents believed that reading Harry Potter helped their children enjoy reading more, while 76% asserted that it actually helped their child’s school performance.

Given the rise of Pottermania early in the century, the American Psychiatric Association had one session dedicated to Harry Potter in its 2001 annual meeting. It focused on using the stories to establish rapport with young clients and to elicit their responses to situations. It was soon revealed that almost all attendees (adults) had read at least two books!

Consequently, employing Harry Potter as a therapeutic tool was explored. Noctor investigated the books from a psychoanalytical perspective and explained the appeal it may hold to young people with mental health difficulties.  Through Harry (a character that had endured immense suffering through the loss of his parents at infancy, an abusive childhood, and the countless battles that he had to face), he pointed out the importance of seeking help and recognising one’s thoughts and feelings rather than suppressing them. Laura Oldford studied the manner in which Harry Potter was a valuable tool in promoting acceptance and change for various illnesses, finding that fictional environments like Hogwarts could provide a creative and socially applicable context for therapeutic learning.

Studies have also investigated how Harry Potter may be making the world safer for children. Stephen Gwilym found that on Harry Potter book release weekends, the Emergency Room admission for individuals aged 7-15 went down by almost half, suggesting that this population possibly refrained from engaging in risky behaviour during this time. 

Importantly, though, the series had a direct influence on its fans. Attracting people from all age groups across the world, the series built around itself a loyal, passionate fan-base that continues to flourish, placing the series third in the most-read books in the world. Fans grew up with Harry, seeing the world from his perspective. And this coming-of-age experience influenced their perception of the reality they lived. In perhaps the most important study about the series, Loris Vezzali found that reading Harry Potter instilled a sense of empathy among its readers and helped them view stigmatised minority groups (refugees, homosexuals, and immigrants) with reduced prejudice. Sensitivity portrayed in the series towards Muggles and ‘mud-bloods’ played a vital role.

The wizarding world of Harry Potter, in fact, has had a more direct impact – Potterheads are emulating wizardry in reality. The famous drink of the wizarding world, Butter Beer, now has a real world recipe, and is served at Harry Potter theme parks and bars around the world. A new genre of music named Wrock (Wizard Rock) has evolved – celebrating the series through rock music. Harry Potter symposiums and conventions are frequently held and bring forth in-depth research papers. In fact, the University of Durham offers a complete course called ‘Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion’. But one of the most exciting aspects of this process has to be the International Quidditch World Cup. It is a formal series and the sport is played by over 300 teams from 20 countries!

Pottermania has been and will continue to be an influential force in many ways. It is a culture, a passion, an identity. And for all those seemingly ludicrous adults and passionate children, this phase will never end, because whether it is by the page or the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. 

Chinmayee Kantak