Is Happiness Related To The Solar Eclipse?
This photo of eclipse totality was taken by Jeff Jones in South Carolina. Notice the star in the upper left.
Many people report that they feel a boost of happiness and well-being after seeing the solar eclipse.
According to Psychology Today, it’s actually referred to an appreciation of beauty. When you’re surrounded in nature, you feel the emotion of awe. When you observe an artistic achievement, you feel the emotion of admiration. And when you see others expressing goodness, you feel a sense of elevation.
When people looked up to the sky to view the solar eclipse on August 21st, they felt a sense of awe and wonderment — something larger than themselves. We may feel a bit overwhelmed because of the beauty of nature. Not only can nature boost happiness, but it can even decrease depression.
A study by Rene Proyer took 100 adults into groups that tracked the beauty of nature. These groups claimed to have less depression over the week and a boost in happiness for a month. The effects diminished after that.
If you feel happier after seeing the solar eclipse, perhaps it was because of the sense of awe and wonderment you felt during the event.
Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-matters-most/201708/awe-happiness-and-the-solar-eclipse
zumie15 • Sep 11, 2017 at 9:23 am
I like how people actually took the time to get off their electronic devices and watch the solar eclipse. Which in my opinion it was beautiful and enjoyable how we gathered as one whole society without any racial comments or discrimination around us and share the moments of admiration and beauty in nature and what the planets can show us.
GreenPheonix • Sep 5, 2017 at 9:23 am
Your current event article was very well written and insightful. I found interesting how you included the part about the study of nature observers because it shows the positive effects of nature. In today’s society, everyone is always so busy and stressed and there are so many things going on that we forget to appreciate the world around us. What you wrote in your article shows that when we observe the beauty in nature it can elevate us out of the stress that we are feeling and for a split second we can appreciate something outside of ourselves.
GT-R • Sep 1, 2017 at 8:53 am
I agree, People now days can be distracted by technology, that they ignore whats around them(nature). People make many divisions in society but when people look to nature those divisions seem to go away. Even nature in the form of a hurricane which caused destruction in Texas and Louisiana has caused citizens to come together to help each other.