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Do you know how to be happy?

Do you know how to be happy?

Anyone who has studied the human condition, from Aristotle to Freud, has pondered happiness, because when it comes to happiness, we all have different experiences.

How important is being happy? Do you do everything in your power to seek out pleasure? Answer the following questions to find out how much of a hedonist you are.

By Christophe André, psychiatrist and psychotherapist

1. To find happiness you need to:
Be spontaneous and go with the flow
Think about the meaning of happiness before going in search of it
Work out what makes you happy and make time for it
Make an effort to solve your problems – you will then feel you deserve to be happy
2. Should we teach children how to be happy?
No, only to tell the difference between benign pleasures and those which might cause harm
It would be more useful to teach them the harsh realities of life
Yes, we should show them what it is like to be really happy
No, happiness comes naturally to children
3. Which of the following makes you happiest?
Talking with friends
Sex
Trips to the great outdoors
Playing sport/looking after your body
4. Happiness is:
As essential as breathing
As essential as brushing your teeth
Having a chance to think
Breaking the rules
5. Happiness is
A necessary state
Your natural state
A desirable state
A state you don’t experience very often
6. One of the things that made you happiest as a child was:
Getting into freshly laundered pyjamas after your evening bath
Playing out with your cousins
To lie back on the grass and watch the clouds pass overhead
Listening to the stories your grandparents told you
7. What is happiness for? It’s there to:
Make us healthier and make us feel good
Elevate the soul and the spirit
Make us feel alive
Set us free
8. Are any of the things that make you happy in fact vices?
Lots of them, unfortunately…
If they make me happy, they can’t be doing any harm
Some, but I’m in control of them
I’ve tried to give up those that are
9. As a child you were:
Thoughtful
Well adjusted
Prone to stress
Spontaneous
10. You were on a diet but you had a bit of a binge last night. How do you feel today?
I feel guilty and I’ve fitted bolts to the kitchen cupboards
If I enjoyed it, it can’t have done any great harm
I never do diets - I like my body as is it
If I go on a diet I always stick to it
11. How would you describe your first sexual experiences? As:
Delectable
Purposeful
Exciting
A revelation
12. What would happen if you gave in to pleasure too often?
Your health would suffer
You’d become self obsessed
You’d eventually get depressed and bored
You’d end up being frivolous and superficial

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