By: Gregory Popcak
The Theology of the Body tells us that each person was made for self donation (the making of one’s self a gift to others) and if we do this, we will be truly happy. It further tells us that when we treat others, or ourselves, as objects of pleasure, we break down spiritually and emotionally because we are acting in a manner that is inconsistent with God’s plan and our design. This sounds like a lovely religious speculation, but what if it was physiologically true as well?
This week, researchers at UCLA demonstrated that the type of happiness you pursue in life effect your overall well-being on a genetic level:
A good state of mind – that is, your happiness – affects your genes, scientists say…What they found is that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome…”What this study tells us is that doing good and feeling good have very different effects on the human genome, even though they generate similar levels of positive emotion,”…”Apparently, the human genome is much more sensitive to different ways of achieving happiness than are conscious minds.”
Read the entire article here.
That is not to say that the level of happiness you experience is genetic, but rather the kinds of happiness you seek in life actually effect you on a genetic level. Researchers discovered that people who, as a matter of habit, chase after “hedonic happiness” ( pleasure that comes from partying, sex, overeating, drinking, etc.) show physical evidence of gene expression that resulted in higher inflammatory response and the lower production of anti-viral and antibodies in their immune cells. This response is similar to the physiological response of depressed or exhausted individuals.
By contrast, people who pursue, as a matter of habit, “eudaimonic happiness” (happiness that comes from pursuing the greater good) show physical evidence of gene expression that resulted in less inflammation and a stronger immune response (i.e., higher production of antiviral and antibodies in their immune cells). This particular pattern of gene expression is associated with better physical well-being and overall good health. The truly surprising thing was that both groups claimed to feel good. Both groups claimed to be happy and well, but only the people who habitually pursued the greater good experienced the good health—all the way down to the genetic level— that ought to accompany their happiness.
In the words of the researchers…
And while those with eudaimonic well-being showed favorable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells and those with hedonic well-being showed an adverse gene-expression profile, “people with high levels of hedonic well-being didn’t feel any worse than those with high levels of eudaimonic well-being,” Cole said. “Both seemed to have the same high levels of positive emotion. However, their genomes were responding very differently even though their emotional states were similarly positive.