I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to do.
Martin SeligmanRead
The best therapists can do with sadness, anger, and anxiety is to help patients live in the more comfortable part of their set range.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Therapists help people manage their emotions by guiding them towards a more positive emotional state within their natural emotional range.
This quote by Martin Seligman highlights the role of therapists in assisting individuals in navigating their emotional experiences. It suggests that rather than eliminating feelings like sadness, anger, or anxiety, therapists work to help patients recognize and reside in a healthier, more comfortable emotional space, ultimately enhancing their overall well-being. The focus is on emotional regulation and finding balance rather than suppression of emotions.
Themes
TherapistsEmotionsSadnessAngerAnxietyPsychologyMental Health
In practice
Example use cases
In a mental health workshop, a speaker might use this quote to illustrate the importance of emotional management.
More from Martin Seligman
All quotes βOne of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I' gets bigger and bigger, and the 'we' gets smaller and smaller.
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The dirty little secret of both clinical psychology and biological psychiatry is that they have completely given up on the notion of cure.
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The belief that we can rely on shortcuts to happiness, joy, rapture, comfort, and ecstasy, rather than be entitled to these feelings by the exercise of personal strengths and virtues, leads to legions of people who, in the middle of great wealth, are starving spiritually.
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I believe psychology has done very well in working out how to understand and treat disease. But I think that is literally half-baked. If all you do is work to fix problems, to alleviate suffering, then by definition you are working to get people to zero, to neutral.
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The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.
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