A recent study by Ruut Veenhoven of Erasmus University Rodderdam in the Netherlands, as part of a Happiness Research Program, indicates that it is just as important to overall health to be happy, as it is to not smoke.  So does that mean that if you go around being cranky, negative, and unhappy you might as well be a smoker? Wow. That’s a pretty heavy statement, and quite frankly, I’m not too happy about it!

So, it’s not enough that I avoid cigarettes, consume little alcohol, try to eat healthy, take vitamins, exercise regularly and get my yearly pap smear; now I’ve got to smile all the freakin’ time?

I would have been happier not having this bit of information come to light. I liked it better when I could enjoy the freedom to complain about annoying people and be pissed off whenever I wanted to be.  The fact that my health now depends on a smiley demeanor and rosy out look, is just too much damn pressure! It’s yet another addition to my to do list.

1.     Laundry

2.     Take car for oil change

3.     Pay bills

4.     Be happy

I wish someone would delete this knowledge from my brain, because now every time I am unhappy about something, or even just simply annoyed, I start calculating the damage it is doing in terms of cigarette puffs that I might as well have taken.

*Guy cuts me off in traffic= 5 puffs

*Bad day at work= 20 puffs

*Airport security makes me dump my favorite hand cream because I forgot to bring a zip lock baggy= 100 puffs

Apparently, unhappiness’ influence on health is due to its tendency to keep people from becoming ill, rather than healing them after they are ill.

Other key points from the study:

1. Unhappiness activates the fight or flight response in the body, which can increase blood pressure and lower immune response

2. Happy people were more inclined to watch their weight. (Which came first, chicken or egg?)

3. Happiness can be bolstered by friendship and community

4. Above and beyond basic levels of comfort, money does not seem to drastically increase a person’s happiness quotient.     

And the best news of all, after inspecting the study more closely:  happiness is defined as “the overall appreciation of one’s life as a whole” rather than attitudes about individual scenarios. Phew! We’re all still safe to hate Tom Cruise if he goes off on Brooke Shields and Matt Lauer again.