Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Is there some sort of measuring stick for happiness? If so...

..then these guys 'sticks' are a millimetre long at most.

This article talks about measuring happiness in people who are (clinically speaking) 'locked' in their bodies. These people can only communicate through eye movements. 

The disease "traps" people in their own body, able to think, but incapable of moving or talking.
A French study of 65 patients, published in the British Medical Journal's BMJ Open, found 72% reported being happy, with just 7% wanting help to commit suicide.
Experts said it showed it would be unwise to make assumptions about people's mental state. About half of those questioned, 55%, had recovered some speech and 70% had recovered some limb movement.

68% said they never had suicidal thoughts.
The study also found that the longer people were locked-in, the more likely they were to be happy.

Ian: Boy, this gives me a new view on my own 'miseries' that I hang onto. It also makes me see that our individual happiness is proscribed by our own attitudes to what we perceive as life. If we think big in terms of mind horizons, we are capable of dreaming big, and therefore capable of enjoying the realms of our big dreams. So is there any point in comparing my happiness (or lack thereof) with anyone else's happiness? Isn't it just about how big the measuring stick I choose to use?


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