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Seizure the day : living a happy life with illness

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    Publisher:
    Freehand Books, 2019
  • Publisher:
    Freehand Books, 2019
    Note: This book was purchased with support from the Government of Canada's Social Development Partnerships Program - Disability Component.

Details:

  • Author: Orend, Brian
    Date:
    Created
    2019
    Summary:

    Everyone can live a happier life, especially those with chronic illnesses. Brian Orend's smart and accessible guide for people with illness, injury, or other challenges provides both a satisfying look into happiness as well as practical steps for living a measurably happier life. When Brian Orend began having debilitating seizures that his doctors couldn't explain, he began a quest to learn how he could be happier, even despite his challenging circumstances. He dove into the research about happiness, only to realize that much of the advice about happiness was aimed at "everyone"--Failing to take into consideration the significant obstacles and circumstances faced by those with chronic conditions. Orend realized that the advice required for augmenting happiness needs to be tailored for those experiencing ongoing health challenges. And so he wrote Seizure the Day--a smart, accessible guide, grounded in the latest scientific research, that tackles not only the background of happiness, but also provides concrete how-to advice for living a happier life. As Seizure the Day demonstrates, people confronting challenging circumstances can make themselves measurably and sustainably happier. A better life, for each of us, awaits.

    Contents:
    • Intro; Introduction; Section 1 Happiness in General, and Pleasure in Particular; 1 Can Happiness Actually be Pursued?; The Laid-Back Philosophical Objection; The Hedonic Adaptation Objection; The Genetic Determinism Objection; 2 Why Should Happiness be a Goal?; The Best Lower- and Mid-Range Goal Selection; Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic; Authentic vs. Inauthentic; Approach vs. Avoidance; Harmony vs. Conflict; Activity vs. Circumstance; Flexibility vs. Rigidity; Pursuit vs. Attainment; The Benefits of Being Happy; Alternatives to Happiness as Life's Major Goal; The Backlash; The Reply; 3 Pleasure Evolution's Great Gift (and Aristotle's Excellent Definition)But: Evolution's Big Burden (Always the Pursuit, Never the Completion); Enhancing Pleasure; Twelve Pleasure Enhancements, Specially Targeted at the Chronically Ill; Pleasure's Proper Place; Between Hedonism and Stoicism; Ben-Shahar's Pleasure Personality Archetypes; Back to Lessons from Stoicism and Hedonism: Special Concerns for the Chronically Ill; Flow; Conclusion; Section 2 The External Goods; 4 Work and Income; The World of Work; Micro-Tips; Kinds of Work; Flow, and The Importance of Work; Accommodating Disabilities at Work Ben-Shahar's "MPS" ProcessAristotle's Ideal Forms of Work; Money; Happier Spending; Being Money-driven; Comparison, Class, and Control; Conclusion; 5 Social Institutions; Social Animals; Enduring Relevance; The Basic Structure; The Happiest Societies; Drawing Insights from "The World's Happiest Societies"; The Economy; Government; The Law; Armed Force; Enabling Institutions; Family; Culture; Summarizing Insights from the World's Happiest Societies; Happiness and Human Rights; Concluding Thoughts for the Chronically Afflicted; 6 Interpersonal Relationships; Two Theories: Head vs. Heart Chronic Conditions, and Their Impact on Cognitive Benefit and Affectionate AttachmentAristotle on Love and Friendship; Application of Aristotle to Chronic Conditions; Marriage or Equivalent: Learning from the Best ... and the Worst; Speaking of the Best: Clinging to Ideals?; Conclusion; 7 The Body; Physical Health and Happiness in General; Big Picture: "Blue-Zone" Longevity; Small Picture: "Fake It Until You Make It"; Aristotle (and Others) on Body, Beauty, and Happiness; Motion and Exercise; Nutrition and Hydration; Conclusion: Aristotle's Warnings About Weakness of Will Section 3 The Internal Goods8 Mental Hygiene; Positive Thinking; Tools of Thought?; The Role of Others in Positive Thinking; Social Comparison; Thinking About the Past; Religious Belief; Meditation; Your Best Possible Self; 9 Emotional Hygiene; Six Universal Emotions; Diminishing Negative Emotions; Increasing the Positive Emotions; The Two Big Personality Traits; Neuroticism; Extroversion; Those Two Other Traits: Openness and Agreeableness (Including Sense of Humour); Coping; Conclusion: Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Maturity; 10 Moral Character; But Really?; Virtues (and Vice) in General
    Original Publisher: Calgary, Alberta, Freehand Books
    Language(s): English
    ISBN: 9781988298429, 1988298423, 9781988298436, 1988298431