Oh, the Places You'll Go

(Web Sites You Might Like)

This time of year many people experience seasonal stress. Additionally, the economy and other internal and external forces may conspire to bring about feelings of sadness or depression. The following lists of Web sites from Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals
include psychological tests and stress relief:

• Authentic Happiness Questionnaire Center (http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/questionnaires.aspx) "Martin Seligman, the founder of the Positive Psychology movement, offers 19 surveys on this site in return for free registration. Measure today's happiness and your characteristic level of satisfaction. Do you find meaning in your life? Do you have grit and perseverance? The results can serve as clues for your next life moves. This site is also available in Spanish and Chinese, traditional and simplified."


• Happier.com (http://happier.com/) "In return for free registration, take clinically validated tests and learn techniques for being happier, including gratitude, letting go of grudges, and recalling good things that happen each day. Personalized help is available for a subscription fee."


• Why Are We Happy? Why Aren't We Happy? (http://ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html) "In this video from TED, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert explains how our prefrontal cortex predicts (mostly incorrectly) what will make us happy." [this video was previously published on this blog]


• Portable Guide to Stress Relief (https://www.health.harvard.edu/PDFs/Stress_Relief_Guide.pdf) "Follow these few suggestions from Harvard Medical School to help alleviate stress. Ideas include reaching out to others, correcting negative assumptions, and physical relaxation techniques that you can practice on the go."


• The Happiness Project (http://www.happiness-project.com/) "Gretchen Rubin, former lawyer, spent a year looking for happiness by 'test-driving every principal, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah.' She writes about her findings on her blog."