Part 1

• Perception, Thinking, Emotions, and Memory: Where Behavior Originates.
• Life-Threatening Events: Why Do They Make Us Afraid, Angry, and Sad?
• Happiness: An Emotion or a Mood?
• Emotional Intelligence: A Key to Resilience? Social Intelligence?
• How To “Six” Your Way To Happiness: Six Key Virtues and Their Major Strengths.
• Acute Stress and Chronic Stress: Three Causes and Three Brain-Body Pathways of Fear.
• Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Stress from Ourselves or the World.
• Chronic Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: Negative Emotions and Moods.
• Men, Women, and Stress: Sex and Gender Issues. Fight Or Flight Vs. Tend and Befriend.
• Fear: Learning and Practicing Skills to Cope with Fear.
• Achieving Tranquility: The Magic of Mindfulness Meditation.
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Stress Management: Change Your Mind, Change Your Body.
• Dental Management of Patient Stress: Distractions, Control, and Expectations.
• Resilience: Developing the Capacity to Bounce Back from Stress and Trauma.
• Practice Makes Perfect: How Resilience Can Get Better Over Time.
• Building Resilience: Learning to Use 10 Key Strategies When Challenged.
• One Size Does Not Fit All: The Many Methods of Developing Resilience.
• Positive Psychology: The Science of Well-Being, Life Satisfaction, and Happiness.

Part 2

• The “50-40-10” Rule: How Genetics, Personality, and the Environment Create Happiness.
• Genes and Happiness: Are We Born Happy or Unhappy? Are There Happiness Genes?
• Blissful Ignorance: Do People Really Know What Will Make Them Happy?
• What Does Make Us Happy? What the Happiness Research Says.
• Choices, Choices, Choices: Does Having More of Them Make Us Happier?
• Happiness and Health: Does Greater Life Satisfaction Mean Less Disease and Longer Life?
• Learned Optimism: Challenging Negative Thinking, Appreciating Strengths, and Looking Up.
• Savoring Pleasure: How Mindful Enjoyment Helps Create Happiness.
• Nine Scientifically-Proven Ways To Feel More Joy In Life.
• Simple Daily Exercises That Help To Increase Life Satisfaction And Well-Being.
• Positive Psychology’s Role in Tough Times and Mental Health. Psychotherapies.
• Positive Psychology’s Role in Tough Times and Mental Health. Psychotherapies.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how perception, thinking, emotions, and memory combine to produce cognitive appraisals and behavior.
2. Outline the causes, components, and management of psychological stress.
3. Define resilience and explain the factors that compose the ability to “bounce back” from stressful events.
4. List the major components of the positive-psychology approach to increasing life satisfaction.
5. Identify the elements of happiness and optimism and how to apply them to increase well-being.
6. Describe how the information in this course can be utilized to improve patient care and patient outcomes.
7. Describe, for this course, the implications for dentistry, mental health, nursing, and other healthcare professions.