Is Happiness Always a Good Thing?
Claudia Skowron is a licensed clinical professional counselor who has also attained her CADC certification. She graduated summa cum laude from Illinois State University earning her Master’s Degree in Clinical-Counseling Psychology. Her previous experience consists of working in a community mental health center in Central... more
Have you ever considered the idea that there may be such a thing as too much happiness and too much positivity? Our society has taken a radical shift towards emphasizing positivity; simply look on social media sites such as Instagram and you can see the flood of positive quotes, photos of ‘happiness,’ and tips on how to create a happy life. However, is all of this positivity too much or even realistic? As a clinical therapist, the biggest myth regarding happiness or positivity I hear is that we have to seek happiness all the time (eg. wake up happy, think happy thoughts, stay positive, etc.).
However, by doing this, we set ourselves up for unrealistic standards. No one is happy all the time, are they? Perhaps there are actually benefits to accepting unpleasant emotions, such as sadness, anxiety, or frustration. These so-called unpleasant emotions are, in fact, a very real part of the human condition, and pushing them out as though they shouldn’t exist only makes us feel more guilty when we do feel them. To be human means to experience the gamut of human emotion, and just as much as we wouldn’t want to surround ourselves with pessimists all day, surrounding ourselves with radical optimism isn’t always the answer either. We need to create the space for both ends of the spectrum; by doing so, we create balance, take away our pressures, and can feel true satisfaction.
About Dr. Claudia Skowron
Claudia is a licensed clinical professional counselor who has also attained her CADC certification. She graduated summa cum laude from Illinois State University earning her Master’s degree in Clinical-Counseling Psychology. Her previous experience consists of working in a community mental health center in central Illinois on an outpatient basis. She then transitioned to the northwest suburbs of Chicago where she began working with adolescents struggling with severe emotional and behavioral distress at the inpatient and partial hospitalization level. She has also trained, mentored, and supervised younger clinicians and enjoys teaching.
Claudia has extensive experience conducting Cognitive-Behavioral, Dialectical-Behavioral, and Motivational Interviewing therapies. Yet, her therapeutic approach is eclectic, meeting the needs of her clients. “A certain approach that works with one individual may not resonate with another; it’s my role as a therapist to meet each client where they are in treatment and adapt the most appropriate therapeutic interventions.”
Claudia enjoys working with adolescents and families, as well as young adults and young couples. Her level of expertise shines in individual and group therapy, and she is frequently attending conferences and training to stay up to date on the newest therapeutic treatment modalities.
