Dr. Aaron Kheriaty on Daily Habits that Will Make One Happier

". . . Americans are told they have a right to 'the pursuit of happiness,' yet research shows that anxiety and depression have skyrocketed. Is this the result of political or economic conditions, or is something else at work?

"Political and economic circumstances, like the 2008 recession, certainly play a role in the rising rates of depression and anxiety. But if we look at the recent rise of what researchers Anne Case and Angus Deaton have called 'deaths of despair' - deaths by suicide, drug overdoses and alcohol problems - we see that other important social and cultural factors are at work.

"We live in a society in which people feel increasingly socially isolated. The breakdown of marriage and weakening of family ties have disproportionately affected those with lower socioeconomic status, who are already more vulnerable. Self-reported loneliness has doubled from 20% to 40% of Americans, who now say they don't have a person in their life who can help support them in a difficult time, or with whom they can discuss important matters. If Americans have the right to pursue happiness, that cannot happen in a social vacuum. We need a society where solidarity is lived, and where social connections that contribute to human flourishing are facilitated."

". . . Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is an associate professor of psychiatry and the director of the bioethics program at the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine.

"In an interview with Joan Frawley Desmond, a senior editor for the Register, he discussed psychological and medical research on the virtues, happiness and human flourishing."

To access the complete National Catholic Register report on this interview with Dr. Kheriaty, please visit:

National Catholic Register: These Daily Habits Will Make You Happier, Says Catholic Psychiatrist (23 AUG 17)