Regenerative Positive Psychology: Rethinking Well-Being Beyond the Self

During the last decade, we have seen the integration of positive psychology into our everyday lives. This field has helped us improve individual well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction. However, recently it has started receiving heavy criticism. As our world faces many uncontrollable crises, we need to question whether this highly narrow and idiocentric approach actually serves us the best. Many researchers have questioned the narrow definition of well-being, which has led to the development of Regenerative Positive Psychology. This perspective emphasises the fact that well-being cannot be understood in a vacuum and needs to be understood in the context of broader systems. 

Read More: What is positive psychology and how can it helpful for us?

Positive Psychology 

After World War II, psychology has been largely focused on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses and pathology. it merely focused on what makes people deviant and behave abnormally, it was not interested in understanding how one can achieve a more fulfilling and happy life. It was not until the 20th century that psychologists and scholars believed that it was important to explore well-being and what makes life worth living. They studied various exceptional individuals and believed that well-being or happiness is not merely the absence or opposite of illness or dysfunctions, there is more to it. This led to the rise of what we today know as positive psychology. 

Martin Seligman officially founded this field in the 1990s, he believed that psychology should shift its focus from pathology to understanding concepts such as happiness, resilience, optimism, gratitude and the conditions which allow us to live a more fulfilling life. Positive Psychology was a hit from the start. it not only influenced the field of psychology but also influenced the general population. It also led to a flux of self-help books in the market which were based on the concepts and principles of positive psychology. It helped improve many lives and also revolutionised the field of psychology, however, it faced several criticisms. 

Michael F. Steger, in his research article, criticised this field for its over-emphasis on individual well-being and complete neglect of the broader systemic issues such as the impact of social economic and environmental factors on the well-being of an individual. He proposed a more thorough framework in response to these criticisms, that is Regenerative Positive Psychology, which aims to comprehend and promote well-being, which encompasses all living systems and systems that support life, in addition to persons and human settings. 

Read More: 7 Positive Psychology Habits for Everyday

Criticism 

Steger states that positive psychology originally aimed to focus on three main areas of aspects, those are subjective experiences, individual traits and broader societal and systemic elements. As we can notice there is a great influx of books, research and intervention programs which focus on the first two pillars of positive psychology, however, the third pillar has been largely ignored. the author gives evidence of this fact by acknowledging that global well-being has improved, such as improved happiness and reduced suicide rates, but these improvements are minor and not sufficient enough to address the wider systematic issues.

Positive Psychology has largely focused on individual well-being and may not be equipped enough to handle the larger global crises such as environmental degradation, global warming, social disparities etc. He discusses a fascinating thought experiment that clearly puts forth the limitations of this file. He states that Finland is considered to be one of the most happy nations.

However, Finland has never experienced global crises like rising sea levels, political instability, social disparity etc. If they were to experience this, the interventions and principles of positive psychology would not be enough to restore their well-being and happiness. This really prompts us to think about how to approach well-being more uniquely. a way which does not neglect the global systemic issues. 

Concepts like gratitude, awe and connectedness with nature are very central to PP. it focuses on how nature and our external environment help us to improve our well-being and we feel connected with nature, however, there is little to no concern for the preservation and restoration of this external environment. We continue to harvest happiness from these resources with no care for their depletion or their health, a phenomenal Steger calls ‘Harvest Happiness’. 

Read More: Positive Psychology: Harnessing the Power of Happiness, Mindfulness, Savoring & Inner Strength

Regenerative Positive Psychology 

Regenerative Positive Psychology demands a shift in focus from individual well-being to also include the well-being of the wider structures and systems, such as social environment and ecological systems. Individual bell being cannot be understood in a vacuum, it needs to be understood in relation to the broader systems. According to Steger, individual well-being also tends to improve and thrive when these wider systems are flourishing.

Rather than damaging the life-sustaining systems or sustaining their depletion, Regenerative practices focus more on improving the health and capacity of these life-sustaining systems. Hence, the basic unit of analysis in Regenerative Positive Psychology would be the health and growth of the life-sustaining systems rather than the individual well-being. 

Pillars of Regenerative Positive Psychology 

1. First Pillar 

In positive psychology, the basic unit of measurement was the individual experience of well-being, which could be measured by their level of happiness, life satisfaction gratitude etc. Regenerative Positive Psychology argues that this perspective is too narrow and idiocentric. Well-being should not be only seen as an individual phenomenon isolated from its environment. But rather it is something that emerges from and is also connected with the environment and other brother systems.

The first pillar of Regenerative Positive Psychology highlights the importance of the interconnectedness of the individual well-being and the broader systems. it ascertains that individual well-being can’t be fully understood without considering the health of the global systems. A person’s well-being is not only the result of their personal achievements and experience but also connected to the health of the environment that they interact with and also their larger socio-political scenario. In conclusion, the first pillar allows us to move away from the idiocentric perspective of well-being and allows us to understand its interconnected nature. 

2. Second Pillar 

The first pillar highlights the interconnected nature of well-being and the second pillar builds on the same idea. The second pillar advocates for expanding the scope of research and interventions to include the wider sociological economic and environmental systems as well. The second pillar also calls for a more holistic approach towards research and developing interventions. It allows for a more interdisciplinary approach which may go on to include economics, pol sci, sociology etc.

Lastly, it also advocates for developing a scientific framework focusing on the regeneration of these broader systems. The author gives the example of an education institution, asserting that we should develop strategies that support the health and well-being of schools as institutions and ensure that they can effectively implement well-being programs. 

3. Third Pillar 

The third pillar encourages us to be more proactive in our approach. it prompts us to take tangible actions towards sustaining the health of the wider systems. it allows us to further research and intervention programs which allows us to cultivate certain traits and values that make such a positive caretaker of ecological systems. By promoting research, and intervention programs which target our positive caretaking values and traits, we can create a more sustainable environment for us and by this, we will not only be enhancing our well-being but also taking care of the health and capacity of our environment. 

Regenerative positive psychology arises out of the shortcomings and limitations of positive psychology. It focuses on a more holistic approach towards well-being rather than an individualistic approach. It provides holistic well-being by focusing on social, environmental and economic systems. It also advocates for research and intervention programs that help improve personal well-being and the well-being of the broader systems. this shift can help us achieve more holistic well-being and also address complex societal and environmental issues.