Positive psychology – the science of wellbeing

In 1998 prominent psychologist Martin Seligman launched a new branch of psychology focused on wellbeing called positive psychology. It is very different from the superficial positivity movement that says “wish it and it’ll come true”. Positive psychology is an evidence-based science built on the premise that treating mental illness is not the same thing as promoting mental health. 

For a large part of its history, psychology focused on countering mental illness in all its wide and varied forms and the benefits of that research are many. However, the negative impact of stress and burnout are increasing issues. In a decade, the number of antidepressant prescriptions has soared. In a June 2026 update the Health and Social Care’s Business Services Organisation indicated that a shocking 26% of adult women and 16% of men in Northern Ireland received antidepressant medication in 2025/26!! There has to be another way!

At its core, traditional psychology is about fixing what is broken. In contrast. positive psychology is about developing mechanisms that help avoid the break in the first place, responding more constructively when challenges come and, beyond that, about living a truly fulfilled and authentic life.

Positive psychology is not just about reaching for temporary, passing “happiness”. Its aim is long-term sustainable wellbeing and it has a number of sub-topics that explore the components of wellbeing. As well as traditional “happiness”, some of the key concepts of positive psychology include Resilience, Growth Mindset, Grit, Post Traumatic Growth, Compassion, Optimism, Hope and Character Strengths. I’ll explore what lies behind these concepts in separate posts. 

I am very drawn to the concepts of positive psychology. Much of it is about taking responsibility and control of our lives. It’s about finding meaning and purpose to be our best selves and maximise the time we are allotted in life. We could all do with more of that in today’s world.