Schizophrenic helped by 'flow' happiness theory

Adapted extract from an article by Mark Honigsbaum in the Independent.

Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, believes that he has identified the source of human happiness. It comes from what he calls 'flow', a state of deep concentration or concentrated activitity. It is a universal experience that occurs whenever individuals set themselves a goal and seek to overcome the obstacles in their way to enjoying it. People typically then report feeling strong, alert, in effortless control and at the peak of their abilities. Emotional problems and the sense of time seem to disappear.

'He has identified the source of human happiness. It comes from concentrated activitity'

Czikszentmihalyi cites the case of a female schizophrenic in Holland who had failed to respond to conventional psychiatric treatment. Using an electronic beeper, psychiatrists interrupted the woman at different points in the day and asked her how she felt. After doing this a number of times, they discovered that she was invariably happiest when cutting her nails. Concluding that this was for her an optimal experience, they found her a job as a manicurist and successfully returned her to the community.

Czikszentmihalyi's book 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' has sold more than 300,000 copies in the States.

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