The “Danish effect”: well-being in US vs DK

Today in my Positive Psychology class we talked about the differences between Denmark and the US in regards to levels of happiness and well-being. I found this topic to be super interesting, so I thought I’d share some the class’s thoughts with all of you.

*Disclosure: These are generalizations and do NOT apply to every American or Dane in the world. These are just observations made by myself, or that different studies have found. Therefore, I hope no one is offended by the following statements.

 

Statistics from the OECD (a VERY interesting organization that aims to “promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world”):

Rankings of:

Life satisfaction

Denmark: 1

United States: 8

Work-life balance

Denmark: 1

United States: 12

Sense of Community:

Denmark: 2

United States: 10

As I think I mentioned before, one reason my class thought Denmark was one of the happiest countries in the world is because of their low expectations. From what I’ve observed, Danes are also very level-headed when it comes to life circumstances. By that I mean they are well-equipped to handle death and illness for example because they understand that it is just a part of life that is out of our control. In my own life,  I have found that it is easy to forget that we are not able to control everything.  Once you realize some things just happen, your expectations are lowered and your reaction to those circumstances is more positive.

 The OECD also found that Americans discriminate less between emotional responses than Danes do. For example, this means that Americans are likely to associate smiling, being proud, and feelings of happiness, whereas Danes can feel either pride or happiness without eliciting a smile. Or one could be smiling, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she is feeling positive emotions. I’ve noticed this with my host family, because even if my host parents have had a bad day, they still are smiling and carrying on as if they did have a good day. Or, if something really great happened that day, their demeanor is the same as if nothing really special had happened that day. I often feel as if I am being interpreted as “fake” because I am enthusiastic if I really like a meal or if I’ve had a good day. This leads to the next point we talked about in class, that generally Americans are more emotional than Danes. An interesting point is that perhaps it’s not that American’s are more emotional per say, but they are more likely to express whichever emotions they are feeling. In the United States, showing emotion and being passionate about something is very much related, so we are positively reinforced when we show our emotions. However, in Denmark, it isn’t necessary to show every emotion you are feeling.

We also watched a video on the Neuroscience of Meditation, which fascinated me since I am a Neuroscience major. Multiple studies have shown that the brain structure is actually different in people that meditate compared to people that do not meditate. The activation of the left side of the brain is associated with feelings of happiness and enthusiasm, and that is the part of the brain that is strengthened when a person meditates. So, I am going to once again promote meditation and yoga to all of you! You can start out with 5 minutes a day, and eventually get up to 30 minutes a day. In case you need some motivation, here is a website to get you started: http://zenhabits.net/meditation-for-beginners-20-practical-tips-for-quieting-the-mind/.

The key thing to remember when you meditate is to recognize your thoughts, both positive and negative, and learn to let them pass you by. This allows you to become more content and less judgmental of your thoughts and actions. One quote from the movie we watched was “meditation is not just a hobby, it changes how you experience every moment of your life.”

In relation to meditation, my Religion and Politics class is going to Sahaj Marg for our class tonight to learn more about the process of meditation as a form of religion. This is another reason why I love DIS- they get you out into the real world and show how things you are learning in class actually relate to every day life. Click on the link to learn more about it! It looks intriguing.

On Wednesday I am going to a “field study” about trans-international adoption. I have always thought adoption as such a positive thing, however this talk will be about the more negative sides of adoption. Some people think that it is a form of exploitation against people in poverty. To prepare for the speaker, we watched a video called Thai to Thy (click here to access part of the video) that is about Thai women being brought over and marrying Danish men.. think “mail-order bride.” We discussed whether or not this was a form of exploitation or if it was fair since both people receive something out of the deal and the woman is fully aware of the decision she’s making. It was an interesting discussion and I learned a lot from listening to other people’s opinion.

Well, I should probably stop procrastinating and start writing my paper that’s due this week. Hope ya’ll have a wonderful week 🙂

 

Time flies when you’re having fun

So sorry I haven’t updated my blog in awhile!  I’ve had papers due in each of my classes this past week, so I have been trying to get back into the “school” mode..it’s easy to forget I didn’t only come here to explore Europe!

Last weekend I went to Vienna, Austria with my friends Chloe and Shane (both also go to DIS and coincidentally my home university). We had a blast! My favorite parts were seeing the Sigmund Freud museum, the opera house, and all the beautiful old buildings in the city. It is such a quaint, historic place.

Chloe and I

 

 

 

 

Lost in Vienna….

 

 

Besides schoolwork, my week has also consisted of exploring Christiania, a super cool part of Copenhagen that is considered a “free town”. People are not allowed to take pictures, so read more about it by clicking on the link if you’re interested! I also went to the Statens Museum for Kunst, the national gallery of Denmark. It is by far one of the best art museums I have ever been to. The surreal and modern art is my favorite part.

I also have been volunteering at the Student House, exploring Roskilde (where my host family lives), meeting other DIS students and Danes through a program called the “buddy network” (which I would highly recommend for any prospective DIS students!) I went out and experienced the Roskilde night life last night with one of the neighbors of my host parents. He took my roommate and I out and we were able to meet his Danish friends and see an authentic Danish bar. It was really fun to talk about American politics, religion, pop culture, etc. with the Danes.

I have classes this week, and then next week I have my first travel break. Half of the DIS program has a week off to independently travel, and the other half has their long study tour in a different country. I will be going to London for my long study tour in March. Since I have next week off, I am leaving for Madrid, Spain this Saturday and meeting my friend, Wunmi, who is studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain. We are spending the weekend there and then I’m going to stay with her and her host mom in Sevilla for the week. I’m so excited to see her and see Spain!

There isn’t too much more news to update you all on. I’m still loving every second of my time here and so grateful for the opportunity to come to Denmark and travel. I could not have asked for a better experience so far. In fact, if I had studied abroad in the fall I’m pretty sure I would have extended my stay for the whole year! If there are any prospective students with questions-please don’t hesitate to ask! I’ll do my best to help 🙂

Have a wonderful week!

 

 

Short Study Tour: Lund, Nimis, & Malmo, Sweden

From Thursday to Saturday I was in Sweden with my Positive Psychology class. One of the reasons I chose to come to DIS was because this program really integrates traveling and class bonding into their curriculum. I had a wonderful time getting to know my classmates more and seeing a part of Sweden I don’t think I would’ve seen had I not been with this group. I also was able to learn more about how the positive psychology field, or more specifically, meditation and well-being fits into the real world.

On Thursday, we left Copenhagen at 7:30 AM. It only took us 50 minutes to get to Lund University, which is one of the top 100 universities in the world! It was in a beautiful, quaint town. The university was established in 1666 and the teachers were paid with meat and grain rather than money. Now the university has almost 50,000 students! Our class met with different professors and listened to the research that they were working on. This was probably my favorite part of the whole trip because the studies that these professors were working on were ingenious and fascinating. If you’re not into research, you can skip down to the next paragraph 🙂 The first woman talked about her research on the effects of meditation/mindfulness on people with depression. She wanted to see why some people responded to antidepressants and other people did not. She also wanted to look into why some people develop depression and why others do not. The current research with mental illness focuses so much on the negative aspect of the diseases, meaning much of the focus is on what is wrong with the person and how to get them back to neutral. However, this women wanted to look into what was “right” with people and certain attributes that prevented people from getting sick. The next researcher talked about her work with elderly people. She studied four different groups of people: people with a disease and reported having many symptoms, people with a disease but did not complain much, people who did not have a disease but complained of many symptoms, and people who did not have a disease and did not complain of symptoms. She found that optimism was a key personality factor that contributed to how well a person felt. This provides evidence that your outlook on life can actually affect your physical health. How interesting!!

 

Buildings at Lund University

 

Next, we drove about an hour by bus to Nimis. See my previous “re-blog” for more information about this one-of-a-kind place. This was by far one of the coolest places I have ever been. We spent about 3-4 hours hiking down to the structures and we even could climb up the structures themselves. Words are not able to do Nimis justice, so here are a bunch of pictures:

 

 

We went to a cute, little Swedish cafe and DIS paid for us to have coffee, tea, and pastries. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. We spent the evening at a hostel nearby and had dinner and a bonfire. It was a great bonding experience!

The next day we went back to Lund and had some free time to explore the city. We also went to a glass blowing studio to learn about the craft. It was so fun watching the man turn pieces of glass into a beautiful vase.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we had a lecture from our teacher about Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. It’s a new psychological therapy used for people that have had multiple cases of depression. It utilizes mindfulness and meditation in order to focus one’s thoughts on the present moment. Then we talked with a mindfulness nature instructor. He started his own company where he leads meditation/hike sessions in Sweden. In class we have been talking about how nature has been shown to decrease feelings of depression and increases attention and memory. It was very cool to see how this is being used in the real-world. I hope this gives you some motivation to take a daily walk or do something outside in nature!

 

After the lecture, we spent the night in a hostel in Malmo, Sweden.  We ate dinner at a Greek restaurant and the food was amazing! The next morning (our last day), we went on a 2-hour walking tour of Malmo. It was snowing and really cold, but we got through it! DIS provided lunch for us and it was out of this world. Everyone could not stop raving about how good the food was. After lunch, we went to a modern art museum in Malmo. It was fun to look at surreal art and relate it to psychology. Apparently the point of surreal art is to make the viewer question what is real and what is not.

 

From the museum we left for Copenhagen! Although this was one of the funnest weekends I’ve had, I have totally fallen in love with Denmark so I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to come home. Even though we were all exhausted from such a busy few days, some of us got together a few hours later and went out into the city for the night; it was a blast. I am so thankful for the short study tour because it really allowed me to make some good friends and meet people who I may not hang out with at my home university. 

 

This Thursday I am leaving for Vienna, Austria with my friends Shane and Chloe. The amount of schoolwork has picked up and I have a few papers due this week, so I will be busy frantically trying to finish everything before we go. I also just booked a trip to Berlin, Germany for St. Patrick’s Day weekend! I’m super excited.

 

To potential DIS students: let me know if you have any questions about the program or my experience thus far. I could talk about how impressed I have been for days…

 

Have a wonderful week 🙂

 

 

 

Goodbye Denmark, hello Sweden!

Tomorrow I’m leaving for Southern Sweden with my Positive Psychology class. We will be taking a hike to Nimis, talking with a mindfulness researcher, and a women who specializes in character strengths. We are also going to tour the Lund cathedral and visit a modern art museum. Yesterday, my class visited an art museum in Copenhagen. We tried to connect the modern art pieces to something in psychology. It was really fun!

Here are some recent pictures:

These are both from the Round Tour in Copenhagen. My host parents brought my roommate and me. It is basically a really old tower that has a fantastic view of the city. I want to go again when the weather gets nicer.

I made dinner with my host sister at her apartment for my host parents. We made homemade pizza..literally everything was homemade, even the dough and the sauce! It was delicious. We also made cream balls that were dipped in chocolate.

An odd piece at the art museum. Apparently the artist urinated on the piece to make a statement?

Watching the sunrise over the fjord on my morning run. Breathtaking!!!

My week in pictures

For those of you who are visual learners, here are some pictures I took over the past week:

This is my host mom and dad while watching Danish handball. Denmark has one of the top handball teams in the world! They were in the championship against Spain and lost 😦 You can see the difference in interest between my host mom and dad haha.

It was Fashion week in Copenhagen!

The building I pass on my way walk to school every day.

The sunrise on my run the other morning! I’ve tried to stay healthy by running and doing yoga regularly. As mentioned before, Denmark is such a healthy society that it has been easy to stick to a work out plan.

Meanwhile, in Denmark…

Here are some interesting differences that I’ve observed so far:

-This may sound strange, but there are SO many men that push strollers here! I’ve almost seen more men pushing strollers than women, something that is not that common in the United States. I think this is an example of an overall culture difference: the Danes strive to have everyone be seen as equal. It is not simply considered a “woman’s job” to be the homemaker and to take care of the children. My host dad makes as many meals as my host mom does, and he cleans just as much too!

-Danes are incredibly warm and loving people. I have never met so many kind people in such a short period of time. Since I have been volunteering at the Studenterhuset, I have gotten to know a few of the Danes that I work with. Last night after my shift, I went over to a dinner party that one of my co-worker’s invited me to. I spent the night talking with 10 other Danes about American politics, religion, Danish history, government, and cultural differences. It was one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had! We ate homemade spaghetti by candlelight and I felt as if I really experienced the Danish term: hygge.

-Danish people are much more health conscious than the general US population. Every meal I’ve had with my host family has been made with fresh and healthy ingredients. They are very conscious of what they are putting into their bodies and how they are treating them. My host dad pointed to Frosted Flakes in the grocery store, and right before I could say “That’s my favorite kind of cereal!” he said, “That stuff is SOOO unhealthy!!” Even though I think I eat pretty healthy back in the states, I feel as if I’ve been having a sugar withdrawal! To my surprise, from all the walking and healthy eating I’ve been doing, I’ve managed to actually lose weight. The biking culture here also has been fun to experience. It is not uncommon to see people as old as 70-80 riding their bike on snowy days. Gas, cars, and public transportation are very expensive, so it makes sense that Danes try to travel for free whenever possible.They have special bike lines and traffic stop lights because of how much bike traffic there is.

– Copenhagen and DIS (where I’m studying) are VERYYY safe places. DIS is almost annoyingly safe. I say this because you need to swipe your card every time you go to a different floor in a DIS building. I have not felt unsafe once in Copenhage, even at 4-5 in the morning. People pretty much keep to themselves and mind their own business.

– I HIGHLY recommend living with a host family. I have experienced much more about Danish culture than many of my friends who are living in Danish Residence Halls or Kollegium’s have. Many of them have said they are struggling to eat enough food and eating healthy is very difficult. I feel really lucky that I have a delicious breakfast (usually a cup of coffee, granola and yogurt, and toast with jam), lunch (usually a couple huge carrots, a pear, a mozzarella chicken pesto sandwich on amazing bread), and dinner (always something unbelievably good made by my host parents). The best part-it’s all free! Well, technically it’s part of my housing portion of the tuition, but let’s just pretend it’s free. You cannot find something for lunch for less than $10 in Copenhagen, so packing your lunch can save you a LOT of money. The only downfall of living with a host family is the commute. I’ve experienced some interesting transportation experiences since I have to take a bus from my house to the train station, and then a regional train to Copenhagen. The buses stop at around midnight, and only run once an hour after 9 PM, so if you want to stay out later than midnight or if you miss a bus, you have to get creative. I once had to run (because it was so cold out) the three miles from my house to the station, in the snow, in my “going out” clothes, with a case of beer (because alcohol is too expensive to buy at the bars..one drink can be about $10 if it’s not happy hour). As you can tell, I’m still trying to figure out the transportation system.

– People here are not religious, but they are very tolerant of people that are. Coming from a Christian home, it has been a great experience for me to meet other people that are not from the same background. It has really opened my eyes and shown me that believing in God is not a precursor for being a kind person. I have met some of the most extraordinary people, with better values and way of living than some Christian’s I’ve met, but they do not believe in God. My Religion and Politics class has also been a great way for me to explore my own spiritual/religious views and how religion influences politics. My Gender and Sexuality class has also been a wonderful class to broaden my perspective and tolerance of people different than myself; I wish everyone could take these classes!!

-The Danish culture is a very collective society. By this I mean that they are always looking out for other people and are not egocentric. The Danes have to pay incredibly high taxes (the minimum is 38% of a person’s salary), but in return they receive free health care, a wonderful welfare system, university is FREE, and they get PAID to go to school.  I just have to say that last one again: Their college education is FREE and they get PAID to go to school!!!!!!!!! Why didn’t I grow up in Denmark?! My friend Casper explained the Danish political paradigm as this: we are socialist, not communist, because we believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity, but that it’s unrealistic for everyone to achieve equality. I really like this way of thinking because I too think that everyone deserves an equal opportunity. Although the US claims everyone can achieve the “American Dream”, your opportunities are typically limited to whatever social class you are born into. I know some people that cannot afford to go to school because their parents are unable to co-sign a loan for them. In Denmark, that is not a problem. No matter what amount of money your parents make, you still have the same opportunity to go to college that everyone else has. I love that about this society. In my Positive Psychology class, we talk a lot about how competition may have something to do with why Danes are the happiest country in the world. They do not have to compete to get into college and they seem to have the best of society as their main goal rather than themselves. Here is the link to my Sociology of the Family class if you want to check out what it’s about too 🙂

Those are all the observations I can think of for now. Tomorrow I am going to my host sister’s apartment in Copenhagen and she is teaching Liz (my roommate) and me how to cook. My host parents are then coming for dinner and we are serving them. I’m really looking forward to it! Afterwards, I am going to the Studenterhuset for a Super Bowl Party. The game doesn’t start until 12:30 AM Danish time, so it will be a late night for many of us Americans.

Next week we actually don’t have regular classes because it is our core course week and short study tour. On Monday, I have a meeting with my class from 10-1 to discuss the importance of character strengths and values. On Tuesday, we are going to an art museum in order to explore the character strength of appreciation of beauty (cool, right?!) We don’t have school on Wednesday, and then on Thursday my whole class of about 30 people travels to southern Sweden! This is an opportunity for us to get to know our classmates better and see how Positive Psychology is used in the real world. We are going to a university to talk with researchers about mindfulness therapy on depression and we will do a few other things as well. We come back on Saturday afternoon.

The last bit of news is that I booked a trip to Austria today! On Valentine’s weekend I will go to Vienna with two of my friends that I’ve met at DIS, who both actually go to the University of St. Thomas (where I go to school)! I am beyond excited.

 

I will update again soon after I come back from my study tour. Thanks for reading & have a wonderful week!