Sarah Pressman’s Positive Psychology students spread positivity campuswide
We often experience fleeting moments of happiness or even an entire day when you can say to yourself, as you slip into your jammies, “Gee, I felt really happy today.” But UC Irvine is possibly the only place where you are invited to feel happy for an entire week — without having to stop at a ticket booth and pass through a gate like that so-called “Happiest Place on Earth” up Interstate 5.
Thanks to the efforts of Sarah Pressman, professor of psychology and associate dean of undergraduate education, UC Irvine Happiness Week returns to campus for the third straight year. Held May 11 through 15, the campus-wide event is packed with activities aimed at boosting Anteaters’ well-being and resilience.
“This time of year can be especially stressful, particularly for graduating students who are navigating finals, uncertainty, and the transition into the ‘real world,’ ” Pressman explains. “Since May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, it feels like an especially important time to remind students that their well-being matters.”
Happiness Week melds both of Pressman’s professional “worlds” as it is led by the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and operated by about 400 students enrolled in her Positive Psychology class within the School of Social Ecology (as well as about a dozen campus units). New this year is a collaboration with the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to focus on future-oriented themes that speak directly to the needs of our academic community.
“For instance, we will discuss topics such as the connection between well-being, research, and discovery, and discovering meaning and purpose in academic and career paths,” Pressman says.
Indeed, Happiness Week offers a diverse range of events, including the exploration of the power of gratitude with acts of kindness, the search for inner peace through meditation and proven stress relievers like painting, crafting and dancing-dancing-dancing. (See the video of flash mob practice by members of Professor Jason Schiffman’s undergraduate psychosis class.)
This is where you will find the full of calendar of events. Meanwhile, here is a rundown of some events that specifically come from the School of Social Ecology or involve many social ecology students:
- Positive Psychology Student Well-Being Research Projects, Wednesday, May 13, 9:30-11 a.m. around Aldrich Park/Ring Road
- Social Ecology Mystery Event, presented by Social Ecology Undergraduate Affairs, Wednesday, May 13, noon at Social Science Plaza
- Paint, Sip & De-Stress: A Social Ecology Creative Escape, hosted by Social Ecology Undergraduate Affairs, Wednesday, May 13, 3-4 p.m. at Social Ecology I, Room 315
- Positive Psychology Class Interventions featuring a variety of positive psychology activities as part of a class project, Thursday, May 14, 9:30-10:50 a.m., campus-wide
- Petals for Positivity, with free flowers distributed by members of the Wellness Initiative in Social Ecology Peer Advisory Collective (WISE PAC), Thursday, May 14, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. along Ring Road
- Positive Psychology vs. the Loneliness Epidemic, hosted by Better Humans at UCI, Thursday, May 14, 6:30–7:30 p.m. at Social Science Trailer #103
- Positive Psychology Class Interventions at UROP, where 70+ students from 10 group projects in Professor Pressman’s class will be out front tabling with positive psychology interventions while the UROP Symposium happens inside, Friday, May 15, 10 a.m.-4:15 p.m., Bren Events Center.