Psychology – Nudrat Kamal

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2011: http://tribune.com.pk/story/239994/studying-psychology-its-all-in-the-mind/

When I tell people that I am interested in psychology, the most common reaction I get is“Psycho parh parh kay psycho hojao gi.” There is so much that’s wrong with this sentence (the least of which is the abbreviation of psychology to psycho; its Psych, people), that I usually just smile and shrug off the scepticism instead of arguing. The fact of the matter is that psychology is more relevant to our everyday lives than most people realise, and it is definitely not synonymous with morbidity or depression.

Continue reading “Amazing Psychology: The Psychology of Happiness”

Published on the Newsline Magazine blog in December 2011: http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2011/12/research-says-money-can-buy-happiness/

Happiness doesn’t buy happiness. It’s a ridiculously overused saying. You hear it all the time. From your parents – probably followed by its even more clichéd sister, “Money doesn’t grow on trees”. It’s the message those movies give you, in which the poor main protagonist, who is constantly complaining about having no money, suddenly gets rich, only to discover that all the money in the world can’t fill the sad, sad hole in his heart. It’s not like the message is incorrect. After all, clichés become clichés for a reason – because there is a grain of truth in them. And if I had to bet, I’d probably say that a person with healthy, fulfilling relationships would be happier than a person with an obscene amount of money in his bank account and no friends. But recent studies show that there are ways in which money can increase your happiness. In fact, these researchers say that if money isn’t buying you happiness, then you’re probably not spending it right! Here are some ways in which you can use your money to give you greater pleasure:

Continue reading “Amazing Psychology: 5 Ways In Which Money Really Can Buy Happiness”