Background. As distress in society increases, including work environments, individual capacities to compete with stress have to be strengthened. Objective. We examined the impact of a web-based happiness training on psychological and physiological parameters, by self-report and objective means, in an occupational health setting. Methods. Randomized controlled trial with 147 employees. Participants were divided into intervention (happiness training) and control groups (waiting list). The intervention consisted of a seven-week online training. Questionnaires were administered before, after, and four weeks after training. The following scales were included: VAS (happiness and satisfaction), WHO-5 Well-being Index, Stress Warning Signals, Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, Recovery Experience Questionnaire, and Flourishing Scale. Subgroup samples for saliva cortisol and alpha-amylase determinations were taken, indicating stress, and Attention Network Testing for effects on attention regulation. Results. Happiness (P = 0.000; d = 0.93), satisfaction (P = 0.000; d = 1.17), and quality of life (P = 0.000; d = 1.06) improved; perceived stress was reduced (P = 0.003; d = 0.64); mindfulness (P = 0.006; d = 0.62), flourishing (P = 0.002; d = 0.63), and recovery experience (P = 0.030; d = 0.42) also increased significantly. No significant differences in the Attention Network Tests and saliva results occurred (intergroup), except for one saliva value. Conclusions. The web-based training can be a useful tool for stabilizing health/psychological well-being and work/life balance.

Hintergrund: Die Flourishing Scale (FS) von Ed Diener et al. wurde im Rahmen einer Interventionsstudie ins Deutsche übersetzt und erstmals im deutschsprachigen Raum getestet und validiert. Methoden: Die FS ist ein kurzes 8-Item-Messinstrument. Die Items wurden aus verschiedenen Bereichen, die ein subjektives psychologisches Wohlbefinden beschreiben, zusammengesetzt. Ergebnisse: Die deutsche Version der Flourishing Scale (FS-D) erwies sich als stabiles, reliables und valides Messinstrument für das psychologische «Aufblühen» (Flourishing) bei Patienten einer Mind-Body-medizinischen Tagesklinik. Wesentliche Parameter des Original-Fragebogens konnten verifiziert werden. Schlussfolgerung: Zusätzlich werden Zusammenhänge zwischen Flourishing, Achtsamkeit, Kohärenzgefühl und gesundheitsbezogener Lebensqualität (sowie Mind-Body-Medizin) dargestellt.

Background: Stress-related, behavioral or chronic diseases require a holistic therapeutic approach. Mind-body medicine (MBM) uses the interaction between mind, body, behavior, and the environment to affect physical and psychological health and function. This integrative strategy can be applied in clinical settings, e.g., in an outpatient clinic, to improve well-being as well as clinical outcomes. We hypothesized an improvement of flourishing, mindfulness, sense of coherence, and quality of life through a comprehensive MBM program. In addition, we hypothesized correlations between the measures themselves as well as between the measures influenced by the intervention. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study in an outpatient clinic setting (n = 48 patients, with various diagnoses). A questionnaire battery, consisting of SF-12, Flourishing Scale (FS, FS-D), Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), and Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC9), was used and applied in a pre-to-post format over a period of 18 weeks. The intervention was a 12-week MBM group program, with 1 session of 7 h per week. Results: The pre-post comparison of the measures showed significant improvements in psychological health, flourishing, mindfulness, and coherence. We were able to verify correlations between the measures themselves, apart from physical health. Coherence correlated with psychological health, influenced by the intervention. Further analyses showed associations between coherence, mindfulness, and flourishing. Conclusions: The MBM program improved measures of psychological health and decreased the level of suffering from chronic disease. MBM led to an improvement of disease coping and appraisal of individual ailments, thereby enhancing quality of life. Personal flourishing, coherence, and mindfulness seem to interact with each other.

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