The Psychology Podcast — Overcome Your Trauma With Happiness w/ Karen Guggenheim

Date: December 19, 2024
Host: Scott Barry Kaufman
Guest: Karen Guggenheim
Podcast: The Psychology Podcast by iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Scott Barry Kaufman interviews Karen Guggenheim, founder of the World Happiness Summit, on the power of happiness to help overcome trauma. Drawing from her experience of sudden, devastating loss, Guggenheim shares how she rebuilt her life by embracing positive psychology, cultivating daily well-being practices, and transforming pain into purpose. The conversation explores the scientific and practical facets of happiness—including movement, relationships, forgiveness, meaning, and spirituality—and offers concrete advice for listeners facing adversity.

1. Karen Guggenheim’s Story: Trauma as a Catalyst for Pursuing Happiness

• Personal Background & Identity Shift

  • Karen describes herself as a visionary, catalyst, and storyteller, roles that have shifted profoundly following her husband's sudden death 11 years ago ([03:50–04:48]).
  • “At the core, I think who I am is definitely, I’m a mom, I’m a friend, I’m a daughter… I feel like I’m a catalyst. I’ve taken pain and tried to do something that is helpful and beneficial and good, and that’s who I am.” – Karen ([04:40])

• The Impact of Loss

  • Karen’s husband, whom she’d been with for half her life, died suddenly of the flu, a loss that left her “shut off to the world,” but she chose to “become an active participant” in life to care for her children ([05:04–06:30]).
  • Her drive for happiness started as a survival mechanism: “I decided to live. And that meant that I was going to be an active participant in my life. And…my purpose was going to be happiness.” – Karen ([06:15])

2. Defining Happiness and Trauma

• What Is Happiness?

  • Karen’s definition, shaped through conversations with scholars like Robert Biswas-Diener and Richard Layard:
    • Happiness has both cognitive and emotional components; it involves positive emotions and a sense of meaning and purpose but should not harm oneself or others ([09:52–10:25]).
  • “The trend is towards more positive emotion. Understanding…totality of human experience is going to bring you to those low moments, but…you don’t go as low or stay there as long…” – Karen ([10:55])

• Rethinking Trauma

  • Karen emphasizes trauma’s subjectivity and magnitude:
    • “You can’t define trauma in a way because what is traumatic to you may not be to me.” ([12:25])
    • She recounts the details of her husband’s death, describing the “hyper-reality” and how that experience shattered her foundation ([13:13]).
  • “When you’ve seen death, you understand what death is…calling my kids and telling them their father had died…that’s real. That’s trauma.” – Karen ([13:49])

3. From Pain to Post-Traumatic Growth

• Embracing Pain as a Pathway to Growth

  • Karen chose to “embrace the pain” rather than avoid or numb it as part of the healing process ([07:20]).
  • Letting go of pain doesn’t mean letting go of love: “When you're willing to let go of the pain… the love has grown.” ([15:55])

• Resilience, Grit, and Humor

  • Growing up in Nicaragua, Karen observed that people could find “joy in the midst of people who [were] really, really poor,” highlighting resilience and culture’s role in happiness ([17:20]).
  • She and Scott note the value of humor—especially absurdist humor—as a powerful tool for coping and healing ([17:55–18:06]).

• Neuroplasticity and Becoming Happy Again

  • Karen describes fundamentally rewiring her brain to choose joy and purpose, moving from a disposition that “was not naturally joyful” to “accidentally…becoming happy again” ([18:35–20:18]).
  • “I wasn’t a glass-half-full person… I used those strengths…analytical… commitment… building a ‘to be’ list. What do you want to be today?” – Karen ([18:45–19:44])

4. Practical Strategies for Overcoming Trauma and Cultivating Happiness

• Small Rituals and Behavioral Activation

  • Emphasizes copying happy people: “I started copying what happy people do. They look engaged in life…creative…have energy.” ([26:03])
  • Committing to rituals—morning reading, journaling, meditation, walks—as “hacks into the spiraling” of anxiety and sadness ([33:59–34:36]).
  • “I wore the ‘I am happiness’ T-shirt…not because I was happy, but this is where I’d like to be.” ([24:57])

• Movement and Breathing

  • Drawing from her yoga background, Karen describes breathing as an “anchor” during moments of extreme distress:
    • “I went into conscious breathing…because I could have easily fainted. But I went, ‘What do I control in this situation? My breath.’” ([31:16])
  • Movement – both physical and mental (“don’t get stuck”)—supports resilience and maintains well-being ([32:53]).
  • Shoutout to yoga instructor Veronica Vidal ([33:11]).

• Allowing Joy

  • Permission to laugh and savor positive moments—even amidst grief—builds the foundation for further healing:
    • “That was like the snowballing effect of what other things were to come that I said yes to because I allowed myself to feel all my feelings.” ([27:58])

5. Meaning, Purpose, and Mindful Living

• Meaning as an Active Pursuit

  • “I was sitting on the bus bench waiting for the happiness bus to come…when he died, that park bench blew up. I had to go and be active in finding the purpose…” ([35:09])

• Micro-Actions and Savoring for Their Own Sake

  • Recommends listeners try “a little tiny thing”—a short walk, offering someone else help on principle, or savoring just for its own sake ([36:15], [39:17]).
  • “Maslow called them the be values…values in and of themselves. We don’t try to get anything else other than those things are ends in themselves.” – Scott ([39:17])

• Making Room for Joy

  • “At the end of the day, you have to have this conversation with yourself—how do you want to mostly feel in your life?” ([39:46])
  • Karen underscores the importance of time, repetition, and self-reflection to determine which rituals truly support well-being ([39:46–41:08]).

6. The World Happiness Summit & Spreading Happiness

• About the Summit

  • Founded in 2016 by Karen; first summit in 2017.
  • Brings together scientists, practitioners, and the public to engage in evidence-based happiness and well-being practices ([41:11–43:22]).
  • “It’s the most amazing event…brings together world’s leading experts in the science of happiness and well-being with a global audience…tools for a happier life.” ([41:11])
  • U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and economist Lord Richard Layard among past participants ([42:09]).

• Global Impact

  • Initiatives for refugees in Ukraine, free online programs, and expansion into women-centered well-being efforts ([49:36–52:00]).

7. Relationships, Love, and Forgiveness

• Essentials of Happy Relationships

  • “It takes awareness, decision making…relationship is a decision to focus on what’s working well…Through a constructive lens.” ([44:28–45:24])
  • “Love is the most amazing thing…impersonal love, romantic love, filial love, parent love, caregiver love…significance—and largely you feel that with people.” ([45:25])

• The Power of Forgiveness

  • Forgiveness is “the hardest thing in the happiness study…But it’s such an important thing if you want to be happier.” ([47:01])
  • Forgiveness isn’t about excusing wrongdoing but freeing oneself:
    • “If you attach to unforgiveness and bitterness, it’s taking more away from me…energy that I can invest in my children, myself, my business. My creativity would go down…” ([48:26])
  • Inspired by Fred Luskin’s work on forgiveness—a recommended resource ([47:01]).

8. Spirituality, Synergy, and Final Messages

• Enhanced Spirituality & Interconnectedness

  • Karen describes spirituality as “the importance of all of us being okay together…we are more alike than not, even though we have all these differences” ([53:47–54:51]).
  • Draws on a sense of being “held” in moments of crisis and understanding our shared humanity.

• Synergy Over Zero-Sum Games

  • Asserts that collective happiness is mutually reinforcing and should not be seen as a zero-sum game but rather as creating “win-win scenarios” (per economist Layard, referenced at [53:33]).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “When you let go of the pain…the love has grown.” – Karen ([15:55])
• “My work now is a different kind of storytelling. I’m storytelling happiness.” – Karen ([08:03])
• “You can construct your happiness…practicing these habits, you don’t go as low or stay there as long.” – Karen ([10:54])
• “The first step was to feel that pain.” – Karen ([07:20])
• “We have a ‘to be’ list…You get to control that.” – Karen ([19:44])
• “Happiness is love…you feel that with people.” – Karen ([45:25])
• “Forgiveness…fertile ground for your happiness to thrive…just having a willingness is the first step.” – Karen ([47:01–48:26])

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Karen’s Background & Identity: [03:50–04:48]
• Origin of Happiness Focus: [04:55–07:20]
• Defining Happiness & Trauma: [09:52–13:49]
• Embracing Pain & Growth: [15:45–17:04]
• Resilience and Humor: [17:20–18:06]
• Rewiring for Happiness: [18:35–19:44]
• Small Steps & Behavioral Rituals: [24:57–27:58]
• Breathing & Movement for Healing: [31:16–33:21]
• Finding and Creating Meaning: [35:09–36:14]
• Savoring & Being: [39:17–40:48]
• The World Happiness Summit: [41:11–43:22]
• Building and Maintaining Relationships: [44:28–45:25]
• Love and Forgiveness: [45:25–49:16]
• Global Happiness Initiatives: [49:34–52:00]
• Spirituality & Interconnectedness: [53:33–54:51]

Final Takeaway:
Karen Guggenheim shows that happiness is not just a fleeting emotion but a collection of choices, habits, and mindsets—accessible even after trauma. While adversity is inevitable, reclaiming joy and meaning is possible through conscious practice, embracing difficult emotions, focusing on connection and forgiveness, and pursuing the greater good for oneself and others.

For listeners seeking transformation:

• Allow yourself to feel your feelings—pain and joy alike.
• Copy the behaviors of engaged, happy people.
• Build daily rituals (walking, journaling, breathing).
• Invest in relationships and forgiveness.
• Seek meaning actively, not passively.
• Remember: “The trend is toward more positive emotion—not avoiding the lows, but not staying there.”