Episode 15: Did COVID Make You Lonely

Episode 15: Did COVID Make You Lonely

Did COVID change the way you connect with people? In EP 15 of The Happiness Standard, Dr. Sarah Eileen-Downey Akers explores the rise of loneliness after the pandemic and why feeling disconnected impacts more than just our emotions. Using research from Hawkley and Cacioppo (2010), this episode breaks down the psychological, relational, & physical effects of loneliness — and how we begin reconnecting again! Podcasts Episodes Mentioned:  Embracing Change: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Rb0qH75B6lcyufxIgssu1?si=nG8FT8_DS62ukWeEOFIvDg Anger Is Your Friend: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6FJJtqnCRTkHSM9wRYMh3b?si=kQUV-UaoSNyVTK1b05lTrw References:  Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 40(2), 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8

Episode 14: Embracing Change

In this episode of The Happiness Standard, we discuss embracing change, outgrowing relationships, letting go of people who are no longer aligned with your life, and navigating uncertainty when the future feels unclear. Sometimes growth means accepting that not everyone is meant to come with you—and that not knowing what’s next doesn’t mean something is wrong. Even if that's scary! Tune in for an honest conversation about change, healing, and becoming who you’re meant to be.

Episode 13: Anger is Your Friend

Anger, sadness, anxiety, and jealousy aren’t the problem—they’re signals trying to tell you something. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Eileen-Downey Akers breaks down why all emotions serve a purpose and why we must learn how to respond to our emotions, not react to them. We also explore how identifying the fallacies and narratives we tell ourselves can improve emotional intelligence, mental health, relationships, and self-awareness. *Note* I misspoke when I said 87,000 emotions! I meant 87🤦🏼‍♀️ References: Atlas of the Heart (Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. Random House.),  Ellis, A. (1955). New approaches to psychotherapy techniques. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 11, 207–260.) Stoewen D. L. (2024). The vital connection between emotional intelligence and well-being - Part 1: Understanding emotional intelligence and why it matters. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 65(2), 182–184.  Wood, J. T. (2020). Interpersonal communication: Everyday encounters (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Episode 12: Grief & Growth

In this episode, Sarah shares her personal experience with grief—what it’s really felt like, what she’s learned along the way, and the questions people are often too afraid to ask out loud. Covering grief, healing, guilt, faith, and growth, she offers an honest look at navigating loss while still moving forward. If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this normal?” during your experience with grief—this episode is for you.

Episode 11: Congratulations! You Failed

What if the moments you call "failure" are actually the key to your biggest success? In this powerful episode of The Happiness Standard, Dr. Sarah Eileen-Downey Akers gets comfortable being uncomfortable as she explores how to reframe failure, overcome the fear of trying, and turn setbacks into growth. References: Castrillon, C. (2021, December 10). Why failure leads to career success. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/11/20/why-failure-leads-to-career-success/ [https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/11/20/why-failure-leads-to-career-success/] Wilson, R. C., Shenhav, A., Straccia, M., & Cohen, J. D. (2018). The eighty five percent rule for optimal learning. bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). https://doi.org/10.1101/255182 Yin, Y., Wang, Y., Evans, J. A., & Wang, D. (2019). Quantifying the dynamics of failure across science, startups and security. Nature, 575(7781), 190–194. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1725-y