Some Are Hardwired for Happiness

Scientists in the UK argue that some people are simply born with whatever it is that happy and optimistic individuals have over others. In other words, their brains may be hardwired since birth to behave in the way that they do, with the same holding true for those who are gloomy all the time, and only see the glass half empty. The new research, published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, also shows that a single gene may be responsible for this occurrence.

According to the paper, our entire perception of life and our whole behavior is determined by the expression of the 5-HTTLPR hormone-carrying gene, which plays a crucial role in regulating the flow of the serotonin hormone through our brains. The way this hormone acts is crucial for our moods, that's why many anti-depressants act directly against it, causing various unexpected mood swings. On a related note, the researchers behind the new study have also found two alleles (variations of the gene) that cause higher risks of depression and suicide in adulthood.

Their working mechanism is fairly simple – they give an exaggerated response to stressful situations, causing a person to become obsessed with gloomy thoughts. And this is one of the fastest ways for someone to start contemplating suicide, and to eventually do it. Researcher Elaine Fox led a trio of scientists from the University of Essex in Britain during this study. She established that the gene and its alleles, depending on their expressions, caused people to be drawn to or repelled from both pleasing and stressful situations.

“The results indicated that a genetically-driven tendency to look on the bright side of life is a core cognitive mechanism underlying resilience to general life stress,” the study reveals. People with a long variation of the 5-HTTLPR gene “showed a marked avoidance of negative material alongside a vigilance for positive material,” the authors add. Basically, these individuals have a very strong filter for negative emotions, images, or actions, and would rather see the bright side of life.