WCP 2025

Introduction. The well-being and happiness of college students are critical concerns for universities. According to the 2019 U.S. National College Health Assessment, 56% of students reported feeling hopeless within the last 12 months, and 45% even reported feeling so depressed that it was difficult for them to function. In contrast, students high on flourishing tend to procrastinate less, pursue mastery-oriented goals, exhibit high self-control, and achieve better grades. Thus, there is a critical need for research on how to enhance college students’ well-being and happiness. Buddhist philosophy distinguishes between fluctuating happiness and genuine, durable happiness, known as sukha, which is characterized by lasting inner joy and peace. Research suggests that self-compassion and compassion towards others have a positive impact on happiness and psychological well-being. However, the mechanisms by which compassion fosters genuine happiness over time require further investigation. Thus, the present study examines the mediating role of caring for bliss in the relationships between self-compassion, compassionate love, and genuine happiness among college students.
Methodology / Approach. The study involved 398 undergraduate students from a southeastern U.S. university, who participated during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters. Data were collected at three different time points over approximately 12 weeks as part of a larger online study on various aspects of mental, physical, spiritual, and relational well-being. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to assess the longitudinal mediating effects of caring for bliss on the impacts of self-compassion and compassionate love on genuine happiness over time. We tested a model where self-compassion and compassionate love at time 1 served as predictors, caring for bliss at time 2 acted as the mediator, and genuine happiness at time 3 was the outcome.
Results / Findings. Self-compassion and compassionate love at time 1 predicted caring for bliss at time 2, which subsequently predicted genuine happiness at time 3, while controlling for caring for bliss at time 1 and genuine happiness at time 2. Furthermore, caring for bliss at time 2 mediated the associations between self-compassion and compassionate love at time 1 and genuine happiness at time 3.
Conclusion / Perspective. The current study provides new insights into the longitudinal associations between self-compassion, compassionate love, and genuine happiness among college students. The finding that caring for bliss mediated the effects of self-compassion and compassionate love on genuine happiness reveals that practices fostering self-compassion and compassionate love are important in enhancing caring for bliss and, ultimately, happiness in college students. Promoting happiness in students is crucial given the prevalence of student burnout and the well-being crisis in industrialized nations.

When I began my training as a psychotherapist many years ago, I finally found words in Viktor E. Frankl's books and lectures that resonated with my own thoughts. To this day, the human image of logotherapy and existential analysis leads me and holds a rich knowledge. After more than thirty years of working in hospitals and long-term care institutions, I can now say that for me there really is no better "tool". In most of the situations for which I am called upon as a psychologist and psychotherapist, people find themselves in situations that bring them to the limits of suffering. For many it is a long process to accept the given as the first step for reevaluation. As soon as this happens, the next developmental steps often happen all by themselves. Humor helps to see situations from a different perspective and to use it to escape suffering, even if just for a moment. That’s why humor research became my passion. Almost every therapy session offers the opportunity to laugh together and reduce tension and anxiety because of it. Even in the most hopeless moments, laughter as offered interpersonal connection is a meaningful ex-change.
We underestimate how capable we humans are of suffering, the realities to which we can adapt and how we can find ways to fulfil our life’s purpose even in seemingly hopeless situations. This strength should give us the courage to embrace life as valuable in all circumstances.

Als ich vor vielen Jahren meine Ausbildung zur Psychotherapeutin begann, fand ich in Viktor E. Frankls Büchern und Vorträgen endlich Worte, die meine eigenen Gedanken widerspiegelten. Bis heute begleitet mich das Menschenbild der Logotherapie und der Existenzanalyse und umfasst einen Reichtum an Wissen. Nach mehr als dreißigjähriger Tätigkeit in Krankenhäusern und Langzeitpflegeeinrichtungen kann ich heute sagen, dass es kein besseres „Werkzeug“ für mich gibt. In den meisten Situationen, in denen ich als Psychologin und Psychotherapeutin hinzugezogen werde, befinden sich Menschen in Situationen, die sie an die Grenzen des Leidens bringen. Für viele ist es ein längerer Prozess, das Gegebene als ersten Schritt zur Neu-Bewertung anzunehmen. Sobald dies geschehen ist, erfolgen die nächsten Entwicklungsschritte oft fast von selbst. Humor hilft, Situationen aus einer anderen Perspektive zu sehen und sogar zu nutzen, um dem Leiden zu entkommen, wenn auch vielleicht nur für einen Moment. Deshalb wurde die Humorforschung meine Leidenschaft. Denn fast in jeder Therapiesitzung bietet sich die Möglichkeit, gemeinsam zu lachen und so Spannungen und Ängste abzubauen. Sogar in den hoffnungslosesten Momenten ist Lachen als zwischenmenschliches Beziehungsangebot not-wendig.
Unterschätzt wird, wie leidensfähig wir Menschen sind, an welche Realitäten wir uns anpassen können und wie wir auch in scheinbar ausweglosen Situationen trotzdem Wege finden, unseren Lebenssinn zu erfüllen. Diese Stärke sollte uns den Mut geben, das Leben unter allen Umständen als wertvoll anzunehmen.