A change in my clinical work in early 2010 took me to investigate Happiness. Until that point I'd assumed that helping others to recover from a mental health problem would naturally lead them to re-engage with their happiness. But the more I focus on thriving, rather than just functioning, the more I realise they are two different things.

The path to understanding mental health problems from a psychological perspective is reasonably clear. There are agreed diagnostic protocols to help us understand what is and what isn't a mental health problem, which are followed by scientifically tested and well validated step-by-step treatment protocols. Mental health problems are defined, tested and treated. These pathways are taught methodically to clinicians, who are thoroughly evaluated and continuously supervised in their work.

A very stark contrast to the path to understanding happiness.

Happiness is embraced as well as rejected in the psychological literature. The branch of “Positive Psychology” led by Martin Seligman – an author previously known for his work on learned helplessness – has made human flourishing its central focus of study. Critics claim, however, that an excessive focus on the positive neglects our relationship with our “dark side”, such as emotions of sadness, fear and anger.

The psychological literature is cautious and traditional, as scientific approaches tend to be, judging every step and every claim, which leads to long apologetic writings (in my opinion!) containing tentative comments.

What psychology presents with caution, a large army of wellbeing speakers present with big headlines and simple recipes.

After early motherhood finally gave me a few nights of fairly uninterrupted sleep, in 2018 I started to put my money where my mouth is. It's been an interesting journey, which has led me to experiment with physical, emotional, philosophical and even spiritual perspectives. I've learned that aiming for happiness is like shooting for the stars. What I hadn't anticipated was how “giving” the process is. I've experienced moments of profound calm, ecstatic happiness, joy, flow, which have always left me wondering and wanting more. I've become a “happiness junkie”.

I now see the path to happiness as an art and a craft. It needs the idiosyncrasy and creativity of art, and the methodical learning and exploration of a craft. Happiness is both a journey and a destination.

Project Floruit is my attempt at articulating this process – trying my very best to share ideas, curated from my perspective as a psychologist on this voyage to make life as it should be: meaningful and fulfilling.