Savoring Positive Experiences

In much of my work as an anxiety specialist, I help people learn to approach things that bring up anxiety, fear, and catastrophic thoughts—experiences they typically avoid. For example, if someone develops a fear of driving, I work with them to gradually be able to drive anywhere they need to go. If they become afraid of bodily sensations, we might practice deliberately bringing up those sensations to help them develop a new relationship with them. In sum, I teach and gently guide people to respond more effectively to uncomfortable experiences, such as thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and external places or things people avoid.

There's now a newer treatment focused on helping people approach positive experiences, called positive affect treatment (PAT; Craske, Dour, Treanor, & Meuret, 2022). PAT was developed for people with anhedonia, which is a mild depression characterized by a lack of enjoyment or reduced ability to feel pleasure during activities someone once enjoyed (Craske et al., 2019). The goal of PAT is to help people experience joy and take steps towards more meaningful living.

While most treatments target negative emotions (Craske et al., 2016), PAT focuses on the positive. The emphasis in PAT on positive experiences makes the treatment unique among evidence-based psychotherapies. You might be wondering why people need help with positive experiences. Don't we naturally want to do things that make us feel good? Not necessarily. In our busy lives, it's easy to let small victories and positive experiences pass us by. One of my clients talks about experiencing her accomplishments in the "rearview mirror"—she just briefly glances at them as she's driving on to the next challenge. Sometimes her partner needs to remind her to take a moment and enjoy the fruits of her hard work. When we're depressed, we're much more likely to focus on the negative than the positive (Duyser et al., 2020). For example, we are more likely to remember negative experiences from the past. We tend to imagine a gloomier future when we're feeling down.

I've worked with many people who, when they're feeling down, don't enjoy the activities they usually enjoy. Even when they make efforts to go to the gym, have a spa day, or treat themselves to their favorite restaurant, they are surprised that they derive no pleasure from it. They may simply feel numb. One person I worked with felt frustrated when her attempts to treat herself to spending time in a heated pool did nothing to lift her spirits. She felt more down about herself afterward. As people have difficulty connecting with enjoyable activities, they are less likely to engage in these activities in the future. Why bother?

For these reasons, learning to connect with positive emotions can be hugely important for people struggling with anhedonia. Research literature supports the advantages of focusing on and attending to positive experiences. Studies have found many benefits to cultivating positive emotions, such as optimism, gratitude, and joy. Attending to these feelings helps us bounce back from life stressors, brings meaning to our lives, and makes us more likely to engage in activities that evoke positive experiences. Strengthening this ability helps to build resilience, improve psychological health, and increase life satisfaction.

Consequently, being more mindful of positive experiences can be hugely important and is something that all of us could be better at.

Source: Kourosh Qaffari / Pexels

Savoring the Moment

One intervention from PAT is called Savoring the Moment (Meuret, Dour, Loerinc Guinyard, & Craske, 2022). People learn to slow down and enjoy positive experiences, whether it is connecting with a friend, enjoying a delicious meal, or feeling proud of a promotion.

The first step is for someone to identify one or more positive activities from the past week. They then visualize the occasion in as much detail as possible (e.g., thoughts, feelings, sounds, smells, tastes), making the experience as vivid as they can. They try to imagine they're there, noticing all the sensory details they can remember. By intentionally connecting with positive experiences, we can learn to increase our enjoyment in the moment and develop an appreciation for what happened afterward. In strengthening the positive associations with an activity, we're more likely to do it again!

Here Are Some Guidelines

• Identify a positive experience from the past week.

• Picture it in your mind. Visualize what you saw, heard, smelled, or tasted. Reflect on any emotions or thoughts that came up during the experience.

• Write down any positive emotions you experienced. Did you feel joy, pride, or amusement?

• What were your reactions? Did you smile, laugh, or experience tears of joy?

• Write down any thoughts you had (e.g., "I could be here all day.") or bodily sensations (e.g., warmth) you can recall experiencing.

Taking even a few moments to mindfully enjoy something in the present or writing down these experiences in a journal are steps in the right direction. In doing so, you can cultivate greater satisfaction with your own life and in relationships with others.

Concluding Thoughts

It’s easy to let positive experiences pass us by without fully experiencing, acknowledging, or even noticing them. When we're down or depressed, our tendency to enjoy positive experiences is further limited. Savoring the Moment, an intervention from positive affect therapy, is one tool for noticing and amplifying our experiences of these moments and learning to connect with them. By doing so, we're more likely to engage in these sorts of activities again, helping us cultivate more positive experiences. We can grow, connect with others, and increase our engagement in meaningful activities that strengthen our abilities to move forward and live more satisfying lives. This process also lessens the impact of negative emotions.

Next time you find yourself watching something positive in the rearview mirror—an achievement, spending time with loved ones, having some time to yourself—see if you can take a moment to savor it.