happy

A story in The New York Times - Why Sisterly Chats Make People Happier - explores a recent study that found that adolescents who have a sister are less likely to report such feelings as "I am unhappy, sad or depressed" and "I feel like no one loves me."

Most of us are used to leaning on our friends in good times and bad, but according to Kelly Valen, author of The Twisted Sisterhood, female friends aren't always on your side.

We spend so much time and energy trying to guess what's going on in someone else's head, and we often jump to the worst conclusions. I have a habit of doing this everywhere in my life - from friends and family to work associates - and it definitely highlights some of my more neurotic tendencies.

Music’s a natural mood-booster (or mood-downer, depending on what you’re playing), wouldn’t you agree? And if you hit shuffle on my iPod, here’s a happy list of tunes that might come up.

How do couples most commonly make each other happy and unhappy? We asked Kate Figes, author of Couples: The Truth, to share some of her exhaustive research on the topic.