The paradox whereby happiness is lost but satisfaction is gained

paternity paradox: With the arrival of the child the parents experience a decline in their health, but still they get happiness and satisfaction in life. Infant means lack of sleep, food or leisure time; Something that could cause dissatisfaction, but doesn’t.
They explain, “The experience of fatherhood and motherhood can also lead to a deeper form of well-being called eudaimonic well-being.” Trudy Meehan and Jolanta BurkeFrom the University’s Center for Positive Health Sciences, who continue their article Conversation: “It’s about the feeling of living a meaningful life, as distinct from short-term happiness.”

This eudaimonic well-being can be experienced by both men and women, although according to Meehan and Burke, in the case of mothers it depends on how balanced parenting tasks are with their husbands. Their conclusion is that happiness does not depend on the decision to have children or not, but on whether one has control over the matter and whether one has the necessary support.

Various studies have studied whether not having children affects people’s happiness and life satisfaction. For example, one of them analyzed the situation of 161 women who were unable to have children either because they could not find a partner or because of infertility. Their well-being was no different from the rest, although 12% said they had no clear direction in life, 24% were psychologically thriving, and the rest had a moderate level of well-being. Other research concluded that fighting for a child led to greater post-traumatic growth. In contrast, studies of men unable to have children due to infertility showed that many experienced grief, but it diminished with age. “Finding ways to rethink their identity and their role in society in addition to becoming parents helped many people find meaning and satisfaction in their lives,” the expert explains in the analysis.
However, S. A study conducted by Kathryn Nelson, titled In Defense of Parenthood, concluded that having a child is not only linked to feelings of happiness, but also to a longer life.

Nelson and his team based their analysis on the intersection of three previous surveys that asked about levels of happiness and satisfaction in their lives. Among those who had children, the first showed that those who had children indicated at higher levels that their lives were much more positive than the rest. Second, becoming a father made parents feel better in their daily lives. And last, respondents with children expressed higher levels of positive emotions for the simple fact of taking care of their children. The highest rates of happiness in all three studies were reported by parents.

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