Fear Of Happiness Scale

Do you feel that too much joy means trouble is on the way? Take this test to find out if you have a 'fear of happiness.'

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | September 11, 2024

The "fear of happiness" refers to an emotional or psychological aversion to joy—where individuals may believe that experiencing happiness will lead to negative consequences. This mindset often stems from past experiences or cultural beliefs, and causes people to associate joy with impending misfortune. For those with this fear, happiness feels risky—as if reaching an emotional high makes the fall back to negativity even more inevitable.

Measuring the fear of happiness is crucial because it helps identify individuals who might be unknowingly avoiding positive emotions—limiting their overall well-being. By understanding this aversion, both individuals and mental health professionals can address the underlying beliefs and experiences contributing to it. Awareness is the first step toward challenging these fears and embracing more fulfilling emotional experiences.

The Fear of Happiness Scale, developed by personality and cross-cultural psychologist Mohsen Joshanloo, is a valuable tool for measuring this aversion. With just five simple statements, the scale captures the extent to which a person associates happiness with negative outcomes. Its insights offer a structured way for individuals to recognize and confront their fear, and can ultimately pave the way for a healthier relationship with happiness.

You can take this test here. Follow all of the steps to receive your results.

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. I prefer not to be too joyful, because usually joy is followed by sadness.

2. I believe the more cheerful and happy I am, the more I should expect bad things to occur in my life.

3. Disasters often follow good fortune.

4. Having lots of joy and fun causes bad things to happen.

5. Excessive joy has some bad consequences.

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores to people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.

References: Joshanloo, M. (2013). The influence of fear of happiness beliefs on responses to the satisfaction with life scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(5), 647-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.011