Ease the Stress with Psychological Richness

Sleeping Giant In A Blanket of Clouds - January, 2026

​Have you ever been so stressed out that you can’t think straight? How helpful is the advice to “just breathe” from some well-meaning person? Or you do a quick Google search for taking that high anxiety down a notch, and your result is a picture of a perfect-appearing human in a perfect lotus pose, perfectly blissed out. Not real, not helpful, and, for my money, anxiety-promoting.

A useful strategy for pulling back from the stress-cliff is taking a peek around and becoming aware. If I’m outside, tuning in to the melodic birdsong from the branches overhead, breathing in the sharp evergreen scent, and gazing into the distance - at the Flat Tops or Emerald Mountain - is a sure way to pull me out of my head spin. Inside, I can feel the texture of the floor or the socks under my feet, and listen to the sounds around me - the blowing of the fireplace heat, the hum of the refrigerator.

This awareness, also called mindfulness, is one method of focusing the mind on something other than the stress/anxiety and instead bringing attention to what is actually happening around you in the moment. 

To deepen that, and apply not only to reducing anxiety and stress but reduce the monotony of the daily grind, you have something called “psychological richness.” Philosopher Lorraine Besser and psychologist Shigehiro Oishi have researched and defined the term to mean cognitive engagement. They found that for some, a psychologically rich life surpasses a meaningful or happy life.

The components of psychological richness:

1. Mindfulness 2.0. Paying attention with neutrality - noticing without judgment. That could mean taking in the details of a tree: the roughness and color of the bark, the length of the needles, any bird nests built in its branches. By focusing on the details, you stimulate the mind. 
2. Curiosity. Ask questions to take the mindful details a step further. How does the bark get its different shades of brown? How long did it take the birds to build that nest, and where did they gather those nest-construction materials? These simple questions help expand your perspective.
3. Creativity. Doing something new or differently generates novelty, another way to stimulate the mind. This could be something as simple as taking that walk with the trees and the birds at a different time of day than usual, or reversing the direction of your habitual route. It could mean stopping where you would not typically stop to take a look around and notice something in your surroundings you haven’t before. Breaking monotony, doing something a bit different, are ways to stimulate cognitive engagement.

Psychological richness is an individual concept in that each person will find engagement in their own way. The key is to start simple with using mindfulness 2.0, curiosity, and creativity. You can develop the capacity for psychological richness on a daily basis with small things like the examples above, and it can then be a tool at your fingertips for those stress-filled moments when you need an uncomplicated way to side-step the anxiety and focus on the here and now.

Source/Learn More

• Optimist Daily article: Transform your daily grind with 3 simple strategies for a more engaging life 

Originally published March, 2025