Well-being is more than the absence of mental illness. One review of the literature (Ryan & Deci, 2001) describes it as ‘optimal psychological functioning and experience’. Precisely what constitutes optimal experience has been the subject of philosophical debate since the roots of the hedonic tradition in the 4th century BC when it was proposed that the goal of life was to experience the maximum amount of pleasure. Psychologists adopting the hedonic approach define well-being in terms of pleasure versus pain, and the maximisation of happiness, though it is conceded that this can be derived from the attainment of valued goals.
