Anita Freimann, PhD · scientist, author, educator
First I got a PhD in happiness. Then I learned how to live it.
For more than fifteen years I've been bringing together the economics of happiness, quality of life and the experience of personal change. I work with people, organisations and communities who want to live and make decisions better.
- PhDin the economics of happiness
- 17years at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek
- since 2012as the Happiness Doctor
- 50+media appearances
My path
The turning points that shaped my work
Science gave me questions. Life gave me answers I couldn't have read in any book.
2006 – 2012
The science of happiness
At the Faculty of Economics in Osijek I taught and researched quality of life. While writing my PhD on happiness, around 2010, I began to question everything: how life works, who I share it with, how I think, how I look after my body.
In 2012 I earned my doctorate, and the Happiness Doctor was born.
2015
A change that started on the plate
My son Matej was two when we found out he couldn't tolerate gluten, lactose or white sugar. Adapting his diet changed my own relationship with food, my body and everyday life.
I completed a year-long course with Dr Rick and Karin Dina and developed 3H Food, which has helped thousands of people change the way they eat.
2017
Courage on the Journey of Happiness
I wrote a book about twelve challenges that keep us in our comfort zone, and founded the Institute of Happiness. Workshops, courses and talks followed, where I turned knowledge into steps people can live.
Years of big decisions
Family, all over again
Because my son is gifted, I changed his school and the way I support him. I went through a divorce and redefined what family means to me. I opened up to spirituality and to inner work that continues to this day.
2023
The decision to change direction
After 17 years I left the university and the security of the system. I took with me a scientific grounding, years of teaching experience and everything I had learned through my own changes.
2026
Permission to Live
After more than ten years as the Happiness Doctor, I brought everything I've learned as a scientist, a mother and a woman who has chosen herself again and again into a single programme. It runs in Croatian.
Explore the programme
Understanding opens up possibility. Change comes from what you do differently.
What connects my work
Quality of life connects everything I do
The economics of happiness, food, relationships and personal freedom can look like separate topics. In my work, one question ties them together: how do we live better and make decisions that support it?
- Personalyour relationship with yourself, your body, other people and everyday choices
- Organisationsthe conditions people work in and the way success is measured
- Communitiescitizens' quality of life and the decisions that shape it
How I work
From what you understand to what you live
I translate complex topics into clear language, then make room to put them into practice. What matters to me is what happens after the talk or workshop: what you notice, and what choice you can make now.
- Understandwhat is happening and what affects it
- Recognisehow it shows up in your life
- Applytry one concrete, different choice
- Integrategive the new experience room through repetition and practice
Scientific and professional background
Behind my approach are research, teaching and experience
I earned my PhD in economics, in the field of happiness economics, researching subjective well-being and how to measure a society's progress through its citizens' quality of life. I have worked on development strategies for cities and businesses, and advised local and regional governments and companies.
Education
- 2012 · PhD in Economics and Management, a joint programme of Osijek and Ljubljana
- 2009 · University specialist degree in Economic Development Management
- 2005 · Degree in Financial Management
Roles and certificates
- 2006 – 2023 · Faculty of Economics in Osijek, rising to associate professor
- 2017 · Founder of the Institute of Happiness
- 2019 · Certified raw food educator
Media and public appearances
Ideas that start conversations
In interviews, talks and public appearances I speak about happiness, quality of life, food and change: topics that touch both our personal choices and the society we live in. Most appearances are in Croatian.
- Vita
Otvoreni radio
- Radio Sljeme
- Radio Osijek
- Radio Rijeka
Osječka televizija
- Radio Sunce
- Novosadska televizija
- Mreža TV
- Živeti zdravije
See media coverage13 videos · 9 clippings
Recorded appearances 13
From the press 9
Vita 24. 4. 2017.
Vita 24. 4. 2017.
Večernji list 31. 3. 2017.
Slobodna Dalmacija 21. 3. 2017.
Glas Slavonije 20. 3. 2017.
24sata 18. 3. 2017.
Glas Slavonije 24. 12. 2016.
Jutarnji list 5. 3. 2016.
Glas Slavonije 27. 2. 2016.
All appearances 48
Television20
- Guest appearance on the Daily News (Dnevnik), Nova TV
- Guest appearance on the show The Power of Motivation, SBTV, host Marizabela Mijakić
- Guest appearance on RTL Danas, RTV
- Guest appearance on the Daily news, Nova TV
- Guest appearance on the show Glagoljica, Slavonska televizija (STV), editor and anchor Bojan Uranjek
- Lecture “Who cares about your happiness?”, Project Open Thursday, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek
- Guest appearance on the show Specijal, Novosadska televizija
- Guest appearance on the Dejana Talk Show, OBN, editor and anchor Dejana Rosuljaš
- Participation in the project Happy aging of the association Samo pozitivno, project coordinator Mara Majstorović
- Guest appearance on the talk show Women’s Talk, anchor Marijana Perinić
- Guest appearance on the show Jack, Queen and Ana, MrežaTV, anchor Ana Brbora Hum
- Guest appearance on the show Hotline, OSTV, anchor Goran Flauder
- Guest appearance on the show Good morning, HRT, anchors Danijela Trbović and Davor Meštrović
- Guest appearance on the show The Trap: alternative economics, SBTV, anchor Ratko Martinović
- Guest appearance on the show The Edge of Science: the Economics of Happiness, anchor Krešimir Mišak
- Guest appearance on the show Economics etc. about the topic the Economics of Happiness, anchor Željko Ivanković
- Guest appearance on the show Good Morning, Croatia, on happiness, HRT1
- Guest appearance on the show Social network about the topic Emotions: happiness HTV1
- Interview for Osječka televizija about the topic happiness
- Guest appearance on the show Aquarelle (Osječka televizija) about the Economics of Happiness
Radio10
- Guest appearance on the show A Better World, Radio Sunce, host and editor Ana Šitum Milić
- Guest appearance on Otvoreni ton, Otvoreni radio
- Guest appearance on the morning show and the Happiness Register, Otvoreni radio, host Ivana Mišerić
- Guest appearance on the show The Women’s Club, RTV Novi Sad, editor Jasna Budimirović
- Guest appearance on the radio station Hrvatski radio Valpovština, moderator and editor Spomenka Birovljević
- Guest appearance on the show The Polka Dot Life, HRT radio Sljeme, moderator and editor Jelena Pajić
- Guest appearance on the radio station Hrvatski radio Valpovština, moderator and editor Spomenka Birovljević
- Guest appearance on the show HRT’s Workshop, Radio Osijek, moderator and editor Sanja Račić
- Interview about the Economics of Happiness, Radio Rijeka, moderator and editor Saša Vuksan
- Guest appearance on the show The Pulse of Slavonia and Baranja on the topic of happiness, editor Sanja Račić, Radio Osijek
Press and online18
- Interview: Tips for getting into the holiday mood and lifting your spirits, 24 sata, journalist Željka Krmpotić
- Interview about happiness: The Week in 10 Questions, Jutarnji list magazine, journalist Zlatko Šimić
- Interview about happiness: The Happiness Doctor on how to be happy in isolation, portal Živim
- Interview for Tportal: Watch what you eat and what is eating you, journalist Ivana Barišić
- Interview about quality of life: Quality of life and individual happiness are not the same, Glas Slavonije magazine, journalist Darko Jerković
- Interview: With raw food you bring health and clean energy into your body, 24sata portal, journalist Danijela Mikola
- Interview “We are living a life in human dignity”, magazine Živeti zdravije (Healthier living), journalist Ivana Mikloši
- Interviews with successful persons “Anita Freimann-Happiness Doctor”, portal Samo pozitivno, editor Mara Majstorović
- Interview about the first fruit camp in Croatia: They eat raw pies, pizzas, stuffed rolls and bell peppers; Glas Slavonije, journalist Maja Muškić
- Interview about happiness: The recipe for happiness reads: Step out of your routine, tame negative thoughts and be grateful for everything, Vita, journalist Nina Čiča
- Interview about happiness: We must make time for ourselves in order to hear our own needs, Večernji list, journalist Suzana Lepan-Štefančić
- Interview about the Economics of Happiness: Happy nations are those with a secured subsistence, Slobodna Dalmacija, journalist Lidija Gnjidić
- Interview about happiness: The key of happiness lies in gratitude, Glas Slavonije, journalist Nefreteta Zeberhard
- Interview about happiness: The Happiness Doctor, 24 sata, journalist Danijela Mikola
- Interview about the Economics of Happiness: Croatia’s East has a lower index of happiness,magazine in the daily paper Glas Slavonije, journalist Darko Jerković
- Interview about the Economics of Happiness: The Week in 10 Questions, magazine of the daily paper Jutarnji list, journalist Zlatko Šimić
- Interview about the Economics of Happiness: It’s not easy being happy in unhappy times, magazine in the daily paper Glas Slavonije, journalist Darko Jerković
- Interview for Tportal: Forget about GDP, the future lies in the Economics of Happiness, journalist Sanja Despot
Find the topic that matters to you right now
- Permission to LiveA 16-week programme, in Croatian, for those who want to stop putting themselves off and start choosing differently.Explore the programme
- Courage on the Journey of HappinessMy book, with twelve challenges for stepping out of your comfort zone.Get the book
- 3H FoodCourses and content for a simpler relationship with food and everyday habits.Go to 3H Food ↗
- For organisationsTalks, workshops, development strategies and quality-of-life consulting.Let's talk about working together
Your path doesn't have to look like mine. But it can start today.
Let's keep the conversation going through Anita's letters: on relationships, the body, food, work and freedom. The letters are in Croatian.