Can Everyone Be Happy?

[Thou]

Is this perhaps better suited for Philosophy & Spirituality? Some of this stuff could very well be considered triggering to someone in a bad state of mind.

Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[anterrabae]

I wonder if because I've been on medication since I was 16 if any of my happiness that I feel is real or just an effect of the drugs I take everyday. Some of you talking about significant others, I can totally relate to feeling wonderful just watching them sleep and breathe. Whenever I was upset my ex boyfriend would tell me to listen to his heartbeat, 'cause he knew it was one of the most soothing things. "Do you want to listen to my chest?" *sigh*

It's not just significant others that can cause real happiness inside me, my ferret, my baby boy brings me lovely feelings. But still, I wonder, would I feel these things off of psychiatric drugs? Does it make it less real? I don't know. I can feel happy, but I think overall I'm unhappy, if that makes any sense.

 

[belfort]

^^i do the same thing, we overthink the matter..we should just take the feelings of contentment and run with them..it doesnt matter the source where they come from..lol...

i know not everyone can be happy..some people were simply born with the stack against them...bad environment and brain chemistry were slanted against them..they can improve their surroundings anc coping mechanisms but that only helps so much..when they have bad brain chemistry ontop of that its bad news..for these people they are lucky to find moments of contentment, much less happiness..

this topic is very interesting but imo, the reality isnt that great..

 

[anterrabae]

I agree. I think I have met only a handful of truly happy people. I think the rest are like me and acknowledge it, or busy themselves to deny it or use something else as a crutch to forget the ever present sadness.

 

[Legerity]

I feel that happiness can be defined differently depending on the individual. I tend to interpret most people's views of happiness of having their desires met and for their life situation to be how they want it to be. It doesn't seem like things work out this way all the time.

I guess I consider this form of happiness somewhat fleeting, because if our well-being depends on having everything the way we want to have it, then ultimately certain things out of our control have power over our mental state because we never know when we might lose that job, get sick, etc.

I prefer the term peace of mind meaning that we are able to experience peace and contentment even through the ups and down by accepting our emotions and our life situation. When peace no longer depends on specific emotional states or "having" something (the right job, perfect relationship, etc.) then it is much more stable and long-lasting than a type of happiness that depends on having and achieving everything that we want. To be able to feel peaceful and accept even difficult emotions provides freedom and prevents us from having to micromanage things outside of our control in an attempt to feel okay.