VEGANGELICA

I would say I've never had any physical hardships...the worst kind, I feel...because I've never had to worry about getting food or water, and I've always had good health care.

Emotionally, there have been troubling times. Since I realize that these are what my brain puts me through, causing me to feel disappointment, frustration, fear of failure, boredom, regret, and loss (such as of loved-ones or dreams), I work on teaching myself (my brain) coping methods to try to feel better. I try to remind myself that as long as I have food, water, and shelter, things aren't *so* bad, and I'm lucky to have the privilege of worrying about emotional things. I'm lucky to feel anything at all. I also think through alternative scenarios to try to "get what I want" out of life.

I think feeling happy or at least fairly content does require accepting that life may never get easier...and may get worse...but having confidence that even if things don't turn out like you plan, that doesn't mean the path you end up taking is meaningless or empty. Sometimes hard work does *not* lead to rewards, believe me!

Having goals and something to look forward short-term to is very helpful to me, especially when doing mundane work tasks that feel like they'll never end!! I think it is important to learn how to make your own fun. When I was younger, I used to rely more on other people to "make" me feel better if I felt bad; I sort of resisted accepting full responsibility for my own feelings and reactions. Now I try to take full responsibility for my feelings. I realize no one can "make" another person feel better (though they can help). And I've lowered some expectations about life, so that when dreams aren't attained it isn't as disappointing.

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