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Originally Posted by mr dave
agreed.
i also think the more concerning issue is the belief so many people hold dearly to that the opposite of depression is a feeling of elation. happy is NOT the opposite of sad. not being sad is the opposite of sad.
so many people and so-called professionals seem to be pushing this ideal that we're all supposed to be HAPPY all the time and everyone should be farting sunshine. it's insane. that's not balance. it's forcing one extreme over the other and doesn't actually deal with any legitimate issue.
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Once I accepted that quite a bit in life can be frustrating and imperfect, I felt more contentment and appreciation of the "little things," like having food or being able to move. I'd say I often just feel present rather than delighted.
When you expect life to involve a certain degree of discontentment, an occasional sunshine fart is then an added bonus.
Like you, I have seen a lot of press about feeling happy and at peace. For example, consider that best-selling book, "Eat, Pray, Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert, who went on a world trip to find happiness and meaning in life, as if those were something you "find" outside yourself. People sometimes seem a little obsessed with the pursuit of happiness. I don't know how much the expectation to feel happy actually increases the severity of people's depression or the number of people diagnosed as depressed, though I wonder about this.
My guess is that people whose depression is severe (meaning fairly independent of life events) probably would be very content with just feeling present (alive, but feeling neither bad nor good).