happy is never enough?
Oct. 6th, 2005 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonSo what do you have to do to find happiness? Damn good question. According to one of the scientists in this article, we just aren't wired to be happy, or at least, not to savor it:
Well, damn - I wondered if it was just me! Sad though it is, the most intense memories over my entire life have been the negative ones - fights, breakups, failures. Even now that my mind is at a (mostly) even keel, this is so ingrained in me that even when things are going well, I'm always waiting for things to go downhill. Which sucks all the joy out of.. well, joy.
I'm trying to break out of the cycle of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and while it's tempting to just cower under the weight of inevitable brain chemicals, I'm going to keep trying. I'd like to think that my mind has more to it than just a sponge sloshing around in chemicals - I'd like to think happiness can be learned.
The article also makes it clear that the parts of our brain that govern "liking" and "wanting" are different, leading us to get on what the author calls the "hedonic treadmill":
Yeppers - I think this is where "retail therapy" comes from, and being (mostly) deprived of it of late has been an eye opener - I used to waste a lot of time just going out and looking at stuff when I could have been enjoying what I have - always looking at fabric but never making anything, always buying books that I never made time to read (with the help of the library, the latter is still a problem, though somewhat diminished).
What I think makes me really happy: those rare moments of inner silence, alone, in crowds, or with those I care about where I can simply enjoy the moment for what it is, and ignore the gnawings of "more" and "must it end?"
Any thoughts?
"Because our brain evolved during a time of ice, flood and famine, we have a catastrophic brain. The way the brain works is looking for what's wrong. The problem is, that worked in the Pleistocene era. It favoured you, but it doesn't work in the modern world."
Well, damn - I wondered if it was just me! Sad though it is, the most intense memories over my entire life have been the negative ones - fights, breakups, failures. Even now that my mind is at a (mostly) even keel, this is so ingrained in me that even when things are going well, I'm always waiting for things to go downhill. Which sucks all the joy out of.. well, joy.
I'm trying to break out of the cycle of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and while it's tempting to just cower under the weight of inevitable brain chemicals, I'm going to keep trying. I'd like to think that my mind has more to it than just a sponge sloshing around in chemicals - I'd like to think happiness can be learned.
The article also makes it clear that the parts of our brain that govern "liking" and "wanting" are different, leading us to get on what the author calls the "hedonic treadmill":
It [the "hedonic treadmill"] causes us to rapidly and inevitably adapt to good things by taking them for granted. The more possessions and accomplishments we have, the more we need to boost our level of happiness. It makes sense that the brain of a species that has dominated others would evolve to strive to be best.
Yeppers - I think this is where "retail therapy" comes from, and being (mostly) deprived of it of late has been an eye opener - I used to waste a lot of time just going out and looking at stuff when I could have been enjoying what I have - always looking at fabric but never making anything, always buying books that I never made time to read (with the help of the library, the latter is still a problem, though somewhat diminished).
What I think makes me really happy: those rare moments of inner silence, alone, in crowds, or with those I care about where I can simply enjoy the moment for what it is, and ignore the gnawings of "more" and "must it end?"
Any thoughts?
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-07 05:48 am (UTC)A: I like chemical X, it makes me happy / mildly euphoric.
B: Why don't you get happiness through positive life experiences instead?
Buncha effin idiots.
If your brain chemistry isn't close enough to right, you could have your lifelong dream come true and not enjoy it at all.
On the other hand you can tweak your brain chemistry all you want (in any long-term sustainable way), but if your life is shit you still won't be very happy. (Obviously things like MDMA can deliver short-term bliss w/o much cause.)
You need both. You need brain chemistry that's close enough for you to reach happiness, and you need a reason to be happy. For me that means taking time to think about all the great things in my life. (Music is the quick and dirty alternative.) Yes, they're the same great things as yesterday, but if your brain chemistry is close enough, they'll still make you happy, every single day.
An interesting point related to the MDMA experience is this: The closer your brain chemistry is to "right", the more things make you happy, and the happier they make you. MDMA is an extreme example of the rose-colored glasses effect, but lesser chemical adjustments can help a lot too.
(Oh BTW. In my model, retail therapy = self-medication to increase axis 1 activity. I'm not sure that's 100% right, but I am sure it's not 100% wrong.)