Poll: Are you happy?

[Eclipse Dragon]

I'm working on it.
My outlook has certainly changed over the past few years, strangely enough, the internet was an influence in the positive direction.

 

[Ishal]

Hard to say, probably one of the hardest things to answer.

What you describe is what I went through a few years ago. Leaving college, even if you know what you're doing, can be a taxing experience. And if you're unlucky enough to not know? Well, it's orders of magnitude worse.

It's a tough time in the current US economy. I can say that I'm better off now, but after Uni I certainly was not. And TBBP are correct. No one is ever really happy. This is perhaps somewhat... nihilistic, but I don't think our brains, our consciousness, can ever truly allow for that pure happiness.

Spoiler

"I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self aware, nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law?We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, a secretion of sensory, experience, and feeling, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody is nobody.? - Rust Cohle true detective

We can have happy moments, we can live happy lives. We can create happiness, and we can share it. But I think it's transitory. Not meant to last.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Nah.

Not at all happy with the state of my life, at present. Going to be doing something about that in short order, but, for the moment? Not really.

Now, am I CONTENT? For the most part? Things could certainly be one whole hell of a lot worse, as opposed to the stagnation I'm currently experiencing and, in general, I try to make a point of not thinking about whether or not I'm 'happy,' as introspection is the devil.

 

[babinro]

Yes!

I've made quite a few highly questionable life choices in the last decade that has left me being very happy in my day to day life. The most important of these changes was to make the decision to shift to part-time work while severely cutting back my non-essential expenses and just enjoy the free time that life offers as a result.

One of the big things that triggered this choice was my mom's passing a few years back. She lived a very stressful life and when she was finally able to retire she would comment on how long it seems to take her to accomplish things at her older age. This was partially due to the illness that ultimately took her life but it's also a part of human nature. We slow down as we age.

Now I'm an obese man with a history of knee problems and an expected future of severe arthritis pain and back problems as a result of these lifelong injuries I've endured. The prospect of working hard until I'm too old to take advantage of my free time with whatever I enjoy has really hit home. So I've ultimately decided to act on it rather than let history repeat itself.

For the last 3 years a very busy day for me has consisted of a total 5 hours of work/necessary errands/house work. The remaining hours awake are simply mine to enjoy as I please given an extremely tight financial budget (read: $25.00 a month to spend on fun). These past 3 years have simply been incredible for my happiness and well-being as a result. I love my pseudo retirement stage of life and hope to maintain this for as long as I possibly can.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

I need to get settled things in order in my life, but I am happy. I have good friends and am looking forward to the future so I'm happy. I have moments of anxiety about getting some things done, but that's small compared to things that do make me happy.

 

[sky14kemea]

I am amazingly unhappy. I think my doctor called it "Depression."

But seriously, even though I still have good moments, and good days, overall I'm not happy. Don't really have much to add, most of it is personal issues that I'm trying to deal with but nothing is ever fixed overnight, much to my annoyance.

 

[sageoftruth]

I'm usually unhappy, but when I compare my situation to 90% of the rest of the world, I feel pretty content.

 

[FPLOON]

OT: Yes... I'm always happy... even if it's false... I mean, I'm happy the same way I smile...

Spoiler: Like this...

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/v9cRD-i_9lU/hqdefault.jpg

Yep... Because I'm happy...

 

[Silence]

Yes, I'm happy. But I fear it is on borrowed time.

 

[Captain_Heavy]

I don't think that humans are designed to be happy. If we were happy with the way things were, we'd never get anything done.

Every time we find happiness, it only lasts so long before we become restless.

that's just my point of view though.

 

[Twintix]

Well, I'm alright, I guess. Since I dropped out of my energy engineering studies in January, I've felt much better than I did before. The studies just made me depressed, moody and anxious for a number of reasons.

Now I'm hoping I'll get accepted to the game designer school I've been applying to since 2 years back. I finished the work samples last week, the deadline is tomorrow and I think I've got something good this time, so here's hoping for third time's the charm!
And if I'm not accepted this year either, I've applied to some other courses that seem fun.

 

[Vigormortis]

Let's see...

Spoiler: Feel free to ignore the whining held within.

The company I work for has gone through some changes, making my position within the company change. As a result, my new job is awful, as are my new hours. My new boss is a petty, vindictive, condescending ass who seems to relish in making my life a living hell. I had three drives - one primary harddrive and two backups - die on my simultaneously, resulting in the loss of the majority of what amounts to five years worth of audio and music projects. The woman I'm falling for (and who's falling for me) is currently married and unable to leave that marriage. My great cousins; husband and wife of 93 and 94, respectively; were recently in a bad car accident and are in intensive care. A close friend is battling tongue cancer. Another friend had a miscarriage last week. Yet another friend is in serious financial trouble and may wind up homeless if things don't improve soon. And my health is abysmal thanks to the prolonged stress I've been under.

Not even going to begin describing my feelings on the current state of the world.

So, am I happy? At present, no. Not in the slightest. There are a few things I could be happy about, but the bad are weighing on me too much.

Things will pick up eventually. They always (usually) do, but for now life could be better.

On the plus side: It's almost the weekend, and I plan to do fuck all during it. Well, except sleep, play video games, read my new book[footnote]It's a collection of Philip K. Dick short stories. It was a gift from some associates.[/footnote] and walk my dogs in the local state park.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I try, but with depression I'm usually not. I often see life as meaningless, useless, and my hopes and dreams died long ago. I'm batting alcoholism, the fact that I'll never be of any use to anyone, or loss weight. I'll probably become diabetic.

When I'm on my pills I feel alright, but it's hard to go on knowing that all life is actually meaningless, it's having friends that keeps me going.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Much happier than before. If we're going for a relative scale of "I am no longer despairing as much, therefore happier..." metrics of measuring. I'm 30 years old, have plenty of opportunities, last 10 years I've felt nothing but free in how to express my identity. Yeah. I'm far happier in the last 10 years than the 20 before them. So all things looking good.

I have a plethora of academic achievements, decent work history, a whole buch of lovely friends who accept me, and I'm an out and proud member of the trans community after a childhood and adolescence of hostile repression and temporary homelessness. Life is pretty darn sweet (atm).

(Edit) I even seem to have my schizophrenia largely in check recently. No more talking beasts, and demonic whispers anymore.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I'm not sure if I'd say I'm happy as of right now. I'm hoping to be happy soon, since I'm taking a break from school for a semester to relax a bit more and maybe get a job for some supplemental income. Which meant driving all the way up to Washington state from where I was. Doozy of a trip, and not quite finished yet; couple more days of driving needed.

Really, the biggest thing about making this trip for me was wanting to be permanently closer to my family. That and I just like living there a LOT more. So even if that doesn't make me "happy," it makes me more content.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I try, but with depression I'm usually not. I often see life as meaningless, useless, and my hopes and dreams died long ago. I'm batting alcoholism, the fact that I'll never be of any use to anyone, or loss weight. I'll probably become diabetic.

Hold on man, I know that shit is tough.
I hope you'll be okay man.

It's not all bad! I have hobbies, a cat, I'm living with my grandmother, and I can play video games for as long as I want. I'm also on antidepressants, they're working a treat.

 

[Drakmorg]

Nope. Never was, not currently, and never will be.

Spoiler: Explanation that nobody will ever care to read

I despise myself and everything about me. Professional help has done absolutely nothing to relieve this. I am going nowhere in life and never will. Everything that used to give me joy just utterly frustrates me now. Honestly the only reason I haven't killed myself by now is that I'm too much of a coward to go through with it. I'm basically just waiting until things get bad enough that I won't be.

 

[username sucks]

I go back and forth. When depression takes hold, I am filled with nothing but despair and hatred for myself. The only thing stopping me from killing myself sometimes is just the knowledge that it would hurt others. Even without the depression, I'm struggling in school, failed to hold a job at McDonalds for even three months, and I'm living with toxic family members.

But I try to focus on the good. A lot of the time, it works. I have friends. If I get my act together, I'll have a good job and financial situation in maybe 5 years or so. Hell, I found love already too, so things can be pretty darn good. Yeah, there's a lot of problems I'm dealing with, but that's okay. I'll get through them all one way or another. So... Yeah. I'm happy.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I don't think it's a simple binary. Life will always have good and bad things. There will always be things you want that you can't have, and things you dislike but can't escape. People who are always unhappy have a problem....but so do those who are always happy. I guess the only questions are can you establish a net positive and can you compromise on the things you can't fix?

 

[Tiger King]

Nope.

One of my biggest dreams that I've had since I was a kid was to travel the world - the nicer parts of it, anyway. I've had to put off getting a passport due to lack of funds exacerbated by lack of a long-lasting job thanks to the lovely economy. Now I've got the job-ish and the money but I can't get the passport. One of the crappy requirements is to have known someone "professional" for at least two years - it's a simple requirement on paper but it my case it's not! The last business I worked for closed down and the workforce scattered - I have no way to contact them, similar issue with my teachers from way back and I'm a fairly introverted person anyway. I managed to find someone to sign but the office claim they can't contact them (bullcrap) so they've sent my application back. I had to fork out extra money to get all the documentation I needed as well.

Part of me wonders if they're doing this on purpose because of those idiots going to certain places which is amusing because I'm an ardent atheist and I certainly don't want to end up as a sex slave or torture toy in those hellholes on the other side of the pond.

Now I'm going to waste my doctor's time by booking an appointment purely for him to countersign for me. My local practice has around a two week backlog of appointments minimum. And I don't need to go there for anything else. Sorry old lady with a broken hip - you have to suffer because the passport office is a Berlin Wall unto themselves! Yay (!)

I blame the fantasy genre and Tomb Raider for making me travel-hungry.

Ah, well, at least I still have money to blow on games and obscure books. And a roof over my head. It's not really that I'm 'unhappy' but 'slightly more than mildly annoyed'.

And now that I've written that, I feel fine.

No need for an appointment friend, just drop the forms off at reception and ask them could they get the doctor to sign it when he/she has a moment. Then you can come back and pick it up later.
At least that's what I did.

You might have to go for an interview as well.

As for me I am reasonably happy. I would be very happy but I am a natural worrier and it sometimes puts me into doubt on things.

Right now I'm chilling in bed with a mug of coffee whilst playing on the escapist.
I have no major responsibilities as of this time because I cannot work yet, so it is nice to not have to worry about that.
I wake up everyday next to my loved one, something I take as a blessing considering the time we spent apart.
I've been working on a project/hobby of mine and making good progress.

As I said though I am a worrier and whilst it is good to have no job to stress about, I am aware that that will change soon. I'm doing my best to stay confident but deep down I do fret about the gauntlet I'm going to have to run, applying for jobs and interviews etc.