Poll: Are you happy?

[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.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Yes, i made myself very sick this morning and i am feelin better

 

[DerangedHobo]

doing a something you love then you're probably happier then someone who can't make ends meat.

Was... was that a double entendre?

As for happiness? Nada, pretty sure it got replaced with hate and bitterness. I could be biased though.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

I would say it's not that simple, but no.

 

[-Dragmire-]

I am content.

I become happy when I feel myself progress in a meaningful way. Currently, things are stagnant but not bad.

 

[KissingSunlight]

NO


I'm even more depressed that I have to elaborate to avoid a low content warning.


Let's see. I'm overworked. I'm underpaid. My home situation is financially beneficial. Yet, it's detrimental to a quality personal life. I am woefully behind in the "Meeting the right woman and start a family" expectation of someone of my age. Getting married and having children is a financial luxury I cannot afford right now. I can't foresee anything that will change my situation short of winning a lottery or quit my job without having another job lined up.

The only thing that cheers me up is the option of suicide. Knowing I can end it all at anytime gives me a peace of mind. At least, I have some control in this massively unfair world that is under the control of assholes.

Sorry about the downer note about suicide. I know it's a controversial thing to believe. Different strokes for different folks. I hope you will respect my point of view for what it is.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

NO


I'm even more depressed that I have to elaborate to avoid a low content warning.


Let's see. I'm overworked. I'm underpaid. My home situation is financially beneficial. Yet, it's detrimental to a quality personal life. I am woefully behind in the "Meeting the right woman and start a family" expectation of someone of my age. Getting married and having children is a financial luxury I cannot afford right now. I can't foresee anything that will change my situation short of winning a lottery or quit my job without having another job lined up.

The only thing that cheers me up is the option of suicide. Knowing I can end it all at anytime gives me a peace of mind. At least, I have some control in this massively unfair world that is under the control of assholes.

Sorry about the downer note about suicide. I know it's a controversial thing to believe. Different strokes for different folks. I hope you will respect my point of view for what it is.

I don't think it should be a controversial thing. Choosing to die is, if anything, the last action you'll take as a free willed person. But could I perhaps make a suggestion? It might help and costs nothing, and has about a 90% chance of registering a much higher Oxford Happiess Scale test rating afterwards for people who are clinically depressed.

Have you tried the Expressing Gratitude test? Cheap, takes little time, and can lead to long term benefits if used when one is feeling significant degradation of self esteem.

The test is pretty simple. Sit down, with a pen and paper. Close your eyes, somewhere quiet, somewhere fairly dark ... just focus on your breathing. As you become calm, disassociated from your current qualms, think about someone who has done you some phenomenal act of good will. Someone that helped you with a financial difficulty out of pocket, someone who helped you out of the goodness of their own heart. Someone still alive, and contactable.

Then write down everything you want to say to that person. Everything. Don't hold back (Within easonable limits). Take time to read it ... make it personal and coherent in a spoken sense. Then ring up that person, or invite them to somewhere comfortable ... and just tell them personally EVERYTHING you have written down. No matter how embarassing.

Just ... just give it a go. Okay? Next time you think about self-harm, just try it. Expressing gratitude, and practicing it, is one of the simplest tools to feeling closeness with others. It also helps build a support network and it helps to allow friends to be closer to you and better empathize with how you feel.

 

[Someone Depressing]

My default mood is usually "cynical wanker" but I actually feel pretty good right now.

I haven't made any progress in my life - the opposite, in fact - but I saw a beautiful dog taking a dump in grass with a "no dog litter" sign next to it so that just made my day.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Eeehh....Happy? I dunno.

Content, more like. I'm not like "wooo! Happy times!", but I'm in a relatively good mood. Got through a bit of a rough patch recently, doing better overall, so...Content.

 

[Dragonclaw]

I'd say the scales tip more towards happy than not fortunately.

I became a homeowner late last year. I have a great wife and we have an awesome mutual girlfriend who lives with us and we're expecting a child soon (October / November). I enjoy my hobbies (collecting toy robots and fixing up old arcade machines) plus I have what should be a dream job...I own a comic book and toy store.

The only drawback is the store's rent has skyrocketted and the store has struggled over the past year. We're trying to secure financing to move to a much better (and cheaper) location but because they wouldn't let me out of the lease where we are the most current financial information is bleak so securing the financing has proven very difficult...and if we can't the store that I've worked so hard to build up is going to just have to close.

 

[chromatic fairytale]

Haha, honestly, I'm a bit dead inside!

Spoiler: I see people are putting rants in spoilers!

I've been struggling with depression and several anxiety conditions (OCD, social phobia, etc.) for a really, really long time. I let them completely ruin my college experience, and now I'm kicking myself for it. I barely managed to scrape by and graduate somehow, despite constantly floundering with my work and failing several classes. Now I'm back home with my parents. I spent about a year as a shut-in, and just recently got a minimum wage job. I just feel so empty. Nothing is fun or interesting. I'm seeing a therapist but really don't want to go on medication, since it almost made me suicidal last time. I realize I'm incredibly lucky to have my parents as a financial safety net, but really I feel like I'm just letting them down. Everyone's too busy to serve as any kind of support, though. I have no dream and I'm too scared to do almost everything. If I do make the Herculean effort to try and talk to someone, my mind goes blank and I can't hold a conversation. To describe it succinctly, it feels as though I'm trapped inside my own head. I'm also useless at everything and just kind of ugly inside and out lmao

tl;dr: boo hoo, mental illness

 

[L. Declis]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy.

I'm in a good relationship with a good woman, and we have a good future together.

I have a well-paying job, and I'm about to start a very well ranked university degree in something I find interesting while I develop a few games I've always wanted to make.

In a few months, all of my debts will be paid off, I'll have moved to another city, my teeth will be fixed, and I'll be making cool shit and spending time with the woman I love.

Life is good.

 

[FalloutJack]

Depression is not something that really happens to me. I get sad, but I just don't have the proper capacity for a prolonged meloncholy sulk. So yes, I'm happy. How about you?