You happy? Why?

[sayalittlerayer]

If you are how have you achieved this, if you're not what needs to happen for you to find happiness?

Nothing’s ever perfect but I’m content- two healthy children in happy relationships, brilliant husband (2nd time lucky) and still have both my parents. Who knows what tomorrow brings but today I’m content.

More money will make me happy. I'm content with my job, I adore my kids and love my dp we have a good way of life but due to dps bad credit and us both being self employed it's unlikely that we would ever be able to afford a decent sized house. I would be much happier if I just had enough money to build an extention without having to take out a lone (that I probably won't get anyway). So my kids could have a room each and we could move the dining table out of the living room. I would also love to have another child but that will never happen.

I find happiness every day, in the small things. Afternoon nap, finding a good book, a bite from a slice of warm bread, a phone call from a friend, the sun shining through the shutters, that kind of thing.
Being in the moment makes me happy. Giving others makes me happy. Sharing food and chatting to people makes me really happy.

I try not to dwell on the past or worry too much about the future.

But I will say I'm much happier than I was 5 years ago, my mental health was in tatters. So who knows where we will be in another 5 years.

Loan, not lone!

Yes I'm happy and content, I have dh whom I love and who is a brilliant partner, a gorgeous d's who is happy and health and doing well at school. I have friends and family around.

I also hated my job so just started a new one and that has removed masses of stress.

I love my life and obviously owning my own home or having more money would be brilliant but I don't so I don't see the point on dwelling on the negatives

I find it interesting that quite a few posters mention optimism
I am definitely an optimist and experience everything from joy to despair but generally hover around happy ish - even when sad I’m sort of optimistic that it will pass or I’ll find a way to deal with whatever it is - it will make me stronger or open up different avenues etc
DP is a natural pessimist and is rarely happy as even when things are going ok he is waiting for it all to go wrong - he does have depression and sometimes minor paranoia but it’s the pessimism that seems to suck joy out of life for him

Yes I'm happy.
I have good health, a very happy marriage after 23 years, DC I am proud of(also drive me potty at times), a rewarding if low paid job, no debts.

Does anyone suffer with anxiety and still manage to be happy? I've had some cbt and I'm trying but because I'm constantly on the lookout for ooh am I happy? Why am I not? What's wrong? It interferes with any chance of happiness I am fed up of it now to be honest I'm not depressed I try to be quite happy and be optimistic I know these times pass however it's still there in the back of mind.

I'm happy but am also easily pleased with very simple needs. I have a lovely home, husband and children. My job is fine. We're comfortable financially. Others in my position may be bored and dissatisfied but I'm happy.

I think you can be pretty happy most of the time.

I feel happy every time I am on my drive going home.
I feel very happy when I finish a run.
I feel happy when I book my holidays, when it's Friday and we have a whole weekend.

My kids make me happy, I am lucky with them.

I find happiness every day, in the small things.

This.
Also much happier since deleting Facebook. Never had Insta to Twitter. FB sucked the joy from me and made me feel inadequate.

Yes Im happy. I attribute that to 2 things. 1 reading how to do everything and be happy and following the strategies and 2. Reading mn which enabled me to not tolerate people treating me badly.

Does anyone suffer with anxiety and still manage to be happy? Not diagnosed but I do get anxious, particularly about health of my DC. They are fine but I worry at the slightest thing and jump to worst case scenarios. I am getting better at recognising it's just what I do.

I'm happy. Things that make me able to be happy are:

Having a good marriage.
DS being happy and developing well.
A job I find interesting and rewarding, that I know I am good at.
Colleagues I love and respect.
Having the right number of friends for me (introvert).
Living in a house I really like.
Living in a town I like in and area I adore.

I think I'd be happier if I were thinner.

I do suffer from anxiety, but I have some decent strategies in place to recognise and manage it.

I think that's what prevents me from being happier as I struggle some times to think what will be will be I always feel very on the look out and it's draining even now I'm worrying about becoming depressed when I'm not I fucking hate anxiety with a passion, but I still find small happiness in little things and it does help to know it will pass.

Yes, completely happy.

I didn't achieve it. I was born at the right time, in the right place to the right people. I just got so lucky, that's all.

Having said that, I do hugely appreciate how my life is and I try and bring a bit of joy into other people's lives. I don't always manage it. But I try

I feel happy the majority of the time. I'm contented with what I've got and very grateful. I've had dark times and some trauma but I've been able to bounce back. Anxiety is a huge part of my life but I feel as though I've achieved much of what I wanted to and my loved ones are happy and healthy.

I'm not really right now. Have had a horrible three years but being miserable has become sort of a habit.
I need to shake myself.
I've started down the path to a career change and my divorce is now almost done. I can see light at the end of the tunnel but I'm not quite there yet.

I am generally happy. Sometimes specific events make me unhappy. Or I can be worried about something eg a job change. But on the whole I am happy.

I am healthy. Good job. Nice family. Super friends. Fluffy cat.

I'm happy. I have plenty (PLENTY) of reasons not to be. But I am. Life is wonderful when you look for reasons for it to be, even in the bleakest, darkest of times. This is going to sound so pinterest inspirational meme bollocks, but a few years ago my (young) grandmother and (very young) uncle were both dying of cancer at the same time, at opposite ends of the same ward. It was grim. SUch a dark time. So late of an evening lots of my family would be gathered around the bedside of one or the other. Considering the circumstances we had some weird and wonderful conversations and a strangely 'good' time. From the window you could see the intermittent flashing of the lighthouse off the coast, and it's sort of become my mantra now, that no matter how dark things get you can always look for those flashes of light. It's so cringey I know...light in the dark bullshit...but it's stuck with me. I'm not in the best place, life wise, but taking that attitude to things has helped my (inclined to depressive) mental state no end.

It's lovely to hear so many of you are feeling happy

I am relatively happy but have a few worries . I believe that complete happiness /contentment is not possible . There is always some issue or other and that's life !

Although I make complete exception for depression as an illness. While I certainly think it possible to help yourself, but 100% acknowledge that it's often quite impossible. there's often zero fucking chance of lighthouse flashing your way to happy out of that black hole. But it's still good practice to look for it though. Celebrate the sucesses, without prejudice and comparison, no matter how small. Managed to brush your hair today? Fuck yeah! That's a lighthouse flash!

That's lovely, Frenchonion.
A little bit Insta-wanky, but mostly lovely 😊