How often do you feel overwhelmingly happy?

[thereoncewaslove]

I feel overwhelmingly happy/content very frequently lately. Nothing has really changed and my life isn't perfect, I'm still at uni, I still have a while to go before I'm in the job I want to be in but I'm pretty happy with my lot at the moment.

There's been other times in my life where I should have felt that happy/content way, in a happy relationship, just had child, getting promoted at work etc but for some reason then I always felt like something was missing.

But recently I just feel very at peace. Today I have lay in bed and watched films, chatted on the phone and I was just making a coffee there and I have this warm content happiness feeling in my stomach, it's always like a glow. And it got me thinking that I'm experiencing this quite a lot recently out of nowhere.

I spent a lot of my teens and my early twenties not very happy at all and I don't know if it's now that I'm turning 30 that things that used to upset me don't seem as important anymore. It's a lovely feeling and I wish I could bottle it up when going through bad times.

Does anyone else get this feeling? Can you explain it? How often do you experience it?

Quite often. Times have been hard recently (but for most of us). I haven't been back "home" to the UK in nearly two years...I miss my family. But I'm very content in general with my life. I find happiness in little things, I have hobbies that I very much enjoy, I have a good relationship with husband and a lovely little boy who I waited for for 4 years. I'm finishing my master and hoping to start my PhD after a year break.

It's not perfect... Health anxiety creeps in sometimes, covid, not seeing family, baby, moving flat has been stressful but in general, yes. I feel happy quite often!
Today's happiness was the three of us sitting on our new sofa, husband and I having coffee while son laughed and sat in our lap. Was a lovely twenty minutes

Never. The best I hope for is feeling OK more of the time than I feel depressed, with occasional flashes of happy.

Not often tbh. I'm one of life's natural born worriers...

This is an interesting thread (tho obviously feel very sad for all those who never get the blissed-out vibe). After posting earlier and reading others posts I was further reflecting on my own current (or relatively recent) experiences of this feeling. They are nearly always either with my fella or my daughter. With dd it’s mostly when we are out and about doing stuff - usually outdoorsy stuff (walking, or camping, or wild swimming - that’s a good one!) tho I can also get it if we are out shopping somewhere we don’t normally go, or out for a meal together or the cinema, something like that?

With my fella it’s usually from cuddles or sex, but could be walking hand in hand along the beach. OR going on the back of his motorbike when we are somewhere lovely and the weather is good - that definitely gives me bliss too - but more of an exhilarating rush type bliss than a calm one.

I can also occasionally feel blissfully content and peaceful spending time with my mom (who I am extremely close to), shopping or out for lunch or something. Or with my mom and dad sometimes. Just watching TV or something daft. Especially if I’ve not seen them for a while.

I can feel happy enough at times when on my own, but it’s rare to get that total euphoric feeling - I think for me that generally comes from sharing a great time with somebody other than myself, who I love totally. I am very close to my small circle of friends, and have great times with them, but again I’m not sure it ever reaches that total bliss state.

(My life is FAR from perfect by the way. I have all kinds of financial troubles, family troubles etc. But I still get these total rays of light at times, even in the most difficult days..... )

I feel really happy most days. I am late 50s and retired a month ago and a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. This morning I had a little dance in the stable yard whilst I was mucking out my horses.

Hardly ever. Probably fewer than 10 times in the last 30 years.

Only when I'm sitting down in some peace and quiet and a chunk of chocolate is melting in my mouth.

This thread makes me think of this poem by Wendy Cope:

Very rarely! But it sounds brilliant!
I think it's little to do with what's actually going on, providing of course that nothing bad is happening.
I feel like this when my kids are especially sweet or something else nice is happening but my mind always races on to the next thing. It's like I'm desperate to worry about something.

I don’t get overwhelmed, but I get the warm glow. Much more so in the last ten years than ever before.

Making my kids laugh, walking in the woods, eating incredible food with DH at our favourite restaurant, when both my cat and dog sit on the sofa/my lap with me.

Never really. I'm happy most of the time. But not blissfully so. I'm not bursting with happiness. I don't get overwhelmingly unhappy either. I think I'm just not really one for very strong feelings!

I have the feeling you describe often. It's lovely... but I also feel overwhelming sad often too! It's a trade off I think.

For some reason I never seem to feel just 'OK', it's always one extreme or the other.

About once a day I think - I have very fluctuating moods for various reasons, so I think I get emotional 'spikes' maybe more often than average.

It's usually over something tiny - DH singing unselfconsciously to the radio in the car or bringing me a brew I didn't ask for, finding a new leaf on one of my precious vegetable plants (haha), waking up before anyone else and just having a wander down the canal in v early morning sunshine. Those moments I feel profoundly, could-cry happy.

Things are ...semi difficult in our lives, for a number of reasons, so I think the tiny uncomplicated moments of joy really hit harder. But fundamentally I spend my life with my best friend and our cats, I love my job and I am happier and more comfortable in myself as a person now than I've ever been. All the other stuff is background noise, so it makes sense I get the overwhelmingly happy feelings more - 10 years ago I went probably 4 years without feeling like that once.

@Milkshake7489

I have the feeling you describe often. It's lovely... but I also feel overwhelming sad often too! It's a trade off I think.

For some reason I never seem to feel just 'OK', it's always one extreme or the other.

Same! A daily rollercoaster where it's all giddy highs or absolute lows. I feel everything a LOT haha.

Absolutely never. Even when I find out happy news , very very happy news ie pregnant. I think it's because I have anxiety so always think something bad is going to happen . I find out something good but instantly think what could go wrong . I can't even enjoy my child on a daily basis as I think one day he will grow old and die. It makes me so sad that he won't be here forever. I think I may be depressed tbh.

Never.

Fairly regularly. I am easily pleased and I'm also very fortunate. I can see the humour in daily life and laugh easily, surrounded by like minded people in work and home life.

Travel has brought me loads of those moments so I really miss it. I do live somewhere beautiful though and that brings happiness on a daily basis.

Thanks for sharing everyone have loved reading the replies