Is it really possible to "enjoy life" on net, or are good lives more like a crappy ride with a couple of nice stops?When I was younger, I thought I could build a life where I was vaguely satisfied and happy day-to-day. The older I get, though, the more it seems life just is inherently unpleasant:Successful careers require specialization, which requires repetition, which inevitably leads to boredom.There's always some shit to deal with, some fire to put out, some problem to solve.Life has some nice things, but the absolute worst punches it can throw at you feel way worse than the absolute best things feel good.There's a constant nagging feeling that true joy could be one different decision, one career change, one new town away (it never is).Do any of you genuinely feel happy day-to-day? Do you wake up excited for the day ahead? Do you have a job you enjoy, even though you've done it for years? If so, how did you get where you are, and why do you think you feel that way?
>>34536585yesit requires letting go of all expectations and selfhood which results in waves of complete bliss and perfectionit's pretty cool
>>34536585I do
>>34537771For you maybe. I've done that and felt numbness, which became boredom. The abscence of suffering is not bliss, it's nothing.
Kek is that the image from the page on schizoid personality disorder from Wikipedia?
>>34538294No, you didn't. You only thought you did it. Real enlightenment never results it misery, and it always results in happiness. Keep trying, it's too early to give up.
>>34538379>>34536585it isit's weird to see people use this image as someone who actually has spdbest of luck to OP, I enjoy life I think
>>34538410I have suspected for a while that I may have some form of spd or stpd and used the image from the wiki in another board as a discreet way of possibly finding a way to fix myself and maybe feel something.How can I be certain that I have it? If I were to try and get a diagnosis they would probably put me on a wait list for years then tell me that they have never heard of the condition before.
>>34538422>how can I be certain that I have it?you can't, really. if isolation causes you distress, or if you think that you're "broken" and need to be "fixed," chances are you don't really have it. I don't really feel like there's anything wrong with me, despite having a personality "disorder," but I can recognize that I'm different from other people>tell me that they have never heard of the condition beforemost therapists haven't, and most shrinks will only vaguely remember it from medical school. shrink told me that people with schizoid personality disorder are very rare in psychiatry because they basically never come in for psychiatric treatment, their condition doesn't cause them much stress and they don't cause stress for others by nature of the condition. I was diagnosed because I was there for an unrelated thing (addiction issues)
I think it is, but it requires a regular degree of contentment. I don't mean "I'm happy to settle where I am". A person needs purpose, they need meaning in their lives, and they need some sense of marked progression. Goals give you this, but you also have to understand what it is that you want in life and why.For example, some people can work long shitty hours if it provides for their family and allows a higher standard of living. You have children, you raise those children, you have a decently-sized house, you can afford to buy new things like furniture, and get renovations done. You can go on vacation, maybe finally get a pool. Get a decent car. Not total decadence, but you're able to do things that have marked changes on your quality of life.Now let's put that in perspective. You're working long hours. You're just barely able to afford the rent, food, and whatever monthly utilities there are. There is very little in terms of saving. You don't have a significant other. You don't have children. You can probably barely even afford a pet. You are working a job you have no passion for, no end goals. Upward growth is very limited. If your wage goes up, it's because cost of living has gone up, and you better hope that your wage can match it. Your environment does nothing for you. You are stuck in a meaningless existence with no hope. You are working to exist, not to live. You don't have a work-life balance, you have a work-exist lifestyle in the very same way you could say you have a work-sleep lifestyle.Such a life is unsustainable, you'll just be stuck in empty misery waiting for something to happen or for it to end. That's not living. And it's not fair or realistic to expect you to go 5-10 years where you save up every single penny and live like you're borderline homeless, barely eating, doing school and investing in some sort of abstract future that will only MAYBE help you.
i don't think you should expect to constantly be happy, and joy in itself is amplified by the contrast of sufferingmy life kinda sucks on paper but i just teared up (with joy) because my cat curled up between my legs and looked at me with such love and affectionyou just need to find your meaning, the things that make trudging through the boredom of a mundane job worth it at the end of the day
>>34536585>Do any of you genuinely feel happy day-to-day? Do you wake up excited for the day ahead?Most days, no. >Do you have a job you enjoy, even though you've done it for years?No. I work as a corporate rat for a mid-sized company, but the pay is good and the people are professional and behave themselves, unlike my lasty gig where people would yell, curse, threaten, and engage in childish behavior.>If so, how did you get where you are, and why do you think you feel that way?Well, for context I suffer from mild depression, but I manage from day to day. I was hospitalized for a 72 hour hold in December of 2023. In that time, that moment, I was at my lowest point. I'd been beaten down from years of abuse at a job that I had just left, but couldn't shake the effects of, and a whole list of other bullshit. When I got out, I had to sit through retarded therapy for a month to get my Short Term Disability and actually get time to recover. I attended therapy with a competent psychotherapist and was determined to work out all my problems, which I did. That's who I am. It pays my bills. I could leave but I wont.>There's always some shit to deal with, some fire to put out, some problem to solve.Welcome to the human race, kid.>The older I get, though, the more it seems life just is inherently unpleasant:Generally I agree with this. Expect it to get worse, Western society is on the decline thanks to retarded liberal elites and corporate overlords demoralizing the population and stripping them of reason, identity, and purpose. I recommend finding somebody to commiserate with. If nothing else, live out of spite.
I have a high paying and adventurous career. I’m fit and physically healthy, I have a gf. But I am not happy. My gf says I often look sad and is constantly asking me if I’m happy. I always lie and say yes. But honestly, i think some people can’t be happy and I think I am one of them. I don’t think I have ever experienced true happiness how people describe it to be anyways
>>34536585I enjoy most of it these days. Except when there's paperwork to do. That part sucks ass.Took me a long time to get here, though. I basically spent my whole 30's wishing I was brave enough to do myself in. But one day a switch flipped in my brain and I was like "you know what? I'm done being a depressed piece of shit. I'm going to do something about it."Took a good 2 years of work, forcing myself to do things I was too scared/lazy to do, but I actually did do something about it and now life's pretty good.
>>34536585I have the secret to happiness after years of being a semi-rich NEET. It's impossible to articulate through words, you need practice and experience to understand. It's about managing your energy, i.e. studying things like yoga, qi gong. And studying your beliefs and how they generate your feelings, restructuring ego. Then suffering becomes a thrilling roller coaster ride, sometimes even sexually arousing, or merely intense sensations. Or after a horrible experience, I feel so amazing afterward it almost makes me want to have more horrible experiences.Listening to Bashar / Darryl Anka was a very positive influence for me. And spending lots of time spread out taking psychedelics and/or dissociatives, it brings trauma and negative beliefs to the surface, and then you integrate the experience, rinse and repeat.Physical activity is important, you've probably heard that before, but not enough people emphasize joyful movement. But most people deny their body the pleasure of joyful movement because they are too self-conscious about how they look, they think it's sinful or cringe. But to program yourself to be happy, physically act like a happy person: smile, laugh, dance, hum.Also: You must love yourself. Not just avoiding hating yourself, not just being friends with yourself, but love yourself unconditionally like you'd love a child or a puppy.But most people aren't willing to do the work and let go of conformity and self-loathing. Also, being positive and happy alienates you from others, it creates new issues, it's harder to relate to other people's problems. Other people seem boring and you look like a narcissist to them. To stay happy you have to become like a secret agent, masking your happiness so miserable people don't get jealous and bully you.I'm not happy every moment of the day, but it's become a regular occurence that I feel body-tinglngly euphoric without drugs, just randomly while I'm relaxing in bed or reading something interesting.
>>34538294the other anon is correct. you did it wrong. it's not a process that you can easily control though, if at all. so you're right to be skeptical.
I honestly think I'm too mentally ill to ever enjoy life. Diagnosed with treatment resistant depression, social anxiety, and avoidant personality disorder. I have no social life. I've never had sex. I barely exist and function in this world. I'll be 35 soon and it's been like this forever. Professional treatment has done nothing and I can't seem to help myself either
