bitcoin Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Questions and thoughts about happiness: Recently, it has felt like being in a low-stress / stress-free environment, living independently and pursuing the things I see will improve my life are making me happy. What this means is I am not happy after going to the gym, or eating my favorite food (or whatever else is "supposed to make us happy"), I really feel happy almost all the time. What I am curious and skeptical of my own 'reasoning' is that it is endorphins which promotes happiness, so would that mean living like this provides a pretty constant flow of endorphins? I think its very possible. My question though is if happiness really comes from events, or could it actually be the environment and mental state? Certain environments could trigger a reaction in your body to feel calm, trusting, relaxed, etc. releasing these endorphins and causing happiness; rather than what we commonly think of as "events". If this makes any sense, the "bursts" of happiness I recall feeling growing up, perhaps did not come of particular events (like playing basketball which I enjoyed), but by doing the things I enjoyed, it told me body and mind I am in a safe space -- allowing me to feel this way. This thought just popped in my head. What do you think ?
MMX2010 Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Temple Grandin has a beautifully simple quote which went something like, "Never leave to willpower (or self-discipline) what can be controlled by environment." If you believe the quote it doesn't matter whether those happy feelings come from events or from environment; you'll just maximizing your environment and stop caring about your question. As for, "What I am curious and skeptical of my own 'reasoning' is that it is endorphins which promotes happiness, so would that mean living like this provides a pretty constant flow of endorphins? I think its very possible." What usually happens is that you'll learn to achieve some form of regular happiness by yourself, but you'll realize that you'll need others to maximize your happiness. So the grand question will become, "Which types of people do I need to maximize my happiness, and how do I find them?" So you'll probably enjoy your new-found happiness for quite some time, and then you'll start looking for others. And your happiness will likely drop, until you find the right people. 3
Carl Green Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Can you add a bit to the part about certain actions not making you happy, like eating your favorite food? Are you talking about it not giving you happiness as an overall mood or happiness in the moment? Maybe it's something like our minds are looking for satisfaction most of all, and if you're an optimistic and upbeat kinda guy, your brain is most satisfied when it's happy. And a pessimistic person is satisfied when they feel all grumpy.
Blackout Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Well, endorphins are the brain's natural activators of opiate receptors which modulate the pain and stress response. I would conjecture that a low stress, peaceful lifestyle could lead to increased happiness even without a lot of endorphin releasing activities, such as exercise, whereas much more would be needed to mitigate a a very stressful lifestyle. Maybe you fit the former more than the latter.
Kevin Beal Posted June 21, 2015 Posted June 21, 2015 Happiness is kind of broad category which can describe quite a few different emotional states, from surprise to joy to satisfaction to ecstasy to serenity, etc. There are different causes for each one. When I think of being happy with life in general, I think of joy specifically, so I'll operate from that assumption. ------------------- In Nathaniel Branden's work on self esteem, those actions which contribute to a sense of self regard ("I am worthy") and self efficacy ("I am capable") contribute to a healthy self esteem, and one way we know someone has a healthy self esteem is if they enjoy life. They take enjoyment out of the use of their body and their mind toward their goals. Nathaniel invites us to look at self esteem as the health of the mind. A human who thinks rationally and acts according to rational values is going to be a person who is going to be better adapted for life, in an evolutionary perspective. It could be that our minds are wired to notice those behaviors which produce self esteem or negative self esteem so we can have some kind of internal gauge; letting us know how much we deny reality by producing negative self esteem symptoms like depression, and conversely produce feelings of joy and satisfaction when we do those things which raise our self esteem. Our bodies reward us with dopamine hits when we do things that would have contributed to our survival, like eating sugary things or having sex. Our bodies haven't adapted to the reality that sugar is plentiful yet, but I'm betting that this self esteem gauge and reward is similarly wired into us. Except that it's a lot more sustainable than the high from sugar and sex, because those conditions don't stop being satisfied like finishing a candy bar and ejaculating are basically the end of those behaviors which produce the feelings. ------------------- You living independently and achieving your goals are things which are going to raise your self esteem. You can tell by the buzzy relaxing feeling that fills your whole body and puts a smile on your face. I'm betting that's the sort of happiness you are feeling. One thing that I think is worth noting is that if you come from a childhood where you were put down or humiliated, or made to feel small in whatever way, there are things that we do that sabotage our self esteems. I have a habit that, if I'm not paying attention, I can suck the joy out of something great. I achieve something I worked hard at, and it's recognized as being great, and then I'll have these sorts of automatic thoughts that I'm only barely conscious of (often after the fact) where I tell myself "but this that and the other thing about it are terrible though". Or it's a thought about myself, like "but they wouldn't think so highly of me if they knew X". I think that working on developing a healthy self esteem includes doing those things which raise your self efficacy, but also it involves being very aware and conscious about the things that we tell ourselves so we can challenge it (or work on it if it's a valid criticism). I'd highly recommend Nathaniel Branden's books. They are fantastic. ------------------- Hope that was helpful! 1
bitcoin Posted June 21, 2015 Author Posted June 21, 2015 Can you add a bit to the part about certain actions not making you happy, like eating your favorite food? Are you talking about it not giving you happiness as an overall mood or happiness in the moment? Maybe it's something like our minds are looking for satisfaction most of all, and if you're an optimistic and upbeat kinda guy, your brain is most satisfied when it's happy. And a pessimistic person is satisfied when they feel all grumpy. That has not been my personal experience... But I guess I was referring to addictive behaviours being addictive because they provide "happiness" momentarily. This was not the most well written / thought out post but essentially I was curious whether people are addicted to the act or event of doing what they love, or rather it is by doing what the person loves they are able to relax and gain this sense of relief because their body and mind is telling them they are in a safe space. Continuing on this 'line of thought', perhaps this could be why without freedom, a person is only capable of temporary happiness. In order to achieve prolonged happiness, a person must be in a state and environment in which they feel safe enough to do the things they love. I am having trouble expressing my thoughts but essentially what I am asking if it is possible that we feel happy and endorphins rush to our brain in response to a sense of security rather than a particular event or action. An event such as doing what we enjoy could trigger a response in us to feel as if we are in a safe space and therefore causing the endorphin rush. So again, I wonder if it is not doing what we enjoy that makes us happy, but by doing what we enjoy we are telling ourselves we are in an environment in which we can be happy. Does that make any more sense? The reason I would find this significant is that this would mean by putting oneself into a safe, secure and trusting environment, a person can experience prolonged happiness levels despite other things going on. So a person who was living independently in a safe, secure, etc. home, could still work towards things that may not feel so desirable, yet not find it very taxing on the system nor take a toll on one's stress levels. I don't quite know what I am trying to get across... I will have to think more about this... It begininning to seem more and more obvious as well as more and more abstract. I wonder if there is any data on lower stress levels being in response to environment rather than a particular action or event. Again, when I say that, it doesn't sound like it makes much sense. In the end, perhaps this could be an argument for freedom (from abuse, etc) ---- without it, prolonged happiness not really being possible. In response to your optimism / pessimism comment, wouldn't that be in response to one's environment though? Elevated prolonged stress levels would cause a person to see the world as such; stressful and not much opportunity to happiness and positivity in the future. Whereas an optimistic person might have had the experience of being in a secure, safe, stable environment and therefore would see the world as capable of achieving such a state. What do you think? Does this clarify anything? Make any sense? Do you have any further thoughts on what I am saying? Temple Grandin has a beautifully simple quote which went something like, "Never leave to willpower (or self-discipline) what can be controlled by environment." If you believe the quote it doesn't matter whether those happy feelings come from events or from environment; you'll just maximizing your environment and stop caring about your question. I am not sure how to respond to that. I understand this question will likely not lead to my happiness but that has nothing to do with my having curiosity... Does it? Could you clarify what you are saying for the second half because I don't quite understand. It sounds like you are saying that I am basically addicted to this new environment of safety and will soon no longer have this reaction?
MMX2010 Posted June 22, 2015 Posted June 22, 2015 It sounds like you are saying that I am basically addicted to this new environment of safety and will soon no longer have this reaction? Yes, exactly. There's a concept called "The Hedonistic Treadmill", or "The Happiness Trap", or "The Set Point" - but they all mean that a person who moves to a new, happier environment very quickly stabilizes back to their original level of happiness. Now, if you moved from a really abusive environment to a non-abusive environment, then you probably won't revert back to your original level of happiness. But if you're moving from a non-abusive environment to another non-abusive environment, you probably will revert back. But once you know about "Set Point", you no longer assume that you're causing yourself to be unhappy; you just assume that the "Set Point" is resetting itself.
Carl Green Posted June 22, 2015 Posted June 22, 2015 ...essentially what I am asking if it is possible that we feel happy and endorphins rush to our brain in response to a sense of security rather than a particular event or action. An event such as doing what we enjoy could trigger a response in us to feel as if we are in a safe space and therefore causing the endorphin rush. Like eating 'comfort food', right? There does seem to be some sort of biological/genetic influence as to whether you lean toward optimism or pessimism. If you take any group of random newborns and somehow treat them all identically, you'd still end up with a variance in this respect. Much like how some people can remain very positive even when subjected to horrific abuse, while others will absorb it and repeat.
Kurtis Posted July 14, 2015 Posted July 14, 2015 In the end, perhaps this could be an argument for freedom (from abuse, etc) ---- without it, prolonged happiness not really being possible. When I look at my childhood, all of my memories of being happy came from times when I was alone. With the happiest being when I was very alone, off adventuring in the woods. For me, happiness was very environmental. When my environment was free from abusers, only then could I be happy. When I think of my adult life, it was only after defoo'ing and clearing up my internal environment that my happiness was really able to flourish. Until I did those things I could only have temporary happiness through events (adrenaline inducing physical activities, drugs, food, toxic relationships etc).
Kurtis Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 Although I admit... I feel like I'm spinning into abstract land when I try to nail down where an event is separate from an environment... an action causes a change in environment both internal and external.
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