I am not unhappy, but most people are. They have to keep themselves super busy just to escape themselves.
Do you take antidepressants @Bowens ? If people are on ADs then they are unhappy and have to mask it in a haze of serotonin, but deep down under the mask they are unhappy.
Neither good or bad, donāt judge yourself too harshly, there is no justice, only poetry. But maybe now is time to give way to more charitable feelings towards your former friend
No, I do not take antidepressants. They do nothing for me.
What does it mean to be unhappy? Discontent?
Like to differentiate between a depressive episode state
You smoke. What is smoking but a conscious or unconscious wish for death? It is all I need to know about a person who smokes is that they are unhappy whether they realise it or not.
Why else would a person takes countless puffs on a cancer stick knowing what it does to them if they were happy inside? Wanting to live is motivation enough to quit.
I was not projecting any unhappiness when I theorise that the majority of people are unhappy. Even given my circumstances I am far from miserable or depressed. I was merely stating how people feel inside whether they recognise it yet or not.
@labratmat But didnāt people smoke before they knew it caused cancer? I always thought that a pleasurable nicotine rush and addiction were the keys to long term smoking behaviour
No, itās not a deathwish. I started smoking when I was very young. Itās an ADDICTION. I am planning on quitting the first of the year. I want to quit.
I am not a psychologist.
I guess people who spend their lives distracted from themselves and actively escape it just to not feel who they really are is an example of an unhappy person. Most people donāt know it because they mask it.
What would you suggest differentiates a depressive state and being unhappy?
I think like others said, its an unhealthy way of thinking.
Social pressure played a tremendous role in getting people to smoke, both before knowledge of its bad side and after. Once it has its hooks into you, but other than the ācoolā factor of rebellious teenagers, what excuse is there anymore?
The cig industry target children in places like the Philippines and the far east still! To get them hooked young.
The pleasure of a cigarette is a self serving prophecy as the receptors in the brain keep needing their fix. Other than that cessation of craving I never felt much pleasure to be honest, but a lot of people feel differently.
Yeah I donāt actually think most people are unhappy. I used to when I was mentally ill. Now Iām not and Iāve realized most people are probably pretty happy overall. But then again, I could be projecting too.
Well lol who is anyone really? Does anyone really know who they are or is it just the current version they think they are? Who you might think you are now can change too.
The term escape is interesting in itself.
Is this forum an escape? Itās an activity. Is drawing an escape? Everything is basically an escape.
I think there are people who are uncomfortable doing nothing and there are others who are comfortable doing nothing and other that are comfortable with both.
I think a depressive episode is different because itās from either a brain chemical issue or an environmental issue like bad relationship or other unfortunate events.
Maybe an escape is good for dealing with depression. Keeps your head above water.
Itās an interesting topic anyway.
Sir Levels Freudian frueds
I donāt deny that, but on a more anecdotal level I do enjoy on occasion the nicotine rush I get from snorting snuff. I see no real - let alone moral - distinction between natural and artificial paradises.
Each to their own I suppose. Why not go the whole hog and become a heroin addict? Really enjoy those artificial paradises 
The metaverse will exist soon and we can all live there.
You make an interesting point though.
Personally, I donāt want to be reliant or dependent upon the drugs necessary for the artificial paradise. I could be in the minority though.
Iāve done heroin and greatly enjoyed it, but didnāt think Iād enjoy being an addict so I left it. 
Anyway, opiates are ānaturalā enoug
Getting pleasure from others misfortune is generally probably not healthy.
With that being said, if someone called out how much better they are doing than me all the time, Iād go with a passive aggressive approach when the tides have turned.
I have family members who would always tell me how much better theyāre doing and how I need to āman upā and make more money. Theyāve hit hard times recently, and I gave them similar advice sans gendered stereotypes, and havenāt thought about them sense typing this out.
I am nothing if not petty, but donāt give people the free rent in your brain.
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