There are some moments in life in which a sudden self-awareness of happiness hits - a moment in which you step back from yourself and realize that, in that instant, everything is good. A feeling of your consciousness pulling away to make an emotional snapshot of that moment to care for and examine like one would a wounded bird or a nugget of gold.
While I don’t consider my life as a unhappy one, I only have a few of these moments guarded away. The first being at around age 6. My parents were giving me a group hug while we were all singing a family lullaby. My mother was expecting my baby brother at the time and that was the first time the baby’s name was included in the song. I remember feeling detached and floating away while taking in the moment.
The last time I experienced it I had just finished changing the sheets on a new king bed I splurged on after a small windfall. I remember laying on the bedspread and my 2yr old pup hopping on to play around the newly made bed. Instead of ushering him off as I usually did, I just watched him mess up the bedspread.
(I know happiness is not a fixed concept and everyone can have their own definition and experiences, but given my ignorance of the specific word to refer to the instant moment of self-awareness described, I just went with it)
Curious to read your thoughts and experiences.
A recent weekend event - it was just my son and myself that weekend and I decided to take him to a cultural event in our city. As we were walking home after filling our bellies with food truck chicken and watching the lion dancers, he interrupted our silence with “Mom, I love going to street fairs with you.”
I could’ve held on to that moment forever.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment.
When i ate that tasty mango yesterday,at 10pm
Today. I woke up.
Thank you for this.
Two weeks ago. It comes and goes.
I’ve been a bit overworked lately and that’s made me feel numb generally. Then of course there’s the news… I’m very not happy with the world at the moment.
Yesterday I was just driving home from the grocery store and the sky was a beautiful shade of pink. Light snow on the ground driving by a state park. In that moment I knew everything was Ok and I was at a state of peace I never would’ve thought possible even 1 year ago.
Ever since that DMT experience I had about 8 months ago, I have had more and more moments like this. And overall a profound sense of peace and joy. I have never been more grateful for a drug in my life.
How did you come into possession of that? (Totally not a cop, now please speak clearly into my chest area.)
This morning when I looked at my manicure. Even though it’s time for another. I love my nails and they make my day when I take a few seconds to look at them.
That’s a nice description. I would say for me, it’s when I’m not afraid or worried about everything all the time. These occasions happen, thankfully, but not too often. And sometimes through out the day.
I honestly cannot remember.
~Oct 10, 2021 to about ~Nov 26, 2021.
For a short time, thought I was going to be a dad. Was finally happy again. Torn away when I figured out the only reason she wanted to have kids with me was so I could bank roll her. I was just an ATM.
Before that, maybe around 2004-2007. Was in college, in what I thought was a happy relationship, had friends, genuinely looked forward to each day. I had goals and dreams. I smiled because I wanted to, not because it’s what people expected.
Dang, man. 🫂
A few days ago when that naval base in Bahrain got kablammed
Me after reading this thread.
Fuck, am I depressed?
I’m pretty sure depression is a human condition that ebbs and flows on a spectrum, and increases in intensity, as we age.
increases in intensity, as we age
So it’s going to get worse?
What’s with the ideal of a jolly wise, old person then?
Before looking into psychology or (god forbid) reactionary existentialism:
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potassium (your multivitamin does not have this, supplements are generally inadequate, check the label you will be shocked, get powder online)
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magnesium (ditto but also “magnesium oxide” causes gastric issues and is NOT ABSORBED so trust the label even less, when you look online get glycinate)
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25-50g of fiber. easiest + cheapest if you live in an unhealthy supermarket area without cheap veggies is psyllium husk, powdered peanut butter (WITH NO ADDED SUGARS!! use in savory dishes), wheat bran, and dried vegetable mixes you can buy from asia
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lift weights AND do long very fast walks for posture + eyes. engage your core muscles while you walk
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100-300g (yes, 300, but we will never be that ripped now without roids lol, 250 tops prolly, and obv you need some short (protein powders) and long (yogurt, egg whites, meat) chains otherwise you will be too full, beware of doing this with beans sorry) of protein depending on physique. limit fat intake. no sugars. complex carbs and proteins burn 30% of calories as heat, that activity fuels your digestive microbiota.
just a good bedrock before mindset and medication, also look into tianeptine. trust me this will improve your mood enough to realistically gauge what to do next this is foolproof numerous people have told me it works and any doctor should back me up.
oh, and eat fish! so much fish! omega 3s really do work over time. also eat as many plants rich in random antiinflammatory compounds as possible (they taste good, berries are fiber nukes and they are just packed with anticancer stuff)
Thank you for the genuinely good advice, but I think it’s missing the point.
I’m not referring to depression or missing fiber in my diet; I’m referring to a specific meta-awareness of one’s emotional state. I tried to discuss a phenomenological discussion, not a physiological condition.
Have you experienced something like this?
Hey just wanted to point out this about tianeptine.
" It has been found to act as an atypical agonist of the μ-opioid receptor with clinically negligible effects on the δ- and κ-opioid receptors."
Don’t buy it online (if that’s even possible for you guys anymore) I get it thru the medical system here legit
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1988
Elation is a moment. And honestly that’s fleeting. When most people think of happiness, they are really feeling elation. Happiness is a state of mind. With happiness it’s more or less being content and enjoying your big picture …
I thought I killed my analog oscilliscope about 20 minutes ago. Thankfully I didn’t, so that’s pretty cool.
If I’m smart, I’ll soon cut off basically everything news adjacent, maybe including lemmy depending if I can get good filters. Maybe a desprate effort to claw back from anything which weighs me down, given the gravity of our future, but eh.
