Beyond The Psychology Of Happiness

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Sigmund Freud has always considered happiness as comprising of two main categories: absence of displeasure and the feeling of pleasure. Truly, these define happiness but asides these, can someone's happiness be maintained even in the presence of displeasure? This is why we'll be looking way beyond just happiness as some people know it. A friend of mine once told me that "joy" is a higher level of happiness, because it is not dependent on what is happening or not happening but it is borne out of the heart.

Image from Pixabay

More often than not, happiness is related to what is happening. For example, if you are gifted with some money, you will tend to be happy but what happens when the money goes? Some people's happiness tend to be short-lived and not sustainable because it is not from within. Joy, on the other hand, is a choice you make without recourse to the prevailing situation.

Pleasure has been linked to happiness for so many years. Even the renowned psychologist Kringelbach acknowledges this. This is the reason hedonism (seeking of pleasure) has been linked to happiness. Even eudemonia has been linked to happiness but more often, this tends to exclude the fact that life, to some extent, is unpredictable. Now tell me, when things do not move as you have planned, what will be your state of mind?

It is not uncommon for people to seek for more happiness even in the midst of happiness but tend to be sad when their quest for more happiness becomes futile. This is why happiness, just like other human needs, are insatiable. Happiness leads to quest for more happiness but more often than not, it is only based on hedonism or pleasure-seeking. Some scientists have also argued that hedonic mechanisms are not just related to the psychology of happiness but may also stem from the human brain. Naturally, our brain is wired to respond in certain ways to certain situations. Like someone will feel happy when something good happens.

Image from Pixabay

Now the question that always comes to mind is "can happiness be measured?" I mean, is there a standardized measurement of happiness? This is actually where some people surmise that happiness should not be regarded as a concept of science and people only feel happy because they have convinced themselves that they are happy. Now, this also draws back to the point I raised that happiness, more often than not, is linked to happenings (like pleasure, etc).

When you get to a point where pleasure is absence, then the choice lies within you to either allow the situation to define you or to move beyond it. This is why I mentioned "joy" earlier. A state of joy is achieved, first, from the heart, then from the optimism that even though things may not be in your favour at the moment but you believe that brighter days are coming. This kind of optimism will naturally release the required energy you need to keep trying.

You can also read this article on the psychology of happiness

Thanks for reading

Peace on y'all

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You are right, joy is usually of a higher level than happiness, happiness can be quantified because it is dependant on the things we have but joy is beyond what we can see it is usually based on our hope.

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Exactly buddy. This, indeed, is the summary of the post. Many thanks for dropping by, Papa-Mensa

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For me, happiness is feeling comfortable with whatever action you do, with work and with what I have, I see it as a lifestyle, a way of being better.

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Hello @samminator

This is a pretty controversial post. Happiness is not easy to define.

I think happiness is relative, let me give you an example: My father was happy working at the university and being a professor. He even worked during the holidays. Maybe he was a workaholic... But it made him happy. I was also a professor, but from another university, and I didn't find the same happiness as him.

Maybe for someone else to be happy would be to live in the country far from the city. While others, like me, I'm a lover of civilization and technology.

Maybe I am lost in translation since my native language is not English, "happiness" and "joy" mean the same thing.

Since happiness for me is relative, I don't think it can be measured. A child is happy sucking on a lollipop, watching a cartoon. Their lives are mostly simple when they're younger. Maybe they appreciate the little things more. For me and you, those things probably don't mean happiness.

I invite you to take a look at this post I read a long time ago in another website, blog, blockchain? (in which they promised us good money that I never saw). But I loved it so much that I kept it in my bookmarks. I leave you the link and a piece of it.

https://web.cbnt.io/@walidewias/stop-trying-to-be-happy/15585238462412

If you have to try to be cool, you will never be cool. If you have to try to be happy, then you will never be happy. Maybe the problem these days is people are just trying too hard.

Happiness, like other emotions, is not something you obtain, but rather something you inhabit. When you’re raging pissed and throwing a socket wrench at the neighbor’s kids, you are not self-conscious about your state of anger. You are not thinking to yourself, “Am I finally angry? Am I doing this right?” No, you’re out for blood. You inhabit and live the anger. You are the anger. And then it’s gone.

Just as a confident man doesn’t wonder if he’s confident, a happy man does not wonder if he’s happy. He simply is.

What this implies is that finding happiness is not achieved in itself, but rather it is the side effect of a particular set of ongoing life experiences. This gets mixed up a lot, especially since happiness is marketed so much these days as a goal in and of itself. Buy X and be happy. Learn Y and be happy. But you can’t buy happiness and you can’t achieve happiness. It just is—once you get other parts of your life in order.

Thanks for sharing! Have a nice day and be SAFE! :D

PS: I didn't know this word eudemonia

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