Published: 02/15/2011 - Updated: 09/06/2018
Author: K. Laura Garcés G3 Comments
Joy is one of the most wanted feelings by man and perhaps one of the most difficult to find and, above all, maintain. We say we are happy when we feel enthusiastic, free, joyful and fulfilled with what we do. When this happens, it means that our brains are secreting substances called endorphins, which are responsible for us to feel happy and full of life.
However, the effect of these natural substances in the brain is not always as durable as we'd like, and often the joy goes fast or sometimes it seems that leaves us a bit more alone or with less enthusiasm than before.
What should we do to keep us happy? Is it impossible to be in a state of enthusiasm throughout our daily activities? What makes the mood low and everything starts to seem not very happy and enjoyable?
Contents
The lasting joy
Permanent happiness is something that human beings can aspire to, in fact, we were born to be happy and full of energy and life, but perhaps the problem is that there are many complexities and information in modern life which overshadow our true feelings of happiness, joy and, above all, discovery and adventure.
However, although that seems an impossible task, there are many things you can do to feel lively and enthusiastic. Being happy actually has more advantages than you think, it’s not only about having "a happy face" or be liked by everybody, but the cheerful, peaceful and simple person can surely know her/himself more than those with little peace, joy and happiness.
Keep the endorphins in the brain
We have said that when you find yourself with a sense of excitement, peace and love of life, is that your brain has a good production of endorphins, i.e. the hormones of happiness and joy. This is like saying that when the joy goes away, the substances are down in your brain.
People who feel depressed, apathetic, with little motivation, etc., have low levels of these hormones. Also infirm and listless people, who do not enjoy life and are pessimistic, have low levels of these substances.
Anxiolytics and drugs for depression, sadness, etc.
Often, we turn to remedies like taking drugs, anxiolytics and other substances to feel good and avoid being depressed, sad, anxious, tense, etc. But what we do when we take these chemicals is to promote chemical and artificial production of hormones of happiness, and what we actually do when we resolve these feelings by artificial means is to make the endocrine system weaker and it’s difficult to produce the hormones naturally. In the long run, we run the risk of becoming dependent to take substances to feel good.
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What should I do to feel good?
There are other ways to feel happy and not only have to do with "taking something". Eating or talking too much, for example, or criticizing a third party (because that makes us feel important, etc.), are other ways to seek the happiness or to cover something we do not want to feel. That's why many times we found strong feelings of misunderstanding or very low valuation in people with obesity or who talk a lot. We can also aspire to the joy in the couple when one instead of sharing love, demand it, then one is getting emotional dependent, which can be understood that the person has not found the resources to be happy by him/herself.
All these "happiness" we look for in a partner, food, drink, etc., often give us only a fleeting moment of happiness, but it is sufficient to deprive us of them to start to feel sick, desperate, anxious, and then life is no longer enjoyable.
Drugs
Other resources are more severe: drugs such as marijuana or cocaine (among the long list of them), for example, give a degree of happiness and instantly powerful, but they destroy us. Resorting in this kind of "happiness" can help us to avoid feeling, for example, strong emotional pain, is a very suitable for people who somehow try to avoid feelings that cannot confront, such as severe guilt, resentment, feelings of violence, deep unhappiness, etc. Drugs are the easiest means to disengage from the world of emotional pain, so are expensive because they give pleasure without asking much in return but some silver. If you look, many drug users move in superficial social circles, they need many things to be happy.
But there are also drug users who are not "superficial" but spiritual, and consider that the consumption of certain drugs (such as cannabis and mushrooms, for example) can be achieves certain awareness or contact with nature or the divine power, or achieves some kind of rapprochement or spiritual ascension. Could it be, perhaps, that for them, the drugs are their chariot to heaven.
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But in reality, no matter the purpose for which the drug is consumed, the truth is that these cover emotions and feelings on everything with pain, confusion and frustration, and makes life pleasant and enjoyable in an instant. Why can you become addicted? Because the brain is getting used to these sensations through external means. So it becomes very loose and every time is harder to stop these habits, especially when drugs are severe.
Natural happiness
Once you know the types of happiness that produce endorphins, you need to observe it and understand what you do in your life to find joy. The less you need to feel good, more permanent joy you can get in your life. The less dependent on external things to feel happy and at peace, or joy, free and encouraged, you can say, you will discover that true happiness really exists in you.
How to achieve a permanent happiness?
One way to build a deep and lasting happiness in life is by trying to make an effort of will by not using chemicals or drugs of any kind and to help with herbs and teas to calm anxiety to feel livelier. Leave the complexity of these dependencies, you can seek help if necessary so you can start to detach from them.
Also, you need to make an effort by avoiding cakes or sugar, or all that only gives you a moment of pleasure. If you feel anxious and do not know what to do, you can try to take an infusion of marjoram, chamomile, anise or willow, etc., natural herbs that can help start production of natural endorphins in your head and reduce your anxiety and distress.
Do not get carried away by the clichés of the perfectionists of the society, do not be intimidated by the propaganda that says that you need, for example, certain actions or facial features to be liked or accepted. This is just one example, but there are many things out there that advertise and try to tell you the essential things in your life, and only provoke sadness and awful feelings.
Another recommendation to begin to achieve a more stable and deep happiness is to look for things that really make you happy and stop living for others, don’t consider yourself as a machine or robot that only lives to work and pay or accept the daily affairs. You should exceed these limits of social happiness and go beyond, to focus more on what you really want out of life, learn to open the eyes and to see more of what is around us, and above all, start generate value to leave behind anything that makes you feel worthless.
About the author
Charlie
This article is pretty good, I think that people should consider themselves more as spiritual beings instead of the buyers that the society has made of us. True happiness can?t be found in a food or product, and of course not in a drug. It?s inside of every person?s mind and can be reached only by cultivating your body and your mind.
Stacy
Oh man, I know someone who chatters incessantly, and I think it’s a way that she runs from her anxiety and discomforts. She unloads her anxieties through a barrage of verbal chatter (“assault” in my mind), and I just wish there were some way I could help her relax, and feel a sense of happiness and joy without the incessant need to fill silence with chatter. She’s not addicted to any substances per se, but she is definitely addicted to filling silence.
sue
So basically fake it til you make it? I greatly appreciate finding an article written without drug recommendations. I could use more detail about how to walk out of depression without them.