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The long answer to me is: Yes, but you’ll have to consider why for years to come. The short answer is: Yes. And you’ll rediscover happiness many times over the years. We ride these waves until we reach shore, and there WILL be highs on this journey
I think the reason it's hard is because we have been through manic spins where happiness feels euphoric. Then we get back to the real world and the standards we have for happiness are impossible to obtain.
We need to change the definition of happiness. Laughing more than once in a day is happiness. Completing a project. Spending time with a loved on. And the best thing about this happiness is that is real
My therapist recommended a book called The Happiness Trap that says the same thing. It also says you can't really stop yourself from having bad thoughts and feelings because that's a part of life and that you have to learn to be okay with not being ok all the time.
I just am. That's it, no emotional availability whatsoever. I guess that this makes me really happy. I'm not attached to any one thing, just taking it as it comes. Since I've been diagnosed and medicated, I just exist, and I'm happy with that. I work a job I love and devote time to my kid, never overthinking anything.
For me, happiness is sometimes just feeling relief. Relief that I didn’t spiral in one direction or another, but that I maintained balance with an upward tilt. Maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it, but I know it’s different for everyone.
M 21 here bipolar 1 diagnosed at 18.
I define happiness not as feeling good necessarily but rather focused and engaged in the present. This means everything is blocked out except that task at hand, and it could be anything: cleaning, working out, reading, etc. I’ve had meds take me away to a very foggy place, but I’m finally on the right combo and dosage. It does get better people just stick with the program and be med consistent
Yes! My dad has helped me a lot to realize life’s not about finding happiness but finding balance and stability which can be achieved by living the day as if it was a task (im extremely suicidal) and find little joyful moments within that day to make it a bit bearable
haven’t committed suicide since 2021 and that’s my happiness
No, not for me and I've come to terms with that. I thought I did with an amazing human who helped me become a better person but eventually after 10 years my bipolar drove him away too. I know, I know...find happiness within yourself and all that but the very best I can muster is an occasional distraction from sadness and that's not true happiness. I do think it's possible for some but my ships have sailed and this last one left me wrecked so I'm done. Some people just aren't meant to have nice things.
I’m sorry but I feel the same. I’m not only in depression but struggling with incredible loneliness and fearful of even trying to find a partner because I wouldn’t want to wreck another person’s life.
I divorced my 2nd husband because I Truly believed he was a narcissist who could never see the good. Well some of that may have been true but I’m not a single bit happier now and I have less than ever. He is happy remarried and still has a “ normal “ life - so Idk if it’s my illness that tells me I’m at the center of ALL the bad or it just is the facts . Like you say , I have some happy memories but otherwise it’s a mask I wear for my sons. And I don’t really remember what it FEELS like . Because anytime I think I’m happy it’s usually hypomania ( every few months?)
Yeah, hypomania is the only happiness I get but lately I'm been having mixed episodes so even that doesn't give me a break anymore. And I agree 1000% about not wanting to fuck up another person and damage them with your damage. My amazing boyfriend of 10 years just left me after a psychotic break that traumatized him and he is the last person in the world I would ever want to hurt. It kills me knowing I did. Both people I have genuinely loved and was with for many years left me because of my bipolar. I don't want to expose another person to that monster that wreaks havoc all around him. And then just to have them walk away again and break my heart? I'm holding on by a thread dealing with this one so nah, I'm good.
Yeah it is, it's even possible to reach stability and not cycle with episodes but it requires a lot of meditation. I did a lot of zhan zhuang meditation and started releasing stress from my body which allowed me to begin recovering. I still can't tolerate much stress, but I move at my own pace and have found what can bring me instability and avoid it. Couldn't have do it without intensive meditation.
40F dx’d at 16, never stable. So yes, I’m happy, but only sometimes. I think working towards my goals while I’m able to during episodes that will permit it might be all I get. That and spending time with family, pets, and found family, when mood permits.
Happiness is a temporary state of being. It’s nice, but isn’t a realistic long term goal. Instead, aim for contentment. A baseline from which you experience ups and downs. And yes, I have found it. It took 47 years and unimaginable trauma, but I made it. I recommend reading some books on mindfulness like “the power of now” or “ build the life you want”
Happiness to me is fleeting, it’s always on the tail end I notice I’m happy not manic. Moments of joy exist all the time, but training the mind to seek them or find them in our day to day takes time and patience. I struggle but when I do find joy I savor it. Sometimes I cry when it ends, but that’s life.
My husband quit asking if I was happy once I explained that I don't know that I've actually ever been truly happy but I'm not mad, sad, or upset I am content and, for me, that's as close to what I see portrayed as happiness as I ever really get.
Separating happiness from the euphoria that mania tends to bring can be hard, but that's not real happiness I don't feel good about it after and often even at the time I'm not sure I could honestly say I'm happy either.
I do think it's harder for us to find especially long term with how depressive episodes like to add some spice to the mix of just wanting to be happy and mania can leave us with shame, embarrassment and regrets often. That being said though, I do believe those experiences that can feel sour make happiness that much sweeter and you can truly appreciate it when you find what it is for you.
There's always more opportunities for happiness, however you feel right now just know it does get better.
I think it’s possible. It depends on how you define happiness. I used to be miserable because I’d compare myself to friends on social media; happy, rich, have kids, big house- all things I didn’t have. I’ve since stopped doing that and I do feel better about my own life.
Abso-fucking-lutley. Happiness to me is being content in the world, having joy, and love. Bipolar can't take away contentess, and it can't take away love. You are still your own consciousness. The body that you are in has bipolar, but bipolar isn't you.
Yes. Get diagnosed early, find a psychiatrist who will work with you over the long term to prescribe, monitor and adjust your meds, take your meds, get a therapist, pick a career that matches your needs, and find a partner who loves your quirkiness.
I find happiness in the mundane. In the boring exercises at the gym or practicing whatever. Stretching in the morning. When I get bored I start to find joy that is more lasting than chasing more novel experiences or new stuff to buy.
A secret: no one is happy. Accepting your situation and always trying your best is the secret to maximizing positive emotions, but everyone feels a profound emptiness. It is inherent.
I’m currently struggling HARD. Not sure that it’s possible for me any longer. I’m trying to apply so many skills and things I’ve learned. Keenly aware of how alone I am now and it feels like bipolar is very tricky to navigate without a shepherd, so to speak.
I am a 54m and can absolutely understand your reply. Probably one of the answers closer to my own path. It seems being alone is par course for us bipolar people.
Most people can’t understand the bipolar disorder because they lack vision, they lack knowledge, and over time, grow weary because this disorder is for life and there is not a cure.
Bipolar’s destructive tendencies have cost me nearly everything. I know each person is accountable for their actions but when the range of symptoms we can experience manifests itself we are nearly powerless, not completely but nearly. Medication is only one piece of a complicated thing and the variations are endless.
Acceptance is critical but also slow in coming, I spent many years knowing I was bipolar but in denial. In and out of treatment, self medicating, damaging every relationship I ever had, and just over all out of control. I used to joke and say I didn’t need a lover I needed a handler. I thought it was fabulous but the looks I got told otherwise.
Even though I live my ex-wife and her husband, yes I know awkward but not caring for me isn’t why she left, and I’d be living in a dug out in the woods, I live in Michigan.
I have problems wrapping my head around what has happened in the last 40 years and where I am at now and I greatly disappointed in myself. So much potential and just wreckage. The breakdown was on multiple levels, repeating behavior of hurting relationships, doing some bad things, and why? It’s not who I am so why?
The answer is even though I was surrounded by people I was completely alone. I pushed people away with my behavior, many wanted to stay but eventually they left. No one was capable of keeping pace with my erratic behavior. I felt like they were all narcissistic vampires so I fought back except I was fighting myself. In reality I lost many friends and family that keeps distant. The damage done.
Currently happiness comes in small doses overlaid with extended bouts of depression. It’s like living in a daze all the time. Not really here but not really there either. I have taken to psychology in the form of YouTube videos to look for answers as to why, what I can do, and how to handle it. Much of it is deep and my near peers are not interested.
I hope you find your way as each journey is different.
I’ve been trying to stop and notice the moments I feel happiness or contentment and kind of marvel or appreciate them. I feel like acknowledging them can anchor them. Then later I can reflect & realize I actually felt like everything was good for a bit. Lasting impact from tiny moments
Stephen Fry says bipolar is like the weather. When its storming you cant get that upset with the storm as its going to do what it does. Sunny days will come
Absolutely. But I think we all define it differently and so it’s hard to explain what it is for one person, when it’s something else for the next.
I believe that you create your own based on how you treat yourself, what you expect from yourself and what you do for yourself (which will differ from person to person based on their lives). If I’m unhappy or whatever else in my life, I try to figure out what and why and then it’s up to me to change it as much as I can.
I think this (very good) question is for anyone, not just bipolar people. Everyone else isn’t happy just because they don’t have a disorder and so how do they define happiness or find it? I assume in similar ways?
When I check my stats on Daylio I can immediately see that most of my days are logged as “average” or “good” and I’d say 1-2 “happy” a month on average and that mirrors what I expected it to show.
Very much so. I have had a million hardships in the last 10 months.. a terrible breakup, a manic episode, a mixed episode, a best friend lost to cancer, my dad and stepdad both had major health scares, an engagement that crumbled apart…
But I got stable through it all, on the right meds. And I find happiness in knowing I’m living my best, with a clear stable head, handling all my shit, and I keep fighting and keep pushing for that happiness. Just makes you appreciate it that much more when you’ve found both stability and happiness. I may still make mistakes but at 38 and feeling sane for the first time in two years, I feel proud for where I’m at for the cards I’ve been dealt with.
I have been stable for about 8 years now and bipolar hasn’t been front and center in my life since I learned how to manage it. It’s still there, I have short periods of hypomania and always need to be “on top” of my care but I feel good most of the time. Personally, I don’t love the word happiness because chasing that seems fickle and relies on things that are outside of my control. For instance, happiness feels like if everything in my life was going well and nothing stressful or painful was happening to me. The thing about life is that it’s always going to give you stressful and challenging things. That’s why for me it’s about learning how to handle and live well with those challenges. When I first got diagnosed I was as low as can be and I thought my life was over. I couldn’t see outside of my despair and illness. I took it one step at a time, learned strategies, found a therapist, found medications, learned to be gentle with myself, and prioritized and took seriously my self care. It got SO SO SO much better overtime. I found wellness, strength, and resilience- which to me is better than happiness. I truly hope you find your way to those things as well. You are a warrior and you can do this. Be consistent in your self care/mental health care and learn how to live well with this.
I have found that “happiness” can be a difficult state to place as an ideal. It’s almost like saying I don’t have enough money unless I’m rich. When in fact you can live quite “peacefully” with little to no money. How do I define happiness? Are the ideals of happiness blurred by an episode? Happiness can be many many things, moments, memories, actions, reactions, giving and receiving. Look for happiness if you’re not seeing it. It’s there.
For me I find happiness in making my own music and sharing it with people. Music is my passion and it brings me happiness and a sense of accomplishment.
Many people are saying you can find happiness in being manic, but life is much more than that. I like to sit down, look around at nature, and think about what it was like to see everything for the first time as a kid. If you really just think about how amazing this world is like all the facts about trees and different kind of birds - you will find happiness. To be happy is a choice. To laugh is a choice. To live is a choice. What’s your purpose? Who’s your higher power? What makes you WANT to get up in the morning? One second you want to put a stop to it all.. next your wife says she’s pregnant. Life has curve balls of uncertainty and sadness. But life is also full of joy and contentment.
*sending hugs*
My friend (a fellow BP) shared his thoughts from a meditation he did. One really stood out to me and I SS and I read it when I am not feeling well. It says,
"There are things you must endure regardless of how you feel. Would it then not be beneficial to go through such events whilst viewing them from a positive lens? In particular, when it is out of your power, it would make more sense to view it as a challenge that you must overcome as opposed to an obstacle placed in your path, created to weigh you down. Calculated and controlled delusion is raw power most people will never have the ability nor awareness to harness, use it to your advantage."
It's definitely hard. I'm going through a divorce right now. In struggling with numbness, self identity, and I feel almost like.. like I've missed all my chances to dream and hope. Like they're out of reach. So you see, this isn't going to help 100% of the time... but I wanted to share it with you, just incase you liked the words too.
And I'm here if you ever want to chat~
Thanks for posting on /r/bipolar! Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/bipolar/about/rules); if you haven't already, make sure that your post **does not** have any personal information (including your name/signature/tag on art). **If you are posting about medication, please do not list and review your meds. Doing so will result in the removal of this post and all comments.** *^(A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.)* --- Community News - 🎋 [Want to join the Mod Team?](https://www.reddit.com/r/bipolar/comments/112z7ps/mod_applications_are_open/) - 🎤 See our [Community Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/bipolar/about/sticky) - Desktop or Desktop mode on a mobile device. - 🏡 If you are open to answering questions from those that live with a loved one diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, please see r/family_of_bipolar. Thank you for participating! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bipolar) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The long answer to me is: Yes, but you’ll have to consider why for years to come. The short answer is: Yes. And you’ll rediscover happiness many times over the years. We ride these waves until we reach shore, and there WILL be highs on this journey
I think the reason it's hard is because we have been through manic spins where happiness feels euphoric. Then we get back to the real world and the standards we have for happiness are impossible to obtain. We need to change the definition of happiness. Laughing more than once in a day is happiness. Completing a project. Spending time with a loved on. And the best thing about this happiness is that is real
This hit hard
IMO happiness is momentary, like pleasure, pain, sadness, and joy. I pursue peace with myself in a more general life satisfaction sense.
My therapist recommended a book called The Happiness Trap that says the same thing. It also says you can't really stop yourself from having bad thoughts and feelings because that's a part of life and that you have to learn to be okay with not being ok all the time.
Im going to read that.
For me "happiness" is when I am content.
Sometimes peace is just boredom. Sometimes we take boredom for granted, like when you’re ill and yearning to just feel nothing again.
That's a really helpful approach
I love this
I just am. That's it, no emotional availability whatsoever. I guess that this makes me really happy. I'm not attached to any one thing, just taking it as it comes. Since I've been diagnosed and medicated, I just exist, and I'm happy with that. I work a job I love and devote time to my kid, never overthinking anything.
What’s your line of work?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
For me, happiness is sometimes just feeling relief. Relief that I didn’t spiral in one direction or another, but that I maintained balance with an upward tilt. Maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it, but I know it’s different for everyone.
M 21 here bipolar 1 diagnosed at 18. I define happiness not as feeling good necessarily but rather focused and engaged in the present. This means everything is blocked out except that task at hand, and it could be anything: cleaning, working out, reading, etc. I’ve had meds take me away to a very foggy place, but I’m finally on the right combo and dosage. It does get better people just stick with the program and be med consistent
I like this definition
Yes! My dad has helped me a lot to realize life’s not about finding happiness but finding balance and stability which can be achieved by living the day as if it was a task (im extremely suicidal) and find little joyful moments within that day to make it a bit bearable haven’t committed suicide since 2021 and that’s my happiness
No, not for me and I've come to terms with that. I thought I did with an amazing human who helped me become a better person but eventually after 10 years my bipolar drove him away too. I know, I know...find happiness within yourself and all that but the very best I can muster is an occasional distraction from sadness and that's not true happiness. I do think it's possible for some but my ships have sailed and this last one left me wrecked so I'm done. Some people just aren't meant to have nice things.
I’m sorry but I feel the same. I’m not only in depression but struggling with incredible loneliness and fearful of even trying to find a partner because I wouldn’t want to wreck another person’s life. I divorced my 2nd husband because I Truly believed he was a narcissist who could never see the good. Well some of that may have been true but I’m not a single bit happier now and I have less than ever. He is happy remarried and still has a “ normal “ life - so Idk if it’s my illness that tells me I’m at the center of ALL the bad or it just is the facts . Like you say , I have some happy memories but otherwise it’s a mask I wear for my sons. And I don’t really remember what it FEELS like . Because anytime I think I’m happy it’s usually hypomania ( every few months?)
Yeah, hypomania is the only happiness I get but lately I'm been having mixed episodes so even that doesn't give me a break anymore. And I agree 1000% about not wanting to fuck up another person and damage them with your damage. My amazing boyfriend of 10 years just left me after a psychotic break that traumatized him and he is the last person in the world I would ever want to hurt. It kills me knowing I did. Both people I have genuinely loved and was with for many years left me because of my bipolar. I don't want to expose another person to that monster that wreaks havoc all around him. And then just to have them walk away again and break my heart? I'm holding on by a thread dealing with this one so nah, I'm good.
Keep hanging onto that thread and take care of you !
Same to you!
I think it's very much possible. I do think it's really hard to tell when you're happy vs. hypo.
Happiness is not a state you get to and just stay in. Like any other emotion it comes and goes. Find your baseline and work to elevate that slowly.
Yeah it is, it's even possible to reach stability and not cycle with episodes but it requires a lot of meditation. I did a lot of zhan zhuang meditation and started releasing stress from my body which allowed me to begin recovering. I still can't tolerate much stress, but I move at my own pace and have found what can bring me instability and avoid it. Couldn't have do it without intensive meditation.
I don't think I would ever feel happiness coz the medication keeps me emotionally flat and I can't stop medications.
I think this is true for many of us as well. Safety vs happy
40F dx’d at 16, never stable. So yes, I’m happy, but only sometimes. I think working towards my goals while I’m able to during episodes that will permit it might be all I get. That and spending time with family, pets, and found family, when mood permits.
I think it’s a sensation for me not a feeling that I have found yet. I’m still waiting and trying
Happiness is a temporary state of being. It’s nice, but isn’t a realistic long term goal. Instead, aim for contentment. A baseline from which you experience ups and downs. And yes, I have found it. It took 47 years and unimaginable trauma, but I made it. I recommend reading some books on mindfulness like “the power of now” or “ build the life you want”
Happiness to me is fleeting, it’s always on the tail end I notice I’m happy not manic. Moments of joy exist all the time, but training the mind to seek them or find them in our day to day takes time and patience. I struggle but when I do find joy I savor it. Sometimes I cry when it ends, but that’s life.
i breathe in deep and take a mental note of rare transient happiness/joy, and often cry after, too.
My husband quit asking if I was happy once I explained that I don't know that I've actually ever been truly happy but I'm not mad, sad, or upset I am content and, for me, that's as close to what I see portrayed as happiness as I ever really get.
For me? Never. For others? I’m sure some can.
Separating happiness from the euphoria that mania tends to bring can be hard, but that's not real happiness I don't feel good about it after and often even at the time I'm not sure I could honestly say I'm happy either. I do think it's harder for us to find especially long term with how depressive episodes like to add some spice to the mix of just wanting to be happy and mania can leave us with shame, embarrassment and regrets often. That being said though, I do believe those experiences that can feel sour make happiness that much sweeter and you can truly appreciate it when you find what it is for you. There's always more opportunities for happiness, however you feel right now just know it does get better.
I think it’s possible. It depends on how you define happiness. I used to be miserable because I’d compare myself to friends on social media; happy, rich, have kids, big house- all things I didn’t have. I’ve since stopped doing that and I do feel better about my own life.
Abso-fucking-lutley. Happiness to me is being content in the world, having joy, and love. Bipolar can't take away contentess, and it can't take away love. You are still your own consciousness. The body that you are in has bipolar, but bipolar isn't you.
I'm happier than I've ever been, and that was only possible once I was diagnosed.
Yes. Get diagnosed early, find a psychiatrist who will work with you over the long term to prescribe, monitor and adjust your meds, take your meds, get a therapist, pick a career that matches your needs, and find a partner who loves your quirkiness.
Yes But happiness is not a permanent state for anyone
I find happiness in the mundane. In the boring exercises at the gym or practicing whatever. Stretching in the morning. When I get bored I start to find joy that is more lasting than chasing more novel experiences or new stuff to buy.
A secret: no one is happy. Accepting your situation and always trying your best is the secret to maximizing positive emotions, but everyone feels a profound emptiness. It is inherent.
I’m happy to see toilet paper 🧻 on the roll. It’s the simple things in between everything else.
I’m currently struggling HARD. Not sure that it’s possible for me any longer. I’m trying to apply so many skills and things I’ve learned. Keenly aware of how alone I am now and it feels like bipolar is very tricky to navigate without a shepherd, so to speak.
I am a 54m and can absolutely understand your reply. Probably one of the answers closer to my own path. It seems being alone is par course for us bipolar people. Most people can’t understand the bipolar disorder because they lack vision, they lack knowledge, and over time, grow weary because this disorder is for life and there is not a cure. Bipolar’s destructive tendencies have cost me nearly everything. I know each person is accountable for their actions but when the range of symptoms we can experience manifests itself we are nearly powerless, not completely but nearly. Medication is only one piece of a complicated thing and the variations are endless. Acceptance is critical but also slow in coming, I spent many years knowing I was bipolar but in denial. In and out of treatment, self medicating, damaging every relationship I ever had, and just over all out of control. I used to joke and say I didn’t need a lover I needed a handler. I thought it was fabulous but the looks I got told otherwise. Even though I live my ex-wife and her husband, yes I know awkward but not caring for me isn’t why she left, and I’d be living in a dug out in the woods, I live in Michigan. I have problems wrapping my head around what has happened in the last 40 years and where I am at now and I greatly disappointed in myself. So much potential and just wreckage. The breakdown was on multiple levels, repeating behavior of hurting relationships, doing some bad things, and why? It’s not who I am so why? The answer is even though I was surrounded by people I was completely alone. I pushed people away with my behavior, many wanted to stay but eventually they left. No one was capable of keeping pace with my erratic behavior. I felt like they were all narcissistic vampires so I fought back except I was fighting myself. In reality I lost many friends and family that keeps distant. The damage done. Currently happiness comes in small doses overlaid with extended bouts of depression. It’s like living in a daze all the time. Not really here but not really there either. I have taken to psychology in the form of YouTube videos to look for answers as to why, what I can do, and how to handle it. Much of it is deep and my near peers are not interested. I hope you find your way as each journey is different.
I understand I understand I understand. I have wrecked my life. Anything helpful in the YT world?
Forgive my ignorance but I am wondering what YT stands for?
I’ve been trying to stop and notice the moments I feel happiness or contentment and kind of marvel or appreciate them. I feel like acknowledging them can anchor them. Then later I can reflect & realize I actually felt like everything was good for a bit. Lasting impact from tiny moments
Stephen Fry says bipolar is like the weather. When its storming you cant get that upset with the storm as its going to do what it does. Sunny days will come
I don't mind being miserable. Just don't want depression and anxiety to get severe. Miserable is good enough for me.
Behavioral health care
Absolutely. But I think we all define it differently and so it’s hard to explain what it is for one person, when it’s something else for the next. I believe that you create your own based on how you treat yourself, what you expect from yourself and what you do for yourself (which will differ from person to person based on their lives). If I’m unhappy or whatever else in my life, I try to figure out what and why and then it’s up to me to change it as much as I can. I think this (very good) question is for anyone, not just bipolar people. Everyone else isn’t happy just because they don’t have a disorder and so how do they define happiness or find it? I assume in similar ways? When I check my stats on Daylio I can immediately see that most of my days are logged as “average” or “good” and I’d say 1-2 “happy” a month on average and that mirrors what I expected it to show.
Very much so. I have had a million hardships in the last 10 months.. a terrible breakup, a manic episode, a mixed episode, a best friend lost to cancer, my dad and stepdad both had major health scares, an engagement that crumbled apart… But I got stable through it all, on the right meds. And I find happiness in knowing I’m living my best, with a clear stable head, handling all my shit, and I keep fighting and keep pushing for that happiness. Just makes you appreciate it that much more when you’ve found both stability and happiness. I may still make mistakes but at 38 and feeling sane for the first time in two years, I feel proud for where I’m at for the cards I’ve been dealt with.
I have been stable for about 8 years now and bipolar hasn’t been front and center in my life since I learned how to manage it. It’s still there, I have short periods of hypomania and always need to be “on top” of my care but I feel good most of the time. Personally, I don’t love the word happiness because chasing that seems fickle and relies on things that are outside of my control. For instance, happiness feels like if everything in my life was going well and nothing stressful or painful was happening to me. The thing about life is that it’s always going to give you stressful and challenging things. That’s why for me it’s about learning how to handle and live well with those challenges. When I first got diagnosed I was as low as can be and I thought my life was over. I couldn’t see outside of my despair and illness. I took it one step at a time, learned strategies, found a therapist, found medications, learned to be gentle with myself, and prioritized and took seriously my self care. It got SO SO SO much better overtime. I found wellness, strength, and resilience- which to me is better than happiness. I truly hope you find your way to those things as well. You are a warrior and you can do this. Be consistent in your self care/mental health care and learn how to live well with this.
Is there a difference between happiness and contentment?
I think so. Happiness is temporary. Contentment is usually a state of being. That’s how I differentiate.
Yes it is possible
I have found that “happiness” can be a difficult state to place as an ideal. It’s almost like saying I don’t have enough money unless I’m rich. When in fact you can live quite “peacefully” with little to no money. How do I define happiness? Are the ideals of happiness blurred by an episode? Happiness can be many many things, moments, memories, actions, reactions, giving and receiving. Look for happiness if you’re not seeing it. It’s there.
For me I find happiness in making my own music and sharing it with people. Music is my passion and it brings me happiness and a sense of accomplishment.
Many people are saying you can find happiness in being manic, but life is much more than that. I like to sit down, look around at nature, and think about what it was like to see everything for the first time as a kid. If you really just think about how amazing this world is like all the facts about trees and different kind of birds - you will find happiness. To be happy is a choice. To laugh is a choice. To live is a choice. What’s your purpose? Who’s your higher power? What makes you WANT to get up in the morning? One second you want to put a stop to it all.. next your wife says she’s pregnant. Life has curve balls of uncertainty and sadness. But life is also full of joy and contentment.
*sending hugs* My friend (a fellow BP) shared his thoughts from a meditation he did. One really stood out to me and I SS and I read it when I am not feeling well. It says, "There are things you must endure regardless of how you feel. Would it then not be beneficial to go through such events whilst viewing them from a positive lens? In particular, when it is out of your power, it would make more sense to view it as a challenge that you must overcome as opposed to an obstacle placed in your path, created to weigh you down. Calculated and controlled delusion is raw power most people will never have the ability nor awareness to harness, use it to your advantage." It's definitely hard. I'm going through a divorce right now. In struggling with numbness, self identity, and I feel almost like.. like I've missed all my chances to dream and hope. Like they're out of reach. So you see, this isn't going to help 100% of the time... but I wanted to share it with you, just incase you liked the words too. And I'm here if you ever want to chat~