Why are people so unhappy?

Gotcha!

People have *always* been unhappy.

Okay OP. Spill.

Because of you, OP.

Because. Of. You.

I don’t know Rose/Babs/Op.

Just look around, OP. How could you NOT be?

Listen with your listening ears!!!

What r2 said. The common man has it far better now than they did through most of human civilization.

MARY!

Isolation.

Social media.

Bunions.

Unhappy, bitter and angry. I work in customer service and I would love to send all these Americans that feel miserable to the 3rd world so they can see how unbelievably lucky they are.

Social media, agreed.

Republicans.

Conservatives.

Corporate media.

I’m quite happy, actually.

Not living in the present moment, dwelling on the past worrying about the future.

OP, read your post. Jesus, there are a lot of careless mistakes on DL. You moron.

Not being wealthy and famous.

Social media

No vagina

The GOP

Not getting enough Dick

That pretty much sums up a lot of DL posters.

If they had that they'd probably be more chipper and happy.

A lot DLers want a vagine?

It's called a "front hole"

I've stated my boundaries.

I haven't noted this. Are suicide rates and institutionalizations up? I would think that with the advent of better antidepressants, people in general havee less crippling depression now.

Unhappiness is part of the deck of cards we call Life.

It all started with Faux News

Suicide rates peak in May, R22. Always found that interesting/odd

We were put on this Earth to suffer.

People need to get a little sun, plant a small, low maintenance garden or flowerbox and just live, take a joke and stop fixating so much. Everyone just needs to relax and lighten up. Pop and political culture has been too draining on people. People aren't build to live in a constant state of "fight or flight" panic without getting sick from it. So many people would feel so much better if they planted some lavender outside a window. Seriously.

R24 Imminent beach season.

Not enough dick gives me resting bitch face. After a good pounding I’m a ray of sunshine!

r=16 Donald Trump

Lack of money is the only reason anyone is every unhappy.

You sound rather shallow, R30

Too worried about everyone's opinion of them.

If you didn't care what people thought, you would be fine with yourself.

Then you would be happy.

Technology replacing human interaction, people are too busy staring at their phones to be in the moment and pay any mind to anyone else. People are more concerned with getting approval through "likes and views" than everything else. The economy is shit with businesses closing left and right. If the name of your business isn't Amazon or Walmart then it isn't even guaranteed to be here this time next year. People are being shot to death like mad everywhere they go whether it is school, to a concert, a club, or even the movie theater. The president acts like an overgrown spoiled child and it is hard to feel safe with such a person in control of our country.

There are many reasons. I'm probably just scratching the surface.

Traditional community and family structures have been displaced by industrialization. People are increasingly disconnected from others, transient, relying on consumerism to fill the void, etc.

Not that I’m for it - but religion did serve a purpose for the masses for a long time. Belief in a fantasy afterlife where things were going to be better let people accept life’s challenges with less angst. The last gasp of religion in the 80s-90s was horrible - but now it’s replaced with a general unhappiness that people are venting with a general “screw you”to the world - whether that voting for Trump or shooting up a concert in Las Vegas.

Misery’s the river of the world. Everybody row.

Everything is not OK.

Definitely Fox News

This ONE life we have to live isn't "Dress Rehearsal" for a "next life"; there isn't one. Our one life is about how WE choose to live it, especially as adults. 'Happy,' or not; it's up to you, and the choices you make as an adult. Get your shit together. You.

(Don't clap back at me; sit your asses down, snowflakes. I've survived the horrors of seven foster homes.)

Dark Lesbians

Mentally illness, poverty, ignorance. Some are angry and miserable because they see things changing and they don't like it. But mostly I think it's because people don't realize that deep down inside....they have the ability to be happy. Too many focus on things that make them unhappy and they might not even be aware of it. What I say may sound like magical mumbo jumbo but what I speak of is just simple. Most people are unhappy because life isn't going the way they want.

Posters like r39

Expectations are too high now.

We haven't learned acceptance; neither have we learned to pursue a life of purpose and meaning instead of happiness itself as an end result.

And social media can make it seem like everyone is living a fun and exciting life except you.

People are increasingly diminished by technology.

They seems happy on 'instagram' though, don't they?

When I was growing up I thought we’d always be going on an upward trajectory. We stopped slavery, Jim Crow, the Depression, Joseph McCarthy, WWII (we truly did win it because we reaped all the economic benefit after Europe and Asia blew up their industry and transportation networks during the war). My father graduated HS, went to war, came home, got married, bought a house, had kids and never had to worry about us getting sick. We had plenty of health insurance. We had a car, a phone, a TV. Highways were new and mostly traffic free. You could run to the deli for milk and be in and out the door in less than 2 minutes.

It never occurred to me that things wouldn’t always be so stable. I never saw a homeless person growing up. Mentally ill adults and children were institutionalized for life. Everyone went to church or synagogue (at least on the holidays) and wore their best clothes. Everyone as well behaved. I never heard “fuck” said until I was a teenager and I was shocked.

It never occurred to most people that their parents jobs would disappear and with the loss of jobs would come a loss of stability and health. Highways are traffic choked. When there’s a fatal accident, a roadway can be closed for 6 hours with no attempt by police to get people caught in the traffic jam safely off the road.

There aren’t small stores any more like the delis that were all over the place up until the 1980s. I was in my car one day, thirsty and looked around. No delis. I drove into a Lowe’s parking lot. Had to park 1/4 mile from the entrance. Finally got inside and walked about a quarter mile to get to a checkout line where they had coolers containing water and soft drinks. Waited on the line as the self help registers failed to work for other customers. Then it was time for the self help checkout to malfunction for me. All in all, it took about 45 minutes from the time I turned off the road til I got back on again, all for a drink of water.

For the next hour I sat in traffic and went about 10 miles.

And everybody steals and rips people off all the time now. Contractors, corporations, religious clergy. Everyone wants your money, honey.

And the rent is too damned high.

Where do you live, r46, that Lowe's was the closest place you could get a drink?

[quote]Why are people so unhappy?

Other people. Still.

Too much free time. Instead of spending all our time and energy hunting and fighting to survive all day, now we have time to dwell on our miserable existence.

People, people who need people...

...are the stupidest people.

Trump. Putin. The GOP.

I didn’t bother to read r46’s autobiography. Stupid bastard.

I don't think one can say that people are categorically any happier or sadder than they've ever been. That said, those that are unhappy tend to be the sort of people that spend their time watching teevee "news" and soaking their brains in disasters and politics all day. Go on a low information diet for a month and trust me, you'll be happier.

Anomie. An old shrink told me it means alienation from family and too much industrialization. You should look or up.

You may have a point there, r53. My neighbour, 60, married female watches only Coronation Street soap and hockey. If you ask her about war in Syria or mass shootings in the US., or any other disaster she has ZERO knowledge or interest. Absolutely no interest. Husband is a lot more clued in. She is 100% tuned out. AND HAPPY AS CAN BE.

They're Canadian. Forgot to mention.

Because only through suffering can we attain God's love.

Pretty much every source of unhappiness traces back to overpopulation. The world needs a serious culling.

Some people don't have a clue what to do with their lives, so they default to keeping up with the Joneses, which makes them feel even more dead inside.

Also: societal expectations have become much too high. Western Europe (where I live) used to be relaxed, but now you have to attain a Master's Degree in order to get a decent job, which is ridiculous. A Bachelor's Degree has become the equivalent of a highschool diploma, and university students today often suffer from burn-outs, because they feel they're never 'good enough'.

It's silly to blame unhappiness on external factors, when there are tried-and-true measures one can take to improve one's mood. Eat a plant-based diet. Get some exercise. Mediate. Read something funny before going to bed. Get enough sleep. Focus concerns on things over which one has some measure of control.

There. You're happier. It's not rocket science.

[R16]

r60 = Wells Fargo CEO

Because like some people here who couldn't let this thread go without talking politics or Trump, are obsessed with hate 24/7. Get a life, haters, the other party or your President hasn't done anything to you personally to make you miserable. You are making yourselves miserable.. Don't blame them because your queen lost because of her dishonesty. Get your mind off politics and live your life as best you can by enjoying the things you enjoy and you can be happy and content.

Who is sad because of politics?

r64 = Paul Ryan

What makes me unhappy is not being able to trust people. A simple conversation with a 'friend' can end up on social media. Your 'loving' partner can take photos of you naked and asleep, send them to his friends, and you'd be none the wiser. We're under constant surveillance: in bed, out with friends, in the shops, in the streets... It goes on and on.

There are as many reasons as there are people. Some of the main reasons these days are the breakdown of the family, & of society. Most people start off with dysfunctional families, too many without fathers, & all that that entails. Many people start off with abusive family. It's hard to come back from that.

Then you have a society where people aren't connected, emotionally, mentally, even physically. Families don't live near each other so they barely know each other. Neighbors don't know each other or speak.

The economic side of life where consumerism has replaced everything meaningful in our lives is also a factor. Life has always been hard & unhappiness has always existed, but there's no family and community anymore. That's the crux of it.

There are as many reasons as there are people. Some of the main reasons these days are the breakdown of the family, & of society. Most people start off with dysfunctional families, too many without fathers, & all that that entails. Many people start off with abusive family. It's hard to come back from that.

Then you have a society where people aren't connected, emotionally, mentally, even physically. Families don't live near each other so they barely know each other. Neighbors don't know each other or speak.

The economic side of life where consumerism has replaced everything meaningful in our lives is also a factor. Life has always been hard & unhappiness has always existed, but there's no family and community anymore. That's the crux of it.

There are as many reasons as there are people. Some of the main reasons these days are the breakdown of the family, & of society. Most people start off with dysfunctional families, too many without fathers, & all that that entails. Many people start off with abusive family. It's hard to come back from that.

Then you have a society where people aren't connected, emotionally, mentally, even physically. Families don't live near each other so they barely know each other. Neighbors don't know each other or speak.

The economic side of life where consumerism has replaced everything meaningful in our lives is also a factor. Life has always been hard & unhappiness has always existed, but there's no family and community anymore. That's the crux of it.

Best answer i have ever read on this topic DL, r68. Thank you.

I think a part of it is how negative the media have become, both the news media and movie/tv/music.

Becaue of assholes like R63

Cloggy moggets of the blow hole.

[R33] Couldn't have said any better than you!

Oprah posed the essential modern question about this a long time ago. It was about a smaller matter but it turned out in this age of social media, constant awareness, and all together too much information without distinction to be prescient and the crux of most everything.

[quote]Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?

r63 If we ignore the fact that Trump is a stupid, insane, corrupt, racist, sexual predator AND a traitor we will be happy? How does Trump's stinking asshole taste, you sick freak?

R76 it's not that he isn't any of those things, but if you let presidential politics dominate your thinking it will be hard to ever maintain happiness.

R76 isn't unhappy. He's mentally ill.

We need another World War. That usually cheers people up.

Most people on the planet have always had hard unhappy lives from the beginning of time. Why do you think religion has been such an important part of civilization? To give some meaning to all the unhappiness. A better existence is there for us after death which is our reward.

Life is nasty brutish and short. Lord how we lose our pains. Like flies to wanton boys are we to the gods. These were all said a very long time ago.

If you're unhappy and not one of the few lucky ones forget it. You might as well win a lottery.

I am as disappointed in presidential politics as the next logical thinker (Democrat, voted for Hillary), but I don't give the Republicans the power to make me unhappy in my personal life the way r76 does. Most of what he says in his first sentence is true. I don't let that be what makes me unhappy, though.

Realizing, and now accepting, that I am no longer attractive to men I could easily have had in my 20s or 30s has been a long time coming. Presidential politics has nothing on this.

R77, R78 and R81, thank you.

You're welcome, r83. And thank you, too.

Lack of autonomy vis a vis omnipotent governments and private companies.

Alienation from other people, animals and nature.

Over-stimulation and exposure to useless information.

Junk food, poor sleep and lack of exercise.

AutoTuned shitty soulless music.

Life is cruel.

Well, Trump isn’t helping.

Life IS cruel and so are people. We have seen morals, manners, etc., take a nosedive in recent years. Our leaders have no ethics. It’s all about money.

Geeze, now I’m depressed.

Disconnection and isolation, rudeness, competitiveness, Trump, corporatism, high cost of living

I agree w you r85, to which I would add, the lies of cultural relativism and loss of a moral center, distilled as, "Who're you going to believe, Groupthink or your lying eyes?"

Life Sucks. some of us Are smart enough to admit that.

People expecting other people OR material things to make them happy instead of taking responsibility for their own happiness. Rampant mental illness, especially depression and anxiety as the result. Unrealistic expectations of utter *entitlement* to the same wealthy, idle lives that the ridiculous reality TV "stars" live. A reality TV "star" as the President. No commitment to long term relationships: bounce at the first sign of dischord.

Ageism is alive and well, yet most of us have to work well past age 67.

Because everyone’s being abused and knocked around by republicans.

Life sucks. Some of us are smart enough to work around that.

Soul crushing cultural output. If the movie, book, ad, architecture, theater, video game, song, etc etc etc, isn't life affirming, giving uplift or instructing in some way, it's likely contributing to your un-ease.

Because we are aware of mortality which makes it hard to enjoy the now. To compensate society has created rules and stories to satisfy this anxiety, but at the end of the day we don't know what's next making each moment precious. Since the universe doesn't bend to our will, every one of these precious moments can lead to resentment if we haven't reached out vision of a perfect life. All of this, I believe, is the root cause of our unhappiness. Children are happy and carefree until they obtain that awareness of the end. It's not mentioned, but it casts a shadow over all of us that is the root of our unhappiness in life.

Because we are aware of our mortality, which makes it hard to enjoy the now. To compensate, society has created rules and stories to satisfy this anxiety. At the end of the day, we don't know what's next making each moment precious. Since the universe doesn't bend to our creative will, every one of these precious moments can lead to resentment if we haven't reached out vision of a perfect life. All of this, I believe, is the root cause of our unhappiness. Children are happy until they obtain that awareness of the end. It's not mentioned, but it casts a shadow over all of us which is the cause of our unhappiness.

Lack of money. Yeah, I know, money can't buy happiness, but it can sure help relieve an array of life's challenges.

The solutions are simple. Hot men need to be rounded up and forced to have sex with everyone on the planet on a daily basis. Abolish money and allow one day every year when killing is permitted. Free drugs for everyone.

I’m young, rich and thin. I really don’t understand all the fuss, OP..

[quote] Soul crushing cultural output. If the movie, book, ad, architecture, theater, video game, song, etc etc etc, isn't life affirming, giving uplift or instructing in some way, it's likely contributing to your un-ease.

R95 is such a hole.

The point of existential art is to help you confront mortality in a detached or abstract way that won’t leave trauma like having to directly experience or eyewitness tragedy. It’s also a way to indulge the morbid curiosity many of us have without mortal endangerment. I know that I feel more secure & settled & understood when watching “depressing” movies or listening to sad ambient music.

It's the modern condition. It's only when we are expected to be happy that we actually are unhappy. And it's only in modern times that we expect to be happy.

Not having anyone to share my life with plus getting out of a bad relationship. Doing everything alone gets old.

Spending too much time on DL will turn you into a nasty, bitchy cynic.

There's no such thing as happiness. You have to learn to be happy without it.

I’ve been off Facebook for about 6 months and I’m happier because of it. When I go on I laugh at the me me me attention seeking posts. That was me, not so very long ago.

R106 People still use Facebook?