Are you ever happy?

[ObliviousGenius]

"Happy" is a really tough word for me to use here considering I have different levels and standards of what I judge as happiness. With that said I'm happy most of the time (I did not vote on the poll) because I do not consider happiness to be relative. Your idea of happiness and mine could be completely different. So the way I measure it is by my own values and principles and what I want out of life both superficially and ideologically. I feel content with what I currently have (and don't have) so things will only logically get better not worse when I do attain "more".

 

[Niclmaki]

I'm not exactly sad or angry, but I wouldn't say "happy." Although, I feel that I'm in a better mood than a lot of people I meet *cough*.

There are times though when I feel elated for no aparent reason. I think that is "happy" in its truest form.

 

[~~~]

Why do people think the poll results are the way they are (for INTPs generally and not particularly on an individual level)?

 

[Arc.Demi]

am mostly happy with a few sad moments every day or two that don't last more than half an hour .. i got a few plans so probably i can be happier in the future ..

I think happiness for an INTP is :

1. when they believe that people r made rationally as for every thing that cause sadness , there is a thing that cause happiness in their life in return, and if they decided to crush the balance , they must be prepared to lose a few things ( that might be important to them ) in order for the happiness parameter to get back to its natural place ..
( you know like when Einstein lost his wife and child in the way of proving his theory :'( .. i almost cried at that moment )

2. when they r content about what they have materialistically but r still eager to improve themselves as human being and be useful to the world , to do that they might need materialistic things and for that reason they can be unsatisfied .. not for the mere reason of wanting to own something ( money , authority , power or whatever ) ..


3. whenever they'r doing something they love passionately and it end up with a result that is much better than what they'v expected

4. when they try new things and/or break into a new unexpected thrilling experience and get out of it alive .. or satisfied and happy for taking the chance and not feeling the usual afterwards regret .

there are many other reasons but those are the main ones i guess

 

[snafupants]

am mostly happy with a few sad moments every day or two that don't last more than half an hour .. i got a few plans so probably i can be happier in the future ..

I think happiness for an INTP is :

1. when they believe that people r made rationally as for every thing that cause sadness , there is a thing that cause happiness in their life in return, and if they decided to crush the balance , they must be prepared to lose a few things ( that might be important to them ) in order for the happiness parameter to get back to its natural place ..
( you know like when Einstein lost his wife and child in the way of proving his theory :'( .. i almost cried at that moment )

2. when they r content about what they have materialistically but r still eager to improve themselves as human being and be useful to the world , to do that they might need materialistic things and for that reason they can be unsatisfied .. not for the mere reason of wanting to own something ( money , authority , power or whatever ) ..


3. whenever they'r doing something they love passionately and it end up with a result that is much better than what they'v expected

4. when they try new things and/or break into a new unexpected thrilling experience and get out of it alive .. or satisfied and happy for taking the chance and not feeling the usual afterwards regret .

there are many other reasons but those are the main ones i guess

Most of those things spell, or are effects of, contentment for most people, of all types.

Anyway, if people didn't have any pleasure in their lives, they would kill themselves. Some people are alive, ergo, some people feel some pleasure.

 

[Nezaros]

Most of those things spell, or are effects of, contentment for most people, of all types.

Anyway, if people didn't have any pleasure in their lives, they would kill themselves. Some people are alive, ergo, some people feel some pleasure.

I disagree. I think it's the hope that life may improve that keeps the non-happy people alive, or even just the unwillingness to kill oneself for the even less-happy. Even for highly emotional people suicide isn't a decision done lightly; it generally involves extreme bouts of depression and hopelessness. A man would kill himself because his wife died and he sees no hope for future happiness, not because he hates his job and is stuck in a joyless rut. He remains alive because he hopes that somehow, life may improve, however vain that hope may be.

But to address the OP: I'm rarely happy. I'm not exactly sad or depressed (usually), just content at best. I find pleasure in a few things but I wouldn't call that true happiness. Looking back, that only seems to come when I'm with certain people, i.e. a significant other or the members of my family I actually like.

As for suicide, I can understand why people do it. It's hardly a rational decision, but when you're feeling utterly hopeless, logic goes quite out the window and they may feel it's the only option left to them. Depending on the circumstances they're probably right; why continue life if it's only going to get worse? But I don't see myself ever killing myself out of sadness. Have I considered it? Yeah, but not seriously, and that was when I was an emotional teenage dipshit. However, when I've reached what feels like the end of my life and my options are either wither away in a retirement home or finish with dignity, knowing the exact method and time of my death, I plan on going with the latter.

 

[snafupants]

@Nezaros

I disagree.

Sure, but that doesn't make you correct.

I think it's the hope that life may improve that keeps the non-happy people alive, or even just the unwillingness to kill oneself for the even less-happy.

If the pain of life outweighed the fear of death, you'd see a suicide.

Since pain and pleasure are two sides of the same coin, the previous post stands.

Also, you see, hope is predicated on past happiness, for which the current dearth leads to suicide.

Even for highly emotional people suicide isn't a decision done lightly; it generally involves extreme bouts of depression and hopelessness.

Who posited it was done lightly? In some cases, though, it might be done impulsively.

By mentioning depression and hopelessness, you allude to pain.

A man would kill himself because his wife died and he sees no hope for future happiness, not because he hates his job and is stuck in a joyless rut. He remains alive because he hopes that somehow, life may improve, however vain that hope may be.

The wife's death causes the man grief: pain. Whether you define happiness as the absence of pain or something positive, the suicide stems from torment and despair (i.e., lack of pleasure).

 

[Arc.Demi]

Most of those things spell, or are effects of, contentment for most people, of all types.

Anyway, if people didn't have any pleasure in their lives, they would kill themselves. Some people are alive, ergo, some people feel some pleasure.

well yeah its not just for INTPs .. but a relaxing quite life with the same routine every day may be the definition of " happiness " for other people .. I meant it for every one but those ( I can understand their perspective of thinking but still they make me go mad I feel like hitting them in the head )

I think people who cant find the pleasure in their lives are limited and narrow minded
the mechanic of thinking for an INTP is to analyse the situation or the problem and find a solution for it or a way out of it with Insistence and determination and for that reason i think INTPs wont do something as stupid as committing suicide out of depression but they would rather to find a way out and keep "fixing" the world

 

[snafupants]

I think people who cant find the pleasure in their lives are limited and narrow minded the mechanic of thinking for an INTP is to analyse the situation or the problem and find a solution for it or a way out of it with Insistence and determination and for that reason i think INTPs wont do something as stupid as committing suicide out of depression but they would rather to find a way out and keep "fixing" the world

That's interesting - I agree that some portion of depression is attributable to laziness, stupidity, choice, and lack of motivation. I suppose culpability depends on how much is self-induced and, as a proxy measure, how long the depression has been active.

 

[Nezaros]

Sure, but that doesn't make you correct.

That observation doesn't make you correct either.

If the pain of life outweighed the fear of death, you'd see a suicide.

Since pain and pleasure are two sides of the same coin, the previous post stands.

...

The wife's death causes the man grief: pain. Whether you define happiness as the absence of pain or something positive, the suicide stems from torment and despair (i.e., lack of pleasure).

And again I disagree. Yes, hopelessness and other negative emotions could be boiled down to pain, but I wouldn't describe pain as a lack of pleasure, or pleasure as a lack of pain. The man in the second part of my example is suffering from boredom, or some other similar state of mind; that doesn't mean he's in pain, and that also doesn't mean he finds any pleasure. If we must go with this binary view of yours pain and pleasure could be said to be in balance, but still neither is present in any significant amount.

 

[~~~]

That's interesting - I agree that some portion of depression is attributable to laziness, stupidity, choice, and lack of motivation. I suppose culpability depends on how much is self-induced and, as a proxy measure, how long the depression has been active.

Isn't that paradoxical? INTPs are supposed to be smart and therefore they should reason their way out of the situation. Is there a core driver or a number of core drivers? Do you care to postulate what these might be?

 

[snafupants]

That observation doesn't make you correct either.

That's sound reasoning but I am, in fact, correct.

And again I disagree. Yes, hopelessness and other negative emotions could be boiled down to pain, but I wouldn't describe pain as a lack of pleasure, or pleasure as a lack of pain. The man in the second part of my example is suffering from boredom, or some other similar state of mind; that doesn't mean he's in pain, and that also doesn't mean he finds any pleasure. If we must go with this binary view of yours pain and pleasure could be said to be in balance, but still neither is present in any significant amount.

Where pain ends, boredom begins.

Pleasure is fickle: what pleases today, grates tomorrow.

pleasure as a lack of pain

That's right. Pleasure is the temporary cessation of pain.

 

[Duxwing]

Isn't that paradoxical? INTPs are supposed to be smart and therefore they should reason their way out of the situation. Is there a core driver or a number of core drivers? Do you care to postulate what these might be?

That explanation works for all cases outside existential depression by definition; yet within the dark halls of nihilism, the INTP faces the greatest danger of all: alone, without his sword of insight, his armor of logic, and his steed of evidence, he is but a naked man standing before the unleashed dragon of fangs, scales, and claws that is his strangled Fe. In that moment, I wouldn't put suicide past the more philosophically minded INTP's, myself included, for I've been in that very situation and survived only because of my temporary placement in a psychiatric unit and study of Absurdism.

-Duxwing

 

[Arc.Demi]

out of subject ---------
I noticed people in this forum rewrite or adjust their posts alot lol
Its funny when i start reading and the post keeps disapearing and showing again
it happens every time i refrish the page

 

[snafupants]

Isn't that paradoxical? INTPs are supposed to be smart and therefore they should reason their way out of the situation.

Somewhat paradoxical until you consider that INTPs are emotional dunces.

Because of inferior Fe and problems with understanding emotions, logical discernment only helps to a point. Stormy feeling is not an INTPs native tongue.

Is there a core driver or a number of core drivers? Do you care to postulate what these might be?

I always care to postulate!

Core driver? On why INTPs can't apply their normal logical discernment and problem solving skills to depression? I'd say emotions aren't INTPs forte and the sheer depression is a subversion of regular Ti-Si rational functioning. Sometimes the source of the depression isn't even diagnosed.

Then again, INFJs struggle with depression, but for dissimilar reasons.

 

[snafupants]

That explanation works for all cases outside existential depression by definition; yet within the dark halls of nihilism, the INTP faces the greatest danger of all: alone, without his sword of insight, his armor of logic, and his steed of evidence, he is but a naked man standing before the unleashed dragon of fangs, scales, and claws that is his strangled Fe. In that moment, I wouldn't put suicide past the more philosophically minded INTP's, myself included, for I've been in that very situation and survived only because of my temporary placement in a psychiatric unit and study of Absurdism.

-Duxwing

More Middle-earth analogical speak!

 

[snafupants]

out of subject ---------
I noticed people in this forum rewrite or adjust their posts alot lol
Its funny when i start reading and the post keeps disapearing and showing again
it happens every time i refrish the page

It wouldn't be INTP forum without rampant yet comprising neuroticism.

 

[MichiganJFrog]

I have occasionally been deliriously happy, usually for all the wrong reasons. I assume that's why it doesn't last.

 

[TriflinThomas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaWAoxqBsvE
Happiness is a mediocre standard for a middle-class existence.

 

[StoicMind]

I chose I am happy 90% of the times but what I am considering as being happy is being content with life. I am not necessarily unhappy but im not happy, lol its hard to explain.

 

[snafupants]

I chose I am happy 90% of the times but what I am considering as being happy is being content with life. I am not necessarily unhappy but im not happy, lol its hard to explain.

Being content is much more important than being happy.

 

[Duxwing]

More Middle-earth analogical speak!

If only everyone appreciated my analogies; sometimes I just get strange looks. Yet I'm nonetheless glad that you liked them... though this contemplation has tinged the joy with sadness. Oi vay.

-Duxwing

 

[snafupants]

If only everyone appreciated my analogies; sometimes I just get strange looks. Yet I'm nonetheless glad that you liked them... though this contemplation has tinged the joy with sadness. Oi vay.

-Duxwing

Well darn, Duxwing, calm down that Si for just a new york minute.

 

[Duxwing]

Well darn, Duxxy, calm down that Si for a minute.

Si brings melancholy, the joy of being sad; it's at once unbearable and comforting, like a childhood bedtime story wherein every character, even the little puppy, dies.

-Duxwing

 

[snafupants]

Si brings melancholy, the joy of being sad; it's at once unbearable and comforting, like a childhood bedtime story wherein every character, even the little puppy, dies.

-Duxwing

I'm pretty sure that's also a psychopath's fantasy.

 

[Duxwing]

I'm pretty sure that's also a psychopath's fantasy.

My dad read me Grimm's Fairy Tales every night when I was seven, and in some cases, children were cannibalized, toddlers decapitated by their toy box lids, and pigs' hearts sewn into men's chests by innkeepers. Within months, the horror stories left me deeply contemplating my own mortality; the gnawing fear of my death drove me to tears. I sought solace in religion, but soon I realized that its comforts were hollow. That discovery led to my pursuit of Truth through reason, which in turn brought me to the INTP forum.

As for the psychopathy, I have no retort. Perhaps I'm Evil incarnate.

-Duxwing

 

[Arc.Demi]

To fight depression and be happy and/or content ( even the Duxwing kind of depression ) i think all you have to do as an INTP is to strengthen your resolve and to Convince your self with it logically..

(ex: i still wanna do this,this,and that .... etc plus there is this,this,and that ...etc and they wont be the same without me and/or i must get out of this because i don't wanna die such a pathetic death ,i'v always dreamed of being something to the world and i wont die without making that happen ...... etc )

these might be weak and the whole resolve thing may not be that big of an idea but it would be a big help for sure to get you out of the "strong" kind of depression that may lead you to kill yourself or a similar stupid ending

all you have to do is to find your own strong reasons to fight with , also it might be of a help to call a close friend and talk about anything other than you being depressed just to get yourself out of the dark loneliness atmosphere .. even if you started stuttering or saying some weird long stuff fallowed by long periods of awkward silence .. the magic will work eventually

 

[Amagi82]

The poll options suck.

I'm happy about 3% of the time, and unhappy about 2% of the time. I'm bored about 60% of the time. I'm completely unemotional most of the time, somewhere in the shapeless void between pleased and displeased. I don't experience enough emotion to qualify for one of the answers in the poll.

 

[~~~]

Dux and snafu: haven't you just resolved the paradox?

 

[Duxwing]

Dux and snafu: haven't you just resolved the paradox?

The paradox of what, exactly?

-Duxwing

 

[BigApplePi]

Does slap happy count?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZgVRJ-H8U

 

[Adrift]

Happy >90% of the time.

I chose that only because I am content with life. I'm seeing this a lot in other posts so you probably should have had "meh" as an option.

When I hear/read something about someone's life being terrible in 1st world countries due to something meaningless I die a little on the inside. To me I could care less if you didn't get paid so you could afford your new whatever. (That's just an example.)

Anyways, I'm just happy to be alive and that I am able to experience the world as it is. There's not any suffering in my life to deal with and I can learn whatever I want because I have access to the information I desire.

 

[Tony3d]

When I hear/read something about someone's life being terrible in 1st world countries due to something meaningless I die a little on the inside. To me I could care less if you didn't get paid so you could afford your new whatever. (That's just an example.)

I get what you are saying in most situations.

However, I do sometimes think it would be better to be in a 3rd world country with people that love you, people to fight for, than it would to be in a 1st world country, with absolutly everything you need to continue on your meaningless existance but absolutly no reason to want to.

It is silly to me, when I see people acting like life has treated them so unfairly because they had to work on the weekend or because they couldn't get the TV or new cellphone they wanted and bullshit like that. There are people out there that would be overjoyed with a quarter of what you have...

But all the safety and high living conditions and opportunities that anyone in a 1st world country should be greatful for really means nothing if you don't have anything or anyone in your life that you are truly passionate about.

Money can't buy you happiness or love.



To me, the guy that lives in a small straw hut with his loving family is far richer than the guy that owns 15 mansions and 5 major companies and 40 high dollar sportscars, but never took the time to love anyone other than himself and his own money.

 

[SpaceYeti]

I'm happy a lot. I have a lot to be happy about. A lot to be sad about, too, but focusing on shit I can't change won't get me anywhere.

 

[MichiganJFrog]

focusing on shit I can't change won't get me anywhere.

I get hung up on the whole "wisdom to know the difference" thing.