can I gaslight myself to be "happy"

[blitzk]

i tried it, for awhile I was happy. then it all came back. looking at myself, everything I do is wrong. I feel like im not even me. I just force myself to be "happy". my main question is:
is there a better way besides it? as of now i cant find something that makes me happy.

 

[UniqueWorm]

i think theres two ways u could look at it:
Faking happiness dosnt get you anywhere and you need to find something that genuinely brings you joy
or
Fake it till you make it. Sometimes you gotta power through until you do find something that makes you happy.

i feel like you should try to find joy, whether or not your faking happy while your doing dosnt matter as much.

if you can be positive while you do it then do that, but if faking being happy is draining your energy then its not worth it to pretend.

 

[alltoomuch2]

i think theres two ways u could look at it:
Faking happiness dosnt get you anywhere and you need to find something that genuinely brings you joy
or
Fake it till you make it. Sometimes you gotta power through until you do find something that makes you happy.

i feel like you should try to find joy, whether or not your faking happy while your doing dosnt matter as much.

if you can be positive while you do it then do that, but if faking being happy is draining your energy then its not worth it to pretend.

Brilliant comment, can I say. Very wise.

 

[Davey40210]

I feel like this is exactly what religion is. Gaslighting yourself into happiness.

Someone is bad to you, they will be punished in death. So you feel happy.

Something bad happens to you or your loved ones, its part of God's great plan and you will see them in heaven. So you feel happy.

Its all just a little too convenient to me for it to be true.

One of my ex gfs was actually really religious. And it seemed to me like she had a warm blanket around her that you don't have if you don't believe. She was a happy camper despite having had some pretty bad things happen to her.

I do think that it's possible to gaslight yourself into happiness. Just really try to believe in god. I think it will help, even a lot. A lot of addicts and depressed people "find god" and then come out of their dark place.

I personally seem to have a visceral reaction to anything that's fake but can still recommend religion to others.

 

[Felodese]

It's called CBT - Cognitive behavioral therapy. Gaslight yourself into thinking you are happy by simply telling yourself that all your negative feelings or thoughts are wrong.
Make up reasons why bad things aren't acctually bad, excuse other people's behavior by saying it has nothing to do with you, tell yourself that your trauma doesn't mean anything and that all you need is to simply choose happiness.
You'll find a million self-help book on the subject.



My personal "favorite" is dr David Burns who legit calls a short period of relief from symptoms during a therapy session "being cured".

 

[JealousOfTheElderly]

It's called CBT - Cognitive behavioral therapy. Gaslight yourself into thinking you are happy by simply telling yourself that all your negative feelings or thoughts are wrong.
Make up reasons why bad things aren't acctually bad, excuse other people's behavior by saying it has nothing to do with you, tell yourself that your trauma doesn't mean anything and that all you need is to simply choose happiness.
You'll find a million self-help book on the subject.

View attachment 150481

My personal "favorite" is dr David Burns who legit calls a short period of relief from symptoms during a therapy session "being cured".

This! There's also the "reframing your thoughts". The self help gurus talk about this a lot. Just "change the way you think and you will attract abundance", related to the law of attraction.

 

[Felodese]

This! There's also the "reframing your thoughts". The self help gurus talk about this a lot. Just "change the way you think and you will attract abundance", related to the law of attraction.

"Manifest your happiness"

 

[Reflection]

I once started seriously looking at hypnotism, but gave up.

It's called CBT - Cognitive behavioral therapy. Gaslight yourself into thinking you are happy by simply telling yourself that all your negative feelings or thoughts are wrong.
Make up reasons why bad things aren't acctually bad, excuse other people's behavior by saying it has nothing to do with you, tell yourself that your trauma doesn't mean anything and that all you need is to simply choose happiness.
You'll find a million self-help book on the subject.

View attachment 150481

My personal "favorite" is dr David Burns who legit calls a short period of relief from symptoms during a therapy session "being cured".

This! There's also the "reframing your thoughts". The self help gurus talk about this a lot. Just "change the way you think and you will attract abundance", related to the law of attraction.

To honest I'm kind of amazed that this even works for some permanently (if it does)... I think there was a point in my life when I genuinely believed in the law of attraction to an almost religious level for a few months until I realized how illogical it all is and that it was basically doing squat.

 

[Felodese]

I think there was a point in my life when I genuinely believed in the law of attraction to an almost religious level for a few months until I realized how illogical it all is and that it was basically doing squat.

I had a colleague who believed in The Secret 100%. He told me he was able to change all the stop lights on his way to work from red to green with his mind...