Can you really be happy without addictions?

Facing and solving problems makes me happy. It might be scary, difficult, and uncertain, but the delayed gratification of solving them brings a higher quality satisfaction that I couldn't get from escaping my problems via getting wasted on the weekends.

 

Have you ever seen a baby or very young kid smiling and laughing? That’s real happiness without any addiction. They are not happy because something special happened, they feel the joy from deep inside. That’s what we all are: born to be happy.

 

It saddens me that you can’t see happiness apart from addiction.

Let me give you another perspective on this: if you were happy, you wouldn’t be addicted to anything.

 

Yes

I feel happy when I have no addiction if I become addicted to something I don't remain happy I always think how can I get rid of that addiction It spoils my happiness i feel happiness in studying and reading books,in solving other problems and research

 

I guess it depends on how you define addiction. We all have things we turn to when life is tough, and these exist on a spectrum from deeply harmful (hard drug abuse, whatever) to pretty positive (exercise, volunteering etc.)

I know some of the more religious people on here would characterise any coping mechanism that isn't God as an addiction (they'd probably call it an idol) - but I don't think we can exist in a state where we don't choose to do things that make us feel better. Whether that be praying, or exercise, or socialising - the positive stuff we can fill our lives with means that we can interact with the world around us in a positive way and bless the people around us. If we automatically do something positive when we feel down, is that an addiction? Does it matter if it is? Can you be happy without destructive habits? Absolutely.

 

My question would be can you be happy whilst being addicted to something?

 

Beat me to it.

 

If you are addict to something it means that you are not happy. You need to distract yourself from your life so you cannot remember how unhappy you are.

Except DooM. If you are addicted to DooM then you are a man of class.

 

Actually, children come into this world crying and don't learn to smile or laugh for a few months. We're born unto suffering.

 

Enjoy suffering.

To each of the other fapstronauts I recommend: CHOOSE JOY.
Babies don’t have to learn to smile: they do it all by themselves.

 

I was already a happy person before using drugs and I only used drugs because I lacked confidence in myself.

Then I lost my happiness and kept using drugs to keep me from thinking about how I had changed

Now I'm trying to quit using and it's hard but I know it will be worth it.

Think of it this way, people 2000+ years ago didn't have all the vices that we have and I'm sure some of them were happy. How else would there have been all the progress we enjoy today?

 

I was addicted for a while and every time I thought about my own hapiness I used to smoke weed more and more. After all I started spending all my money for this "happy hours" utill I realized I had been killing myself. Now I stopped all of that and feel myself really happy without any addictions

 

Yes yes yes the answer is yes when u conquer pmo u defeat the greatest evil of our generation.

 

A better question is "is it possible to be happy in spite of addiction?"

I've been addicted to weed, opioids, video games, cigarettes, and coffee, and PMO. I'm still addicted to cigarettes and coffee. Something that happens when one is in the throes of addiction is that he forgets the simple joys of life. One forgets all the good feelings of sober life and becomes fixated on one particular pleasure. One forgets that it doesn't really feel THAT good and that there are better, more wholesome pleasures to be had. I used to say to myself "oh, but this feels so good, and after all lots of successful people use drugs." And it did feel good, but it would always come with that nagging guilt, the feeling that I'm inadequate, and of course the withdrawals when circumstances prevented me from indulging. And for every successful addict, there's a million in the gutter. And how much better could that addict have been had he not been addicted? What more could he have contributed to the world?

There's so much more to life. When one is an addict, his little bubble gets smaller and smaller until eventually there's nothing left but him and his addiction. Life becomes totally empty and indulging becomes his meaning in life. And that's just sad.

Anyway, I'm much happier without my addictions. I think you will be too.

 

FINDING CONNECTION

Feeling of emptiness inside - a void that needed filling all the time
Addiction fills that gap initially until you become dependent
Material things, status and power can never fill that inner void, they don't bring us inner peace and happiness. It's all just another addiction
Most of us seek instant gratification. We're not patient anymore. Smartphones, social media, consumerism, alcohol, pornography, sex, drugs… are all built up on the premise of instant gratification. They can't fill the void. It's no use in seeking internal comfort by external means. We need to find connection with something that is greater than ourselves.
Connectedness -> recognizing that we're not all individuals (prayer, meditation, Wim Hof method, gratitude, giving back to other people, being kind and loving on the daily basis, compassion, humility) It is the only way to bring you inner happiness and fill the void. We came from the universe and we go back to the universe. "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." All life is part of the universe.
Connectedness is integral part of recovery, because it's missing in all addicts.


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True joy results when we become aware of our connection to everything. You can't help everyone, but you can help someone.




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