/pony/ - Pony

Appearances can be deceiving.

>>1175302
Appearances are all we perceive.

>>1175303
In that case, feign happiness.

I've noticed that humor, kindness, and sincerity have improved my mood. That and I don't drink anymore. I feel like going out of my way to be nice, while standing my ground on certain things helps. Setting boundaries and all. Being the silk that hides the iron so to speak.

mostly i just post when i'm feeling happy and glad! if i feel like i will add more negative kinda feelings to an online discussion i usually avoid posting altogether. i do often seem to feel happy more often than not, i think... but it's hard to tell sometimes

>>1175304
I don't think I am too unhappy. The problem is that I am angry.
Angry at the ones I perceive have done me wrong, are 'luckier than me' or are just 'cringy' so to speak.
>>1175306
I usually do that as well. Why do you think you never see me.

>>1175307
right? such is the way she goes sometimes...
i've a few pictures i've drawn/collected that i hardly ever use because they aren't very happy looking pictures.

would you say you lurk more than you post nowadays?

That looks familiar...

>>1175307
Cognitive behavioral therapy, perhaps.

well i had to build my own sense of self and happiness up from a really really dark place, and i've dealt with some very heavy shit early on. while it did leave me with issues that i still struggle with, there is also an air of "I lived, bitch!" and knowing i've made it through the other side with experience and greater empathy for it

another thing that helps me is knowing that humans are designed to seek out negativity. In the ancient caveman days, that keen sense of spotting danger proved useful in life or death situations, and lead to greater survivability. However, its very maladaptive to a world that is ultimately much safer and better, but bombards you with the condensed negativity of the world constantly. So knowing all this, I've learned to ground myself, and objectively seek out positives and dispell what is truly negative in my own mind

and finally is knowing that i don't know anything, which seems counterintuitive, but actually really helps! i'm a very anxious person, anxiety and catastrophizing has followed me my entire life, and it can easily ruin any joy you have in the moment. always worrying about what might happen and what might befall us. So the natural thing is to try to find reassurance, right? Well actually, that can further fuel anxiety, which is in its very core your mind going on overdrive thinking of all possible outcomes. So to quell anxiety, one must do the opposite and stop or slow that overdrive thinking, and the best way to do that is accepting "i don't know"

i don't know the future, i don't know what will be a good outcome or a bad outcome, and i don't know what tomorrow will bring. you and others may find despair in that comment, but honestly it's sort of the best way to calm the mind. you stop (or really slow down) seeking out solutions to problems that you ultimately don't have control over. it frees your mind to focus on what is actually in front of you, and what you can tangibly interact with, instead of the nebulous threats that would otherwise cloud your mind. becoming comfortable with uncertainty is ironically very peaceful

now i'm not perfect at it, and i do fall into rumination on occassion. years of CPTSD doesn't fix itself overnight, despite my best attempts; but i've been much happier, calmer, and more in tune with what i want and can do in life than i have in the past! and so long as i keep it up, i should only get better in the future

but ultimately, i don't know if that's true or not. and that's okay

>>1175300
Exercise is good for increasing happiness.  You don't even need weights!  Just bodyweight squats, pushups, and walking at a good pace.

>>1175307
Anger is natural. It is how you decide to act on that anger and whether or not you are experiencing it excessively that becomes a problem.

While it's not necessarily making me "happy", my personal set of spiritual beliefs give me a reason to live, since without them the world would just be endless, eternal darkness with all actions being a matter of random chance (so, well, my beliefs are quite literally the central reason that I'm still alive at this exact second because I would be in a coffin without them).

My beliefs specifically that:

>All spirits are going to be hybridized into one singular entity whether they like it or not.
>All people's physical states and also internal states will be integrated into this grand force (again, yes, without a choice).
>As well, all living beings on this planet will join the amalgamation of all metaphysical states related to human beings.

I'm awaiting the eternal unity of all with all and the elimination of all suffering and negativity forever. The universal salvation and restoration of all lives of everything at the same time with death no longer existing at all: where darkness, rage, grief, sadness, anger, and such no longer exist. In short.

You can call the eventual state many things, but I like the term "Omega". I'm 100% a believer in Omega. I live because of Omega. Omega is why life has meaning and purpose. Knowing that goodness, kindness, and light will eventually win and steamroller over all other metaphysical concepts, as per the Omega theory, is the most beautiful thing that I suppose the human mind can ever imagine.

Instrumentality.

I'm not exactly the happiest person. The world has kinda been shitting on me for wuite a while now

But I do make an effort to mitigate it by embracing humility and striving for a healthy amount of self doubt and questioning myself about why I feel the way I do about things, other people and myself. Some things will always make me upset, but other things only make me upset because of how I interpret them. For instance, I bare no grudges for a wounded ego by accepting that I am not tgat important and that in the grand scheme of things, humanity isn't important, the universe is so much bigger than all of us combined, we're all utterly insignificant, so why concern myself with being superior to anyone?

"You just enjoy being sad."

>>1175300
Probably because you spend too much time lingering on things you cannot change or address in the bounds of your current situation. There are no easy solutions but taking things step by step to address your situation will at the very least help your mood. Progress, albeit a slow one, is better than stagnation and resignation.