The behavior of being happy is common worldwide but some people are forced to think optimistically, because in their mind they have a fixed presumption that thinking this way would make them happier. There is an idea which says that everyone should be happy, but each person is different and not everyone has to feel elated. There are studies that show happier people have several kinds of symptoms such as sense of an irrational life and more. Also, having the idea that being happy is essential can lead people to purchasing products allowing the marketing industry to grow in profit on peoples’ negative thoughts. Humans are made up of many types of emotions and have different lifestyles that could cause them to feel sadness, angry, depress, or just content there is no reason why everyone has to be happy.
There are many kinds of disorders with their own symptoms and even happiness has some indication of abnormalities. According to a psychology's founder, Martin Seligman, "it is our negative, pessimistic, thoughts that are maladaptive and happily, as it turns out, vestigial: Because our brain evolved during a time of ice, flood, and famine, we have a catastrophic brain. The brain works is looking for what's wrong" if our brain is already looking for what is wrong not everyone can be completely happy all the time (Ehrenreich 74). Also, Richard P. Bentall points out that happy people have, "a lack of contact with reality" (70). In their minds they have a much more positive look at things then what people who are less happy. They may detect some of the conflicts in reality and decide that they rather be in a more pleasant environment than reality. And this is the point where people start to believe they are great, superior in their achievements, and "believe that others share their unrealistic opinions about themselves" which is not reality (Bentall 70). Happier people try to hide their insecurity, where people lack the confidence to do things with their top most abilities. Many people feel insecure sometimes in their life and it is fine to feel that way. There is no need to undergo the emotion of joy if there isn't. On the other hand, it may cause depressive realism, which is where depress people are more accurate in perceptions and judgment. They see things in an overly negative illumination unlike the non-depress or happier people (Bentall 70). Because those who are depress may have been the cause of painful events going through a divorce, loosening their job, a love one passed away, just going through tough times. They see and accept the hardships out there in life, and know that not everything is ideal.
People are always thinking or looking about that there is something wrong with them. Thinking they are always the one who is complaining about some sort of physical or mental pain. Thinking they are the one who has a less happy life than their friends or co-workers. When considering these problems they would actually look it up online and try finding solutions. There could be nothing wrong with them, but once they take those quizzes about their problems whether theyare depress, obese, etc you fall into a trap. As a result starts looking up more solutions or cures and ending up buying the products that are offered. Barbara Ehrenreich states, "Google offers more than a million entries on 'positive thinking' covering almost any kind of challenges you might encounter" these entries or products does not fully perform the task many people may think it may do for them (72). It may leadpeople into thinking that there is really something wrong with their life or their health. "In 2000, the self-improvement industry -- including books, CDs, seminars, and coaches -- took in $3.35 billion. In 2005, it grossed $5.62 billion, with the coaching market alone growing by almost 500 percent." this is the cause when more and more people start thinking and feeling negative about themselves, purchasing more than what they really need or none. The ones benefiting is the markets, there could be no other reasons for the self-improvement industry to sell these products but making money and at a very high profit, only for their own gain (Ehrenreich 72). Everyone does not have to be happy all the time, and if they were it would only make them less content.
There is nothing wrong with being a little less happy than those who are always happy. People who are always happy may think this way because they believe it will be good for their health and a better life style, but in a 2002 study in the Times article it was found that, "mildly depressed women living longer than nondepressed or more severely depress women" (Ehrenreich 75). Nobody has to be depress to live longer, but it is fine to feel depress from time to time. Everybody has to go through some sort of obstacle; there are no perfect and constantly blissful lifestyles. Barbara Ehrenreich had breast cancer and she had a different life than most other healthy people, and she said "I got through my boat of cancer in a state of constant rage…" she cannot feel happy and joyful having such a grave disease (76). Even though, she had such a disease she could still reach the feelings of happiness just like anyone else and any other emotions too. In addition, Anne Becker states, “[if someone] become super happy, there are forces that will bring [him/her] back to a more average level [of happiness]" also known as hedonic leveling (Becker 58). An example of hedonic leveling is if someone won a free BWM they would be extremely cheerful, but they would not be happy forever, as time passes that happiness will start to diminish.
Everyone do not have to be happy, they could be experiencing other kinds of emotions. And if people were force to be happy that would not be real happiness. Also, there is no reason to cause people to think this way; the results of forcing others to believe they must all be happy will lead people into buying unnecessary products, and development of server symptoms.
Elation is something that would be experienced at different times in people's lives, because everyone is different.
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