
Happiness May Lie in Our Relationships - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/28/2050/what-technology-cant-change-about-happiness
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nota_bene
This leads to the question "How can we get rid of social anxiety?":

Other human beings are a subset of your environment. So you may ask "How can I
improve my perception of my environment?". This is (only) 1 of the many
benefits of the experience you live through when you ingest the substance LSD:
Handled the right way, you can experience the most awe inspiring moment of
your life, you can not just see beauty, but live it, be immersed by it and be
a part of it. You're likely to ask yourself over and over "why was this hidden
from me all those years?". You can literally _feel_ your entire environment in
a very positive, magic and vibrant way (hint: find yourself an isolated place
in nature that you like and listen to your favorite music). And part of this
feeling is very likely to stay with you, after the experience. It may be
subtle, but a very subtle positive change in the way you feel and perceive
your environment can change your thoughts dramatically and therefor your
general behavior. You can become very positive.

This is why it's completely wrong for humanity to keep this substance illegal.
This substance can lead to a whole new appreciation for our Planet, the
Universe and for the human beings around us.

(Of course, "follow the money" seems to apply here as well, when I think how
this molecule seems to be able to replace heavy side-effect ridden anti-
depressant therapies which are of course one gigantic cash cow for the pharma
industry.)

Note: It is absolutely mandatory to educate oneself about the substance as
much as possible beforehand and to prepare one's experience by respecting all
the rules that apply (and: there are a couple of medical conditions which make
the substance very risky for you, should you suffer from one of them knowingly
or unknowingly).

~~~
jwdunne
I remember when I first took it. I got a profound feeling of "oh, I get it
now" about the universe - that ultimately we are all connect, as one.

Afterwards, I couldn't work out what it was. For many years, 5 or so to be
exact, I've worked backwards from there with much though, research into
religion and spirituality, meditation and mindfulness. This also includes
several other doses of LSD between then.

The last dose was profound and shared with my soulmate. We lay on our bed,
with soothing, space-like/new age/dreamscape music in the background, this was
a perfect soundtrack for the experience. The feeling of closeness was immense.
Everything melted away, it was as if we had direct access to each other's
minds and emotions as though there was no body to separate us. I remember
crying genuine, gushing tears of joy at the overwhelming sense of love for
her. I don't see anything metaphysical about it but that last experience
offered insight into the realisation during my first time and is also an event
I look back on positively.

From what I've worked out, I explain the realisation that we are all connected
as one like this:

The universe is a beautiful, immense whole composed of vast celestial bodies
and ourselves, as part of that. Everything we see on earth is the universe.
What is most interestng and profound is the idea that we are a part of the
universe than can observe itself in it's wonderful entirety. From this, you
realise the folly of violence, wars and how our world currently works. By
hurting others of allowing them to get hurt, we are hurting ourselves.

From my study of religions, I can fit this idea in quite well. This includes
new thought, Buddhism and even Christianity. With Christianity in particular,
seeing Jesus as someone who got this but had to explain it in terms of the
framework of understanding of his day masked sense. It also shows how modern
Christianity has moved far and away from this idea.

I don't really share this as it's an untestable and perhaps laughable idea but
it has bed a profound spiritual journey for me that has provided a lot of
inner value.

~~~
eli_gottlieb
And what do you have to say to those of us who feel overwhelming love for our
significant others, or who understand the basic nature of causality and how it
relates to human life, _without_ taking drugs?

~~~
dave_sullivan
I've never taken LSD but have taken mushrooms several times. I've heard the
_nature_ of the hallucinations are different.

A memorable moment: I'm walking on the beach (in real life) and the sand is
bubbling up with skeletons (clear as day). Then I look at this huge cliff wall
to my left (the cliff wall is real), and a huge totem pole head emerges from
the cliff face (as part of the cliff, it is the cliff).

This totem pole head then proceeds to tell me that it's seen millennia of
people walk along this beach and the universe is very old and etc. And I look
up (and it was really sunset) to a crazy universe explosion of activity in the
sky. This went on for another few hours. In the end, I'm left with this
feeling of connectedness and awe that I can kind of hold on to.

Logically, I learned nothing new. I got a feeling based on... my self's inner
interpretation of a unique drug enduced brain state? I'm not sure I _could_
get there without drugs, the brain is unable to produce the proper chemical
composition and set of signals unaided.

Now to be fair, I didn't go home that night, sit down, and produce a treatise
on the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. But I certainly don't
regret it either.

~~~
slfnflctd
> I'm not sure I could get there without drugs

This is the biggest issue, to me.

I've heard some fantastic claims about meditation, but it seems to require a
lot of work (and even then doesn't 'work' for everyone)-- also, it's never
going to be _exactly_ like the experience of ecstasy, shrooms, LSD, various
herbs, etcetera.

Each of the more mind-altering substances has a unique way of interacting with
the brain, and I wouldn't trade my experiences with them for anything. They're
one of the greatest things I value in life, honestly, as I'm not entirely sure
I understood what being fully alive even really meant until after they crossed
my path.

~~~
selimthegrim
> I'm not entirely sure I understood what being fully alive even really meant
> until after they crossed my path

I don't want to pry, but what makes you say this?

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dragon88
Question:

Do you guys know of any effective methods for getting out of hormone related
mood funks?

I find that a few days a month I just feel really sad. Every little mistake I
make feels like the end of the world. I feel like a failure.(I imagine this is
similar to what clinic depression feels like.)

The other 95% of the month, I feel great. Happy just to bask in the glow of
the sunshine.

During my down days, I've tried everything from doing activities that make me
really happy, letting myself indulge in foods I like, etc. but nothing helps.
So far, I just tough it out but it sucks feeling like this, even if only for a
few days.

Any advice?

~~~
stevenkovar
Exercise hard.

Imagine your 'mood funk' as sulfur buildup in a water heater. Your water's
going to smell awful until you burn out all that sulfur. The same applies with
mood and exercise. This is an abstract illustration—however there are
physiological / chemical benefits to exercising that affect mood directly.

Proper sleep.

Once you get into a sleep deficit, you're a walking shell of your true self.
Adjust your schedule so that you get to bed early and wake up without an
alarm. This makes a world of difference for me, and it's necessary for your
exercise to deliver its best benefits (feeling energized and de-stressed).

As a side note, I think a healthy mental approach is important. Many people
become fixated on some end goal, be it money, love, fame, etc. Focus instead
on the process and the enjoyment you get from improvement or making progress.
When friends ask for input, I tell them to only focus on the next 2%,
regardless of what they're working on. I've found that mental framing to help
people better prioritize and—more important—to drop the stuff that doesn't
actually matter.

~~~
dragon88
Thanks for the tips!

I do pushups + cardio - it doesn't quite help when I'm really down but it does
give me a burst of energy the other days.

I get 7-8 hrs of sleep every night so this isn't an issue for me. Overall, I
lead a healthy lifestyle so my body isn't really an issue.

One of the tricks that kind of alleviates my occasional depression symptoms is
just reminding myself that I don't have to believe whatever thoughts or
feelings is passing through at this moment.

Just because my brain is screaming right now "Why did you just do that?
Idiot!", it doesn't mean it's true. Or that I have to listen to it.

I try to drown it out with the facts:

a) I know I feel depressed a few days of the month - I shouldn't trust any of
my negative thoughts during this time

b) Most humans have a negative bias. It's important to experience the full
extent of any negative emotions when something bad happens so you remember
deeply not to repeat the same mistake again (if you're at fault).

But it's also very important to let it go so you can have a clear head going
forward to make good decisions. And not turn a "don't do that again" reminder
into a fear of going anywhere close to a similar situation again.

~~~
stevenkovar
I encourage you to lift weights. It's a different type of stress that your
body is more inclined to deal with in a positive fashion; this translates to
your mood positively.

Test getting more sleep to see what happens—doesn't hurt to test! I have a
friend who requires 9 hours a day to feel fully rested.

I neglected to mention diet previously, but make sure you regulate your
calories and macro-nutrients, and take a multi-vitamin (I take Optimum
Nutrition's Opti-Men) and a fish oil (I take Minami's MorEPA).

With supplements, you get what you pay for; if your multi-vitamin serving is
only one pill, it's probably not a very high quality. You don't have to go on
a "diet" really, but keep track of what goes into your body and over time
you'll get a bearing for what makes you feel best—added bonus is that the act
of tracking nutrition typically causes people to eat a bit healthier. Sounds
like your diet isn't bad though.

Mentally, I approach a "bad day" by taking a step back (sometimes literally)
and telling myself the chemicals in my body are a bit off. A vast majority of
the time, this is enough to calm down the dissonance in my head that can lead
to lethargic or aggressive behaviors. Sometimes it's because I need to eat or
hydrate; other times a 15-30 minute walk 'resets' me mentally.

Worth noting: a poor night's sleep can affect me personally for 2-3 days
afterward. Sometimes I feel perfect the day after, only to feel a massive drop
in energy the next.

It's amazing how powerful acknowledging cognitive dissonance is for
eliminating said dissonance.

Finally, there's also the possibility you are carrying a disease or disorder
you're unaware of. I personally have an auto-immune disease which caused me to
feel very lethargic in spite of being athletic and having a clean diet and
sleep schedule. As soon as I got my thyroid in check (hypothyroidism, or
'Hashimoto's Thyroiditis'), the lethargic spurts dissipated.

~~~
griffinmahon
Fish oil yay, multi-vitamin meh.

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suttree
Personally, there's no "may" in it. It's all about the people, and what you
can do for them. Technology like the internet is just a distribution channel,
a few to reach people who aren't nearby.

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userbinator
What a nicely ambiguous title. You can read it as meaning happiness is not the
truth in good relationships, and also as meaning happiness is about
relationships.

~~~
kami8845
For a native speaker the first meaning may be a bit of a stretch (if I was
trying to communicate that I'd word it differently), but technically, yes.

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keithy
Watched Wild Strawberries on youtube on a whim, made me realize how important
relationships are to our happiness.

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78666cdc
>These “mood bots,” once ingested, will travel directly to specific areas of
the brain, flip on genes, and manually turn up or down our happiness set
point, coloring the way we experience circumstances around us.

One thinks of Brave New World.

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seyfulislam
No comments on the article itself but the title here is interesting that it
seems so surprised with the outcome.

~~~
papapra
It's not something new, but most of the public policies don't take it in
account, which is unfortunate.

------
billybilly1920
My happiness lies in going to webpages that don't block all the content with a
"subscribe to my page" ad. Why do people keep supporting these sites?

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daxfohl
Initially seen only peripherally, I thought that middle picture was a photo
next to a surrealist version of the same photo. I wonder if that was
intentional.

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Altay-
In other news, fire is hot...

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marincounty
I honestly feel nauseous when scientists, especially Psychiatrits start up the
the neurotransmitter theories. I'm still recovering from the 90's where all
you wonder boys made these great definitive claims about serotonin, dopamine,
and all the rest? Yes, it keeps the money coming in, but personally; I am sick
of articles like this?

Articles, that speculate on a bit of everything, and just might not have one
true statement in the entire article? I guess it benefits Nautilus.something?
A website I'm seeing too much here?

Why do I feel 90%, of just HN readers, have been duped/doped by these
scientists/Psychiatrists hoping to find a cure to their misery? Yea, maybe I'm
throwing the baby out with the bath water--just warn me a little before I dive
into your speculations? Maybe like the the first sentence should be, "Reader,
most of what you are about to read is basically speculation. Read it at your
own peril? And please don't quote this material as fact."

As someone who has looked for happiness through at least 10 drugs, and hours
of various Therapy; I sometimes wonder if I wasen't constantly told by
media/scientists--including Psychiatrists, just how miserable my life is--
maybe my life would have been lived differently, and I wouldn't have been
aware of my own melancholy?

As a middle aged male, if I could do it over again; I would never read/take
one of these articles/studies/therapy sessions/drugs on happiness/anxiety
again. I just think they made things worse?

The more I push myself away from mental health professionals; the better I
feel? Yes, the better I feel. It's a liberating experience. Now, if I could
just ween myself off my addictive prescription drugs without dying, or
becomming homeless? With my cocktail--belive me, the risks are real. Oh yea, a
lot of Professionals will say differently, but they don't know my health
status, and it seems like professional deniability is at an all time high? (My
point is I don't want to put my body through a detox, but if I was to do it
over, I don't think I ever would have refilled a prescription?) I don't blame
my Doctors for any of my ailments. My doctors are well vetted. I picked the
right guys! Taking the drugs for as long as I have was my fault completely. I
just felt I needed them. I definetly think I need them after all these years!

Did you ever think they have a conscious/subconcious addenda in the world of
Psychology? Tell them they are unhappy, or insinuate they are unhappy, and
poof--they are buying my Product--whatever that product may be?

(Sorry about my grammer--it's late, and I woke up at 3 a.m. I was told it was
a symptom of clinical depression by someone, somewhere? Maybe I just don't
sleep like I used to? Who knows?)

Oh yea, the bit about Facebook,

"Facebook, he argues, is fundamentally changing the nature of relationships in
ways that have been lost since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, when
people began leaving their native villages behind to head to cities for new
opportunities, and lost contact with the people they grew up with. “Thanks to
social media, those types of relationships are persistent,” he says. “Now we
may be connecting with people over the course of life that we didn’t before.”

Personally, I use a pseudonym on Facebook. I try to avoid it because it makes
me depressed. I look at all the people I used to know, and it's just kinda
depressing? It seems like everyone is being so fake? When I do go to the site,
I go to my only group--an Amish group. I eagerly read the posts. I sometimes
wonder if I would have been better off in an Amish society?

~~~
trowawaymeds
If you don't mind me asking, what cocktail of drugs are you on? Also, why are
you so against them? I ask this because I've tried and pretty much exhausted
every thing I can think of to be happy, and I'm probably going to go on anti-
depressants soon. I'm thinking I will go for an SNRI, but I will see what the
doctor recommends. Any advice you can provide would be much appreciated.

------
anentropic
I can see the headline now: "Chocolate one of the three 'staples of happiness'
say scientists"

