Are People Generally Unhappy?

Not once this week, but twice, people have confided in me that they are suffering from depression and struggle to get out of bed in the morning.

Don't worry, not another thread about depression, but I'm asking the question: are people generally unhappy with life?

The first person who told me she was unhappy was a woman in her early 50's. Extremely fit for her age and very outgoing, it came as a shock to me to find that she is lonely and unhappy.

The second women was in her mid 30's, childless, with a long term boyfriend. She too said she sometimes didn't get out of bed as she had very little to live for. Again, while I don't know her well, from a distance she has always seemed a happy and sociable person.

So is this more common than I thought? Does life just become one big rut? Is it lack of money? Lack of friends? Lack of a partner?

Wanderlust apart, because we all know he's going to witter on about his great life, can anyone on here relate to these women? Have you had periods in your life where you've struggled to get out of bed? Perhaps this very moment you are sat in your front room wearing just your y-fronts eating a 2 litre tub of ice cream?

Yes it's all of those things, there are millions of unhappy people and some just want to hurry up and die. I knew an old lady that lost her husband and did not seem overly sad but when she lost her best friend she changed and when I said I will see you next month she said I hope not. I said why and she said she hoped that she would not wake up one morning, she was well off nice house but had given up.

My great life FFS? I'm going to witter anyway.
There's definitely something in the air at the moment - a general malaise.
For me it's wanting to stop work and I can't decide if it's full on retirement that I'm after or just to pee off for 6 months and sort my head out. Either way it's a worry as it would necessitate cutting back income and it may be reckless just to pack in a well paid job at my age even if it's becoming boring. I don't want to live to work, but increasingly I just feel like not working at all, so I need to find a way forward that would give me enough to survive comfortably for the next 30 years (not that I'll live that long given my lifetime of abuse) 
I've met a few discontents lately so I think there's an undercurrent.

I'm with Lusty on this.

There's definitely summat going on.

For me personally, it goes like this:

18 months ago, I was a well-paid senior manager for an international food manufacturer - mortgage paid off, holidays twice a year in the Caribbean, dining out in nice restaurants twice a week, happy as a pig in shit.

Both parents had not long since retired and were looking forward to kicking back and moving to Spain for six months of the year.

Then boom! Mum get's diagnosed with terminal cancer and is given twelve months.

Six months after this, Dad is also diagnosed with cancer but his is treatable.

I lost my job in March (economic downturn and all that bollocks) and haven't earned a penny since apart from a few bits of home-based consultancy stuff.

Mum dies in May, Dad's head falls off to the point where he now looks about eighty and weighs about seven stone fully clothed with his shoes on and he's been in and out Christies for most of this year.

So yeah, I'm pretty pissed off at the moment but I'm trying hard to stick with the "Whaddya gonna do?" approach.

We're all pretty much in the same boat and hopefully, given time, it will get better.....

At least Freedman's fucked off......

Christ. 

I know you're not after sympathy, but that's a horrendous year. Genuinely hope it picks up for you.

Cheers bud.

I'm choosing to look at it like this:

We're all probably going to have to deal with a finite amount of shit during our lives and, given that mine had been pretty good up to this point, I'm hoping that I'm getting he bulk of my "challenging shit" in all at once.

Next year's going to be fucking brilliant.

I've decided.......

You've definitely had a shite 18 months Breadman, and I hope things get better, but there is a clear reason why it's been so awful.

The two women I spoke to hadn't received bad news about their health or lost their jobs, they were just bored with life. I just don't understand why people let things get to this state, especially if you don't have kids, anyone can change their dull life overnight.

Nat,

Show 'em my comment and tell 'em to pull their heads out of their arses.

Breadman wrote:Nat,

Show 'em my comment and tell 'em to pull their heads out of their arses.

I did try to point out to the 50 year old that she had a lot going for her - good job, health etc but her reply was that at least if she lost her job it would make her change her life.

No helping some people.

What is clear is that the less commitments a person has, the easier it is to change your life. Maybe unmarried people with no kids need to change more frequently or maybe they are single because nobody will have them (harsh I know) but if I had no responsibilities or commitments to other people I'd be off like a shot on the Wanderlust Beeg Lurve to the Laydees Road Show Tour that never ends but would probably see me buried within 6 months - but I'd make damned sure I die a happy man.
The world is after all your proverbial lobster so we can be anything we want to be - or at least pretend we can.

Breadman wrote:I'm with Lusty on this.

There's definitely summat going on.

For me personally, it goes like this:

18 months ago, I was a well-paid senior manager for an international food manufacturer - mortgage paid off, holidays twice a year in the Caribbean, dining out in nice restaurants twice a week, happy as a pig in shit.

Both parents had not long since retired and were looking forward to kicking back and moving to Spain for six months of the year.

Then boom! Mum get's diagnosed with terminal cancer and is given twelve months.

Six months after this, Dad is also diagnosed with cancer but his is treatable.

I lost my job in March (economic downturn and all that bollocks) and haven't earned a penny since apart from a few bits of home-based consultancy stuff.

Mum dies in May, Dad's head falls off to the point where he now looks about eighty and weighs about seven stone fully clothed with his shoes on and he's been in and out Christies for most of this year.

So yeah, I'm pretty pissed off at the moment but I'm trying hard to stick with the "Whaddya gonna do?" approach.

We're all pretty much in the same boat and hopefully, given time, it will get better.....

At least Freedman's fucked off......

After reading this, i hope things turn around for you and hopefully 2015 will be a year to remember!

That goes for me to Bread.

Cheers fellas but as I've already said, we all have a bucket full of shit to deal with in our lives and I reckon I've just had quite a lot of mine in one hit.

Everybody's got a tale to tell and we're all in the same boat.

Take your lumps, keep your chin up and get on with things - it's the only way.

 i like your fighting spirit, your right mate

Bread,if you need a link to you know what,I'm there for you.

Breadman wrote:I'm with Lusty on this.

There's definitely summat going on.

For me personally, it goes like this:

18 months ago, I was a well-paid senior manager for an international food manufacturer - mortgage paid off, holidays twice a year in the Caribbean, dining out in nice restaurants twice a week, happy as a pig in shit.

Both parents had not long since retired and were looking forward to kicking back and moving to Spain for six months of the year.

Then boom! Mum get's diagnosed with terminal cancer and is given twelve months.

Six months after this, Dad is also diagnosed with cancer but his is treatable.

I lost my job in March (economic downturn and all that bollocks) and haven't earned a penny since apart from a few bits of home-based consultancy stuff.

Mum dies in May, Dad's head falls off to the point where he now looks about eighty and weighs about seven stone fully clothed with his shoes on and he's been in and out Christies for most of this year.

So yeah, I'm pretty pissed off at the moment but I'm trying hard to stick with the "Whaddya gonna do?" approach.

We're all pretty much in the same boat and hopefully, given time, it will get better.....

At least Freedman's fucked off......

Mate that is one horrible series of events, and to lesser people it would probably affect them to the point of distraction, but I have a feeling you're going to get back up there, you have that winning mentality, and you're a goodun, get back on the horse big man.

Cheers boys.

And if I ever need "Brucing up", you'll be the first one I call, Boncey.........

This stuff always cheers me up. Smooth and spreadable. Having some now with some Lancy cheese between 2 thick slices of Warbies.

boltonbonce wrote:This stuff always cheers me up. Smooth and spreadable. Having some now with some Lancy cheese between 2 thick slices of Warbies.

As a veggie should you really be eating bread(pardon the irony) it contains animal fat.

All Warbies bread is suitable for veggies.