Re: is happiness a choice?

I realized I wrote this question a year ago and I just went through and read all the answers again. since I wrote this question I have healed myself of Depression for the time being, I've been happy for about 5 wonderful months. I am only 22 years old but I've gone through way more than most people would ever want to experience.
In all honesty I think most people who are depressed just think way too much. cognitive therapy made my Depression worse. My counselor brought up so many more problems that I never even realized I had and made me dwell on them. She made me realize I was angry and even though I said I forgave the people that hurt me, I really didn't forgive them at all. She made me realize that I was angry with people I didn't even realize like my mom, my grandma, and especially God. now other than just focusing on my initial problem, I had three more things to dwell on and be angry at.
Sometimes when my anxiety kicks in and I feel like breaking down and want to go literally crazy, I really just want to go talk to my counselor but I'm too scared that my major Depression will come back if I start talking about all my problems again. then I will feel validated for depression.
I came back to this link tonight because I started feeling depressed today. and I always get really scared when I feel this way because I hate hating myself and being antisocial. there is no way I ever want to spiral into major depression again.

my opinion on the initial question is based on Science and experience. scientifically depressed brains are different than normal brains, just like schizophrenic brains are different than normal brains. but unlike the brain of a schizophrenic, which cannot be altered because of genetics, a depressed brain can return to a state of normality.
This shows that there is always hope for depression and unhappiness, but it takes time to heal. it is unfair to say that you can just be happy, so hurry up and think happy thoughts and stop crying. The body takes time to heal and to adjust to new situations. the thing that caused most of my problems happened when I was 4-6 years old and I'm finally healing. That is a long, hard, healing process, but it's necessary.

It is weird to think about how fast your brain works; all those little super fast neurotransmitters sending signals from all over your body to your brain to make every single part of your body work. yet it takes the brain years to heal emotionally. emotion is a very sensitive and important thing that must be treated delicately.

The thing that helped me the most was getting the guilt out of my life, getting burden off my shoulder and onto the person it belonged to, and getting wonderful, fun friends. good luck to you all and thanks for giving your opinions, I really enjoyed reading them. :) Tweet