I knew a woman, always happy. Would sing spongebob on the way to school to drop off her kids. Always chatting to everyone, stopping to pet every animal. Let her new husband abuse her daughter and hid it. When ordered that he wasn’t allowed near the home, she let him stay and hid it so he could continue. Another happy person, he was life of the party. His wife was so miserable though. Because he was beating her when they got home. I don’t trust these happy people.

That’s caused by a disorder called happy and secure childhood (HSC). HSC can cause people to be happy despite world going to shit. People affected by HSC can even believe things will be fine and work towards improving it even in worst of condition.

Dopamine isn’t really the reward drug that people seem to think.

But in the 90s and early 2000s, mounting evidence challenged that idea. Turns out that when you shut down an animal’s dopamine system, they enjoy their rewards just as much but lose all motivation to seek more.

In other words, dopamine doesn’t make you like something, it makes you want it.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/science-behind-dopamine-function

Happiness is (also) a mindset. You can (within reason) decide to be happy. To not let stuff get to you, to focus on the positives.

I always assumed this was related to me getting easily hooked on anything (cigarettes and booze). I never touched things like heroine, coke, or meth since I knew my life would be over. I haven’t had ADHD meds in ages because it used to basically take 6-7 hours once a month to go get them and get home. Now, Japan has a shortage of them and I don’t even know where I would go to get them in my super-countryside area off hand.

high functioning drug addiction

I did know a person like that… once.