How do you experience happiness? For many people, happiness is an emotion where you can express your enjoyment and pleasure. However, experiencing happiness isn’t always easy to achieve.
Being happy is not as easy as it sounds because people face stress in their daily lives which can be a challenge to deal with. “Stress In Teenagers” by Gene Beresin, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Mass General Brigham, details the common stressors teenagers often struggle with that affect their ability to experience happiness. These stressors include: changes in relationships, pressure in behavior, bullying, a need to catch up on social media, family stress, illness, divorce, economic hardship, and lack of free time. It is important to note that these stressors exist for teens and that they seriously affect their ability to find enjoyment and happiness. However, while teens today face many challenges, there are ways to combat these and still find happiness. The ways in which one finds happiness in life vary from person to person, but there are definitely some ways that everyone can utilize. Teenagers can set boundaries, change their environment, meditate, and choose activities that are relaxing.
One way that I find happiness is spending time with my friends and spending my money on things I want. Additionally, when I need to step away from stress, I play music to try to get noise that distracts me from the stress.
While it may sometimes seem hard to find happiness, I don’t believe it is impossible. Everyone can experience it, but they should not force themselves to do things or find happiness in ways that they are not comfortable with. According to the article “You Don’t Need to Force Happiness” from Bright Recovery Center, “Forcing happiness, or even a smile when someone isn’t genuinely feeling happy can have several detrimental effects, from bottling up emotions again to trying to force feelings so often that someone reaches a point of emotional exhaustion or ambivalence.” The most important thing to remember is not to force happiness, and freely express the emotions when needed.
Relationships are one of the many things that make people happy because they offer a connection that is cherished. According to “What Makes People Happy?” by Dr. Chris Mosunic, “A good” relationship—one that offers you the strength and support you need—doesn’t have to look a certain way. You don’t need to be married or living with someone to receive the benefits. The bonds you have with friends, family, and those in any community groups you’re a part of are equally as important and beneficial. Even a conversation with a casual acquaintance at your work, school, or neighborhood contributes to your levels of happiness.”
For me, as I stated before, my relationships with my friends help me be happy. We usually go to each other’s houses to hang out, play games, or go ice skating the most. Another way I find happiness is by buying things. Depending on the amount of money I have, I often buy a lot of clothes and small decorative items like keychains, posters, and cases. These items make me happy because I can hang them up or use them and see them every day since they are all decor. Clothes make me happy since wearing something I like and bought boosts my confidence and I can use them in combinations with other pieces of clothing. This feeling is lasting; it feels pleasant to see something I finally bought that I’ve wanted for some time.
Overall, although stressors exist, anyone can experience happiness; it might seem impossible but it isn’t. People can find happiness through activities, relationships, changing their environment, and spending time with close ones.
