Definition Essay: The Pursuit Of Happiness

Happiness, seen in the dictionary as a state of well-being and contentment, is really an experience outside of a definition. In the best attempt to define such an abstract thought, employment of multiple levels of analysis is necessary. Happiness can be seen in the pursuit of happiness, in the spectrum of happiness, and in personal happiness.

Humans, as well as most thinking beings, instinctively seek pleasure and survival. Psychologically speaking, humans find pleasure through purpose and belonging. Happiness is found externally once these needs are met. For children in particular, having their needs met supplies complete happiness. Once into adolescence and adulthood, however, happiness must be sought internally. Internal happiness stems

Happiness, similar to heat, exists only in levels of happiness. Sadness is really only the absence of happiness, just as cold is the absence of heat. Since the creation of happiness is drawn from within, there is not a real measurable scale. There are also negative effects to falling each extreme of the scale. Extreme happiness, possibly in the form of excited-ness and optimism, can be a bad thing if it endures for an extended amount of time. This type of extreme happiness is actually called mania. Mania is experienced during the “ups” of someone with bipolar disorder. It causes the person to be overly energetic, decrease or cease sleeping, and cause erratic and irrational behavior. A happy person should be able to experience a full range of emotions, including negative ones, while a manic person cannot. On the very other end of the spectrum lies depression as well as the “downs” of bipolar disorder. Depressive symptoms are various and many, however a few of them are: over or under sleeping, apathy, loss of interest, irritability, loss of concentration, and possibly suicidal thoughts. This end of the spectrum tends to be the one that people tend to concern themselves over the most, likely because it is the end most have experienced. Happiness, in its prime level, is less focused and more like a wash of subtle positivity throughout most or all aspects of life. This happiness is often what we see in older people who