Can You Overdose on Happiness?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-personal-renais...

> I guess I got a happy ending, but every happy ending has the day after the happy ending, right? And the day after that. So the wedding was so much fun. It was the happiest day of my life. But, you know, what does that say about all the days I have left?

I've always liked that quote, because it is something that gets a bit glossed over in books and movies, but is important; the first derivative of happiness after something amazing is almost invariably negative.

"Man’s ultimate happiness consists in the contemplation of truth, for this operation is specific to man and is shared with no other animals. Also it is not directed to any other end since the contemplation of truth is sought for its own sake. In addition, in this operation man is united to higher beings (substances) since this is the only human operation that is carried out both by God and by the separate substances (angels). (Summa Contra Gentiles, book 3, chapter 37)

and

It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is that perfect good which entirely satisfies one’s desire; otherwise it would not be the ultimate end, if something yet remained to be desired. Now the object of the will, i.e., of man’s desire, is what is universally good; just as the object of the intellect is what is universally true. Hence it is evident that nothing can satisfy man’s will, except what is universally good. This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone, because every creature has only participated goodness. Therefore, God alone can satisfy the will of man, according to the words of the Psalms (102:5): “Who alone satisfies your desire with good things.” Therefore, God alone constitutes man’s happiness.” (Summa Theologica Part 2. Q.1. Article 8)

https://www.myrighttime.com/concussions-depression

https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/depression-after-traumatic-...

https://www.brainline.org/article/depression-after-brain-inj...

http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/17/study-reveals-how-conc...

In my case, I was a rambunctious kid who bumped his noggin dozens of times and I always wondered if that had an effect on my mood. I've struggled with depression off and on since my late teens, although I think that most of it was environmental. It can be difficult sometimes as creative people to find satisfaction in the workaday world when it's so far removed from the life of invention and fulfillment that we might imagine for ourselves.

The interesting thing about concussion is that it doesn't always show up on brain scans because it can be microscopic tears in the white matter connecting different regions, rather than acute damage to a specific area. So maybe everything is working, but there is a delay or diminishment in inner monolog that makes everything feel like a struggle or seem like tasks require additional motivation that is difficult to maintain.

It could manifest differently for everyone though, and the damage may or may not be permanent. I think that some of the trouble comes because we might rewire ourselves to cope with temporary damage, and then find ourselves caught in dysfunctional habits after the brain repairs itself via neuroplasticity. Similar things happen in the body with referred pain, where nerves report pain months or years after a muscle strain heals, for example. I’ve been experimenting with a TENS machine and after just 3 half-hour sessions, the pain in one of my shoulder blades is about 1/3 less than before.

I also think there might be a connection with the limbic system, or whichever centers connect thought with external action. I’ve noticed that I can brainstorm like no tomorrow, or perform physical tasks like lifting weights, but combining the two to adapt physically under changing mental requirements and do things like home improvement projects can be taxing sometimes. The end result being that I’m not quite the self-motivator I once was, because it’s easier to procrastinate reading/writing about my interests or take direct orders from a boss than start my own project.

So I’ve been experimenting with separating my goals and performing them temporally, using a to-do list. Maybe list what to do in the morning, then perform the steps in the afternoon or the next day. The idea being that any of us can write an outline of how to achieve our dreams, hopefully incorporating mindfulness meditation practices (aka The Secret), then diligently follow those steps by reporting to ourselves as our own boss and achieve some level of spiritual independence and satisfaction in our lives.

Some keywords that helped me research this are SSRI, SNRI and adult crawling. YMMV though as I’m a bit of a mind hacker (certainly not a doctor) and have never been on antidepressants.