I was having a conversation with my partner and I was telling him how I can sometimes struggle to feel genuine happiness. I said because of anxiety and having depressive episodes it can often be difficult for me. As we have been dating for a while, of course, he had noticed this he said to me ”Babe, I know and I understand but think of it this way, 98% of it could be bad but try focus on that 2% of happiness” I grew defensive. I was like ”Wait..what? UHM EXCUSE ME?!”
I thought to myself ”This man has never had any mental issues, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about! 2%? 2% 2%? You must be having a laugh!”…but then I thought…huh…2%?…
Often with anxiety or depression, it can be really hard to focus on anything that bring in genuine joy and happiness. Because of how the brain functions a person with anxiety or depression feels hopelessness, low mood and has mental exhaustion. The brain feeds on negativity but when they feel any type of joy, it’s often genuine.
Depression is a mood disorder that affects the way you think, feel, and behave. It causes feelings of sadness or hopelessness that can last anywhere from a few days to a few years. This is different than being upset about a minor setback or disappointment in your day.
healthline.com
Anxiety on the brain:
Its important one finds ways to cope with anxiety and depression and different things work for different people. When my partner mentioned focusing on the 2% and after I had given it some thought it made it easier for me. It’s easier to take things in chunks than focus on something large. You know the whole ”Focus on the bigger picture” Well I can’t, I am having an episode but the 2%? I can do that. I could say, I showered today on time, I had a decent meal, I found the energy to read, I wrote on time and actually relaxed.
Focusing on the 2% of happiness is what I will carry through life because that two percent will gradually grow, it’s not an easy journey but it isn’t impossible either and for that message, I am ever so grateful. Life is already hard as it is, that’s the 98% but focusing on the few good things that happen in our day to day lives should remind us that we are okay and everything will be okay that’s the 2%.
Words By Mul 
I really relate to this – I have depression and anxiety too, and while I am doing a lot better now than a few years ago, whenever I slip back, I feel like all I ever feel is sad. And even if I’m happy I sometimes feel like there’s this constant underlying tinge of sadness all the time, then I’m worrying about whether I’m actually happy or not, and whether I’ll ever feel complete happiness again or always have that little bit of sadness. But you and your partner are totally right, just having a little bit of happiness, whether it’s over something small or just a very faint feeling of happiness, that’s something to focus on for sure. Thank you 🙂
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I can only imagine what you’ve been through but to hear that you’re doing a lot better than you did a few years back is something I’m really glad for you. It’s honestly really hard to be happy when you’re juggling both depression and anxiety but as the blog mentioned it’s that small aspect of it and I’m glad you agree. Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog, I’m also really grateful for you sharing this with me ☺️
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[…] learned a lot though, I’ve learned to focus on the 2% of happiness than trying to focus on such large amounts of tasks, self-love is a journey and we are all on […]
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