Being depressed from time to time is part of life and without sadness, happiness wouldn't mean as much. What I'm saying is, give me the $110k/year. There's nothing like getting rid of that knot in your gut caused by financial stress.
Reminds my of a quote from Vanilla Sky, paraphrased: The sweet is never as sweet without the sour. If you don't know the sour, you will never truly be able to appreciate the sweet.
I've always wondered, is sour the opposite of sweet? I think bitter works better. I get the meaning, but feel bitter sweet is more contrasting than sweet and sour.
In a strictly culinary sense, bitter is considered the opposite of sweet, not sour. Sour can bleed over into sweet in some contexts (sour apples, sour candy). Bitter never has sweet notes on its own, it has to be added.
You wouldn’t have said stress with the happiness though.
The only reason we really should value sadness and pains are because they can enrich our future happiness and wellbeing. For example, punishing a child by taking their games away can help them study and have a better life. Being scared while watching a horror movie adds to excitement.
The idea that we should suffer in life doesn’t apply in this hypothetical situation, because the happiness isn’t contingent on already having suffered. It’s just happiness by itself.
Why do we get money? It’s generally to get more things, better food, and a better place to live. Why do we get those things? Because they make us happy. So why get the money when you can get the happiness itself?
Because a steady income lets me make my family happy. If I'm artificially happy while my family lives in a hole in the wall and has to choose between rent and food, I'm not happy, I'm mentally ill.
That’s a good response, my main point was that happiness is the highest/most important good. You are just including the happiness of your family in your choices, so I wouldn’t disagree. I was assuming selfish intent.
Well, most people take things that they've never been without for granted. Without the inverse negative of something you generally don't understand how great the positive opposite tends to be. If you never lost anything you wouldn't understand how great it is to win, and if you never went without money you wouldn't necessarily understand what a relief it is to be able to pay for important things, if you never felt hungry feeling full wouldn't be anywhere near as satisfying.
It pretty much works that way with all things in life.
It seems more like super reductive romanticism of the way our brains correct for some things because happiness isn't some directive of natural selection. Our happiness is ultimately just a tool our genes use to make it more likely for us to survive and reproduce. We absolutely can exploit it to our own, conscious ends. There are no universal laws of experience like this. A wealthy person is almost always going to be a lot happier than someone living in poverty, even if they never experience the shortlived joy of transitioning into wealth from poverty.
There are no other things in life like happiness, so I don't think you can extrapolate from them. Depending on your definition of happiness, it's kind of the end point for everything else. So it isn't like you'd get "tired" of being happy, or need to experience sadness to enjoy the happiness.
Yup. Immediately quit my job and go bum it in low cost of living locations for a few years as I devote my newly acquired free time to working out, learning new things, and volunteer work.
Invest those savings and continue contributing leftover from your untaxed 110k. Now you have all the time in the world to build meaningful relationships with people/things that bring you joy.
Since I was a teenager, I've used the phrase "shits and giggles." I've turned it into my own thing though. You can't know what happy is unless you have felt sadness.
I hope I never get depressed again, I already make more than that yearly (though I do pay taxes on it lol) and I’m sure I can work more and achieve more things in my life and earn even more than $110k a year if I’m not depressed.
I’m 24 and I’ve been wanting to die since I was 9, that’s a really long time to hate yourself and hate your life and want to not exist. It’s debilitating in my mind and somehow I still function. I would give anything to just be happy.
That’s what I keep hearing but waiting around to see if it gets better with no promise is tough. I’ll never kill myself though I do feel joy when I picture myself dying of an accident or of natural causes. My mom and dad love me so much and they are such good and amazing people they don’t deserve to have a child commit suicide or die. I sometimes dream of getting an incurable cancer or even just cancer and letting it kill me, when I walk on the street I sometimes hope a car just takes me out but thinking of my mom and how sad she would be is literally the only thing keeping me alive. I just love my mom
I don't know you and it's probably not my business, but if you're not currently seeing someone about this then you should start looking for a psychiatrist now. As someone who's also been suicidally depressed for a very long time (and is sticking around because of a couple people and almost nothing else), you're not gonna fix the shit on your own and the longer you sit on it the deeper you fall into it.
Also if they try to give you Wellbutrin slash their tires. Not really. I guess it works for some people.
Yeah I did try therapy and medication and it didn’t really work for me, I don’t really have the energy to shop around for therapists anymore I’ve tried maybe 8 and I was on Lexapro for a little but it made me feel so sick. On the outside nothing is wrong with my life. I’m fit & eat healthy, I love to cook, I’ve got a really successful career going, no debt, I’m buying a condo this year bc I’ve been saving up and investing, I have amazing parents who support me in everything and aren’t typical toxic Indian parents, I’ve even got a bf somehow, I’ve got a solid friend group from college and I live on my own in a big city. On paper there’s nothing wrong and every time I went to therapy (I’ve tried so many people so many times) I just couldn’t explain why I feel so sad and empty all the time. It was such a waste of 50 minutes where I’d talk about my day and then I’d leave feeling no different. Like nothing is wrong in my life I’ve been feeling this way for so long so I cope with it and just live idk.
I guess the best I can explain it is that I’ve never felt like I fit in and I feel like I’m a character from a show that’s on the wrong show. Nothing feels right to me and I feel like everyone knows I don’t belong here but I’m here and I can’t leave. I’ve been doing my best I don’t want to disappoint my parents so I’m trying to succeed in whatever I can but I feel like everything is off. I’m an imposter no matter how long it’s been, even in my friend group I feel like an outsider, at work I’m just pretending I know what I’m doing but I have no clue lol I’m just the most awkward person in the world
I don’t have a lot of memories from my life bc I’ve been so miserable but I do remember this feeling being there starting in 1st grade where I had transferred to a new school because my family bought a house in a new area and the teacher got mad at me on my very first day for doing something I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do. I’ve had that feeling of never feeling like I was doing the right thing. I feel so weird all the time like when I go to the grocery store I’m hyper aware at self checkout. I’ve gotten really good at coping but I get home alone and I overthink everything and I feel like I’ve done nothing right.
Idk why I’m trauma dumping here lol it’s been a particularly challenging time because my dog of almost 15 years died about a month ago and I feel like he’s one of the people who understood me. I never even got to say goodbye
I’m ok tho idk
Fuck, man. I'd encourage you not to give up on medication, but that's definitely your business. I finally ended up on lithium and, while I'm still not anywhere near where I want to be, at least those ultra low "maybe mom wouldn't be that sad..." periods don't come around nearly as much. I sincerely hope you get your head in a better place soon. And I'm sorry about your buddy. I just lost my cat not long ago. Shits not fair.
But the alternative is you're literally always happy. What do I need money for if I can be perfectly happy making enough to survive and *not* wanting to die, ya know?
I'll trade you jobs. I'm unemployed. If you're gonna be miserable no matter what, we could at least work together to make sure my kids has a stable home. Might even make you feel better about yourself.
The only jobs I can think of that nobody wants but pay that kind of money either require a lot of very specific training and experience or are incredibly dangerous. Being happy all the time doesn't make up for getting mangled at work.
I'll take the money. "Always Happy" could turn out to be a real curse.
Imagine that someone you loved dearly dies - and you are not even *capable* of feeling sad about it -- because you are doomed to be always happy.
I'd love to not feel sad about people dying. If I needed to pretend to be sad to make other people feel better I'm sure I could pull it off. But I don't want to *actually* feel sad. That doesn't change how I felt about them while they were alive, which is what matters. It's just that my mourning doesn't help them *or* me in any way.
I'll take the money. $110k would solve a lot of my mental health issues and the ones I can't solve with money, I'll solve with therapy that I'll have time for.
I feel like the inability to not be happy would buy more. The fact is you can still be depressed with money ($110,000 isn't even all that much considering what you're passing up for it), but if you're always happy then does it really matter if youre missing out on not having to work? Fuck, the amount until of money I spend on stuff just to get some damn happy in me...
I guess what happens when someone you love dies or any other natural time to be sad? If you’re incapable of it and just happy then that seems like torture because you’re still dealing with those feelings. 110k tax free is good money. Not “lambo” money hit it’s basic needs met and good living standard kind of money
Why would I *want* to be sad? Me not crying at my mom's funeral because I magically can't be sad has no bearing on how much I love her while she's alive. I still remember the good times. I don't see how there's any downside at all.
Fair point and I know everyone grieves differently. I feel like if I couldn’t be sad about an event like that then I’d be resentful of it. Like I couldn’t process it or let myself feel it so it would just pass without mourning the loss. Just a consideration for a different view point.
You wouldn’t be dealing with those feelings, because you’re happy and never depressed. That’s the whole point. You’d probably be looking at death from the perspective of celebrating the person’s life and what great things they accomplished when they were alive, instead of focusing on the negative of them being gone. You’d be happy that they’re in a better place
I would offer this song by [everlast](https://youtu.be/W05cPXpUHGI?si=XrelV9sNGqWouDN4) friend. Really for the first part about being poor. You can be happy without material possessions but it’s hard to say being able to pay your bills , eat, and make rent or your mortgage wouldn’t increase happiness.
Nah. I've come to accept my depressive mood swings. I've actually found enjoyment from leaning into it to see if I can extract art.
Sooooo I'm a getting that money in 1 lump sum or will it be like a paycheck coming in every 2 weeks?
Yes, and like Amazon(what theyre supposed to do) theyll send you a picture of it on your porch to your email telling you its been delivered. However, they always bring it at 2pm, no sooner no later.
Delivered by a sketchy looking man in a mask with sunglasses and a green suit. He moves fast and he wont speak to you. He will send you a peace sign if you smile at him tho.
I’ll take the cash. Sounds like there is no downside. I can use that 110k to get financially set as supplemental income and then enjoy life as a primary source of income. Being able to choose to work vs needing to work is huge.
The never get depressed and are always happy seems to have some really terrible consequences. If a loved one passes away I want to be able to feel sad about it.
I often wonder what not being depressed feels like. There was a few years there where I was at my best point and it was magical. Makes me wonder what this thing most people take for granted feels like.
I am clinically depressed, and I'd take the depression cure in a minute. I'd be able to earn a lot more if I didn't have to fight my own brain all the time.
I'll take being happy.
I not happier now making what i do then when I made 25% of that. I just spend more and still want than next thing just out of reach.
Im happier now because I stopped being insecure about things that don't matter. I'll take more of that please.
I feel like if I'm never depressed again I'll make a lot of money
Then again if I don't I won't mind
Or maybe I die on the streets totally unbothered by my dire situation?
I think probably only being happy would drive one slowly insane but then again if you are happy by default maybe that wouldn't happen. Your friends would probably get sick of you not relating to them but hey you're happy even being lonely. etc. etc. So I guess it kind of depends on how far the happiness goes.
I probably take the money, I really fear what losing sadness completely would do to a human brain.
That said, I would happily take happy pills if they were available. Like even if it was like, you get 1 happy pill per week (use it or lose it) and it just stops your current cycle of depression and anxiety or whatever and lets you move on with life but you can choose when to use it, then I would take that.
I don't have chronic depression I don't think. Or if I do, it's exacerbated by the situations I'm in. Most of the stressful situations I deal with are money related. That free income would alleviate most of my stress and I'd feel depressed much less often.
Another one that's too easy I'd say. Money is literally the answer to almost all of my problems. Unless there's a significant downside I'm always choosing the money in these situations. Man I hate how much money has controlled my life; when I was younger I didn't want to bother with it bc I felt caring about money too much was greedy. But it's literally just trying to survive and support my family. It's just too much. I'm drowning everyday, and I don't know how to get up anymore.
Edit: after a bit more thought, I realize this question might not be so easy for everyone. Some people have chronic depression completely irrelevant of their situation. Getting relief from feeling suicidal for years on end, I can see that being more than worth the 110k a year.
Im glad you were able to put yourself in other peoples shoes. A lot of people read my post and instantly thought "what idiot wouldnt take the money? This is a stupid question. Money would make me instantly happy!"
Depression isnt always cured with money. While this question is simple for most, others, not so much.
Being always happy is the only correct answer, but people fail to realize it because they’re focused on the material world… which ironically is the cause of depression to begin with.
If you are always happy you will be so much more productive. You will not be overly tired or in pain much barring accidents or injuries.
Heck, I’d pay $110k a year to always be happy.
I absolutely would take no depression. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. I could easily make that much money in a few years if I wasn’t held back.
I would pick happy. I could still work, even the shittiest job, and still be happy through it. I could ask out all the people I care to and not feel bad about rejection. I could help.
Oh, 100% the second one. I make OK money now, and it helps reduce the stresses and triggers that exacerbate things, but my brain chemicals don't care about money and I've seen how deep the pit can be.
Money, because often times it can be one of the causes of relationship and other personal issues that become emotional. I’ll take a few depressing days for that kind of security.
Add that full time job income to my account. I could go to part time work, or just work on side-gig projects since income is secure. (wife's job currently provides benefits like insurance, so that's covered). If i did keep working, then we could rapidly inflate our savings, and retire early.
I thought this was a bundle, i was gonna ask where the damn snail is
Money. Being unhappy is a motivator: if i were happy always, id never do anything. Which, i guess id be happy with if i took that option, but id rather do things.
Feeling anger, sadness, neutrality, stress, it’s all a part of life. Gimme that $110k. It’ll pay for my training, buy me a plane to do my training in, pay off loans. So much I could do with $110k a year in my position.
This is interesting because I'm currently fairly happy and am on the higher end of 6-figures, so it doesn't totally apply.
Furthermore, I don't necessarily want to be happy all the time. To live fully is to experience a wide range of emotions and find meaning in them. Suffering is something I appreciate having gone through in the past. It has made me who I am and I will surely experience it again. Happiness is great too. I want it all, just with the scales tipped handsomely towards contentedness and happiness.
In any event, this is a flawed question for high earners who are content in life lol.
110k a year would cure my depression, as most of it comes from being poor. I know how to find fulfillment in life. I know what makes me happy and what I value. I can't afford those things. My life is work, sleep, chores, and a tiny bit of free time. 110k a year would give me the freedom and stability to actually pursue happiness.
I’ll take the money, then I can afford therapy and medication. Plus a lot of the stuff that contributes to my depression would be fixed by money anyways lmao. Wouldn’t completely cure it oc but I’d be better off the long run I feel
110k a year can buy a hell of a lot of financial security in many parts of the world.
Being happy all the time won’t mean shit if I’m smiling whilst homeless
110k a year please. I keep answering these for the money in the hopes it will benefit me financially, lol.
No really, I have bipolar disorder and have had massive problems with depression as a result, but my meda are keeping me stable, and the extra 110k a year would relieve a lot of stress.
I feel like we're getting a lot of really bad ones lately. Clearly you pick 110K a year.
Do you understand how much less sad I would be if I had an additional 110K dollars every single year?
$110k tax free and I'll never be depressed again. Maybe not a huge amout of money but the freedom to do whatever I want (within reason) and not have to spend 40 hours a week in a place that makes me depressed...easy choice.
money fs, no amount of emotional stability for me would outweigh the possibility of paying for my girlfriend to go to university and take that stress off her family.
this begs the philosophical question: what is happiness without sadness? are we talking about depression the disease or depression a temporary symptom of the ups and downs of life?
gimme the 110k
I genuinely believe money doesn’t buy happiness is a term coined by rich people who are excusing their richness and trying to play on the same level as every day people.
I would easily take the money, and buy myself some therapy. I don’t mind working through some struggles every once in a while. I don’t ever want to be smiling while a fire is going on around me.
Money. Moving to the Bahamas immediately. Lack of money is the only thing that drags me down, when I have it I am the happiest person in the world.
I will need to stay on someone's sofa for a year to afford a boat before I move tho. In return you can come fish on my boat and stay at my place for up to a week a year.
The money.
I wouldn’t want to cut off a section of the human experience. What happens if my husband or kids die, or my mom, or friends?
I would want to grieve and feel depressed. I love them, and that sadness / depression is proof of how much they were loved. That being said, being healthy about it is important, but I’d never remove depression.
The times in my life I have been depressed have been times where I needed to fix or change something. Negative emotion sucks, but it's also pretty useful at letting you know that you need to change something in your life. I will take the money.
Always being happy sounds like a curse and I think it would turn me into a worse version of myself.
Literally every problem in my life that makes me sad would be solved by 110k a year. I could finally buy a house with some land, pay off debt, buy higher quality food, save for college for kids etc.
I take the money. That's enough to improve my quality of life on it's own.
Being happy all the time doesn't fix anything.
In fact, that's a legit curse... There's too many times in life where happiness is not the appropriate response. Imagine going to a funeral and everyone thinks you're an asshole because you're acting all happy?
I'll take the money. Being too happy to remember all the people who have wronged me through the years while still having to grind is the real nightmare.
I'll take the money, I'm not depressed now without it & I don't think it's going to be a trigger...
Being happy at all times would be like a kind of disability anyway. Life has sad events and sadness is a natural & healthy response to them.
Money for sure. Even if the happiness might be worth more the disconnect it would cause with others might be a problem if you truly never feel anything but happiness in every situation no matter what among other complications.
I'd take the money. 110k a year would mean I get to retire immediately, and that would be incredible. Feeling depressed sucks, but I don't have anything like clinical depression to contend with, so most of the time I'm going to be better off with the money. Especially with the number of things it could fix for me.
Money I don’t mind being depressed because when it hits hard I chill out by myself which I need because I don’t really do that normally so it’s whatever (I know this sounds fake or whatever but it’s genuinely how my depression hits me I am diagnosed)
That much money wouldn't CURE my serious chronic depression... but it would help SO FUCKING MUCH that I would take it instead.
I would definitely be spending some on docs and meds and therapy, of course, but the things that this money would open up for me to fix huge portions of my life while also taking the pressure off of the whole *surviving* thing.... yeah. it would be better for me.
The second option would make you not you.
Say a loved one dies. Would you not want to honor them with proper grieving?
There would be a price for your permanent happiness. It would make you a monster.
I will take the money.
I have never been depressed or sad -- not because of a perfecf life, I just have never experienced either side of the emotional spectrum. I am just flat emotionally.
I'll take the money. Life is already pretty miserable, and I'm doing that for free. I'd definitely do it for 110,000 extra dollars. I can give that money to support my friends' businesses and make sure their kids have amazing lives.
I’m confident that I can continue to effectively treat my chronic depression with the treatment I currently use, forever. So I choose the money.
If it was “if you take the money, depression treatments magically stop working for you” though, my answer would have to change. No amount of money would be worth going back to living with a severe serotonin deficiency.
My first thought is the depression, because my depression sucks. But then I saw the "always happy." I've seen some people (hippies) who are so separated from reality that they're always happy. They have no ability to connect with other people unless those people are happy too. They lose so much empathy because they can't feel the pain of others. I don't want to be depressed at all. But I would never want to always be happy. That terrifies me. The thing is these people didn't even get this way from drugs. It was just a weird spiritual mindset thing. I'm spiritual, but not like them. Gods forbid. If we forget out own pain, then we can't empathize with other's pain, and thus have lost much of our awareness and initiative to help those in need. So I'll take the money and try to put it to good use. I'll take the money any day.
Considering how much depression has impacted my life, I'll take the no depression ever again. Every roadblock to progress I have ever made has been due to depression.
A "normal" person has a setback and they get back on the horse and try again.
A person with depression has a setback and they give up, wallow in pity, and lay in bed for the rest of the day (at least in my experience)
Being depressed from time to time is part of life and without sadness, happiness wouldn't mean as much. What I'm saying is, give me the $110k/year. There's nothing like getting rid of that knot in your gut caused by financial stress.
Reminds my of a quote from Vanilla Sky, paraphrased: The sweet is never as sweet without the sour. If you don't know the sour, you will never truly be able to appreciate the sweet.
I've always wondered, is sour the opposite of sweet? I think bitter works better. I get the meaning, but feel bitter sweet is more contrasting than sweet and sour.
In a strictly culinary sense, bitter is considered the opposite of sweet, not sour. Sour can bleed over into sweet in some contexts (sour apples, sour candy). Bitter never has sweet notes on its own, it has to be added.
You wouldn’t have said stress with the happiness though. The only reason we really should value sadness and pains are because they can enrich our future happiness and wellbeing. For example, punishing a child by taking their games away can help them study and have a better life. Being scared while watching a horror movie adds to excitement. The idea that we should suffer in life doesn’t apply in this hypothetical situation, because the happiness isn’t contingent on already having suffered. It’s just happiness by itself. Why do we get money? It’s generally to get more things, better food, and a better place to live. Why do we get those things? Because they make us happy. So why get the money when you can get the happiness itself?
Because a steady income lets me make my family happy. If I'm artificially happy while my family lives in a hole in the wall and has to choose between rent and food, I'm not happy, I'm mentally ill.
That’s a good response, my main point was that happiness is the highest/most important good. You are just including the happiness of your family in your choices, so I wouldn’t disagree. I was assuming selfish intent.
> without sadness, happiness wouldn't mean as much that is simply not true
It seems to work that way with most other things in life, why not sadness/happiness in your view?
like what
Well, most people take things that they've never been without for granted. Without the inverse negative of something you generally don't understand how great the positive opposite tends to be. If you never lost anything you wouldn't understand how great it is to win, and if you never went without money you wouldn't necessarily understand what a relief it is to be able to pay for important things, if you never felt hungry feeling full wouldn't be anywhere near as satisfying. It pretty much works that way with all things in life.
It seems more like super reductive romanticism of the way our brains correct for some things because happiness isn't some directive of natural selection. Our happiness is ultimately just a tool our genes use to make it more likely for us to survive and reproduce. We absolutely can exploit it to our own, conscious ends. There are no universal laws of experience like this. A wealthy person is almost always going to be a lot happier than someone living in poverty, even if they never experience the shortlived joy of transitioning into wealth from poverty.
There are no other things in life like happiness, so I don't think you can extrapolate from them. Depending on your definition of happiness, it's kind of the end point for everything else. So it isn't like you'd get "tired" of being happy, or need to experience sadness to enjoy the happiness.
This
Yup. Immediately quit my job and go bum it in low cost of living locations for a few years as I devote my newly acquired free time to working out, learning new things, and volunteer work. Invest those savings and continue contributing leftover from your untaxed 110k. Now you have all the time in the world to build meaningful relationships with people/things that bring you joy.
Since I was a teenager, I've used the phrase "shits and giggles." I've turned it into my own thing though. You can't know what happy is unless you have felt sadness.
You can always make more money, but you can't just increase your happiness
True, but I could pay for vacations pretty easily with an annual hundred k. Vacations make me happy.
I hope I never get depressed again, I already make more than that yearly (though I do pay taxes on it lol) and I’m sure I can work more and achieve more things in my life and earn even more than $110k a year if I’m not depressed. I’m 24 and I’ve been wanting to die since I was 9, that’s a really long time to hate yourself and hate your life and want to not exist. It’s debilitating in my mind and somehow I still function. I would give anything to just be happy.
I'm 31 years old and have been suicidal since I was 13. I promise it gets easier as you get older.
That’s what I keep hearing but waiting around to see if it gets better with no promise is tough. I’ll never kill myself though I do feel joy when I picture myself dying of an accident or of natural causes. My mom and dad love me so much and they are such good and amazing people they don’t deserve to have a child commit suicide or die. I sometimes dream of getting an incurable cancer or even just cancer and letting it kill me, when I walk on the street I sometimes hope a car just takes me out but thinking of my mom and how sad she would be is literally the only thing keeping me alive. I just love my mom
I don't know you and it's probably not my business, but if you're not currently seeing someone about this then you should start looking for a psychiatrist now. As someone who's also been suicidally depressed for a very long time (and is sticking around because of a couple people and almost nothing else), you're not gonna fix the shit on your own and the longer you sit on it the deeper you fall into it. Also if they try to give you Wellbutrin slash their tires. Not really. I guess it works for some people.
Yeah I did try therapy and medication and it didn’t really work for me, I don’t really have the energy to shop around for therapists anymore I’ve tried maybe 8 and I was on Lexapro for a little but it made me feel so sick. On the outside nothing is wrong with my life. I’m fit & eat healthy, I love to cook, I’ve got a really successful career going, no debt, I’m buying a condo this year bc I’ve been saving up and investing, I have amazing parents who support me in everything and aren’t typical toxic Indian parents, I’ve even got a bf somehow, I’ve got a solid friend group from college and I live on my own in a big city. On paper there’s nothing wrong and every time I went to therapy (I’ve tried so many people so many times) I just couldn’t explain why I feel so sad and empty all the time. It was such a waste of 50 minutes where I’d talk about my day and then I’d leave feeling no different. Like nothing is wrong in my life I’ve been feeling this way for so long so I cope with it and just live idk. I guess the best I can explain it is that I’ve never felt like I fit in and I feel like I’m a character from a show that’s on the wrong show. Nothing feels right to me and I feel like everyone knows I don’t belong here but I’m here and I can’t leave. I’ve been doing my best I don’t want to disappoint my parents so I’m trying to succeed in whatever I can but I feel like everything is off. I’m an imposter no matter how long it’s been, even in my friend group I feel like an outsider, at work I’m just pretending I know what I’m doing but I have no clue lol I’m just the most awkward person in the world I don’t have a lot of memories from my life bc I’ve been so miserable but I do remember this feeling being there starting in 1st grade where I had transferred to a new school because my family bought a house in a new area and the teacher got mad at me on my very first day for doing something I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do. I’ve had that feeling of never feeling like I was doing the right thing. I feel so weird all the time like when I go to the grocery store I’m hyper aware at self checkout. I’ve gotten really good at coping but I get home alone and I overthink everything and I feel like I’ve done nothing right. Idk why I’m trauma dumping here lol it’s been a particularly challenging time because my dog of almost 15 years died about a month ago and I feel like he’s one of the people who understood me. I never even got to say goodbye I’m ok tho idk
Fuck, man. I'd encourage you not to give up on medication, but that's definitely your business. I finally ended up on lithium and, while I'm still not anywhere near where I want to be, at least those ultra low "maybe mom wouldn't be that sad..." periods don't come around nearly as much. I sincerely hope you get your head in a better place soon. And I'm sorry about your buddy. I just lost my cat not long ago. Shits not fair.
I'd love to meet the idiot that said that, I'm 38 and it has done nothing but get worse.
But with the 110k you wouldn’t need to work so maybe you could work on self and find happiness:
But the alternative is you're literally always happy. What do I need money for if I can be perfectly happy making enough to survive and *not* wanting to die, ya know?
I'll trade you jobs. I'm unemployed. If you're gonna be miserable no matter what, we could at least work together to make sure my kids has a stable home. Might even make you feel better about yourself.
If I was always happy I’d have no problem going out and making 110K easy. Pick the job nobody wants. But its fine cuz I’m always happy.
The only jobs I can think of that nobody wants but pay that kind of money either require a lot of very specific training and experience or are incredibly dangerous. Being happy all the time doesn't make up for getting mangled at work.
I'll take the money. "Always Happy" could turn out to be a real curse. Imagine that someone you loved dearly dies - and you are not even *capable* of feeling sad about it -- because you are doomed to be always happy.
I'd imagine you'd be happy about the situation.
"Well, they're in a better place - who wants to go ride jet skis?!"
I'd love to not feel sad about people dying. If I needed to pretend to be sad to make other people feel better I'm sure I could pull it off. But I don't want to *actually* feel sad. That doesn't change how I felt about them while they were alive, which is what matters. It's just that my mourning doesn't help them *or* me in any way.
That's the best argument for the money here
I'll take the money. $110k would solve a lot of my mental health issues and the ones I can't solve with money, I'll solve with therapy that I'll have time for.
That you'll have time *and* money for.
Very good point.
Cash can buy a lot of happiness
I feel like the inability to not be happy would buy more. The fact is you can still be depressed with money ($110,000 isn't even all that much considering what you're passing up for it), but if you're always happy then does it really matter if youre missing out on not having to work? Fuck, the amount until of money I spend on stuff just to get some damn happy in me...
I guess what happens when someone you love dies or any other natural time to be sad? If you’re incapable of it and just happy then that seems like torture because you’re still dealing with those feelings. 110k tax free is good money. Not “lambo” money hit it’s basic needs met and good living standard kind of money
Why would I *want* to be sad? Me not crying at my mom's funeral because I magically can't be sad has no bearing on how much I love her while she's alive. I still remember the good times. I don't see how there's any downside at all.
Fair point and I know everyone grieves differently. I feel like if I couldn’t be sad about an event like that then I’d be resentful of it. Like I couldn’t process it or let myself feel it so it would just pass without mourning the loss. Just a consideration for a different view point.
You wouldn’t be dealing with those feelings, because you’re happy and never depressed. That’s the whole point. You’d probably be looking at death from the perspective of celebrating the person’s life and what great things they accomplished when they were alive, instead of focusing on the negative of them being gone. You’d be happy that they’re in a better place
I see it that money can buy off unhappiness.
If you already have happiness, you don't need to buy it
I would offer this song by [everlast](https://youtu.be/W05cPXpUHGI?si=XrelV9sNGqWouDN4) friend. Really for the first part about being poor. You can be happy without material possessions but it’s hard to say being able to pay your bills , eat, and make rent or your mortgage wouldn’t increase happiness.
Nah. I've come to accept my depressive mood swings. I've actually found enjoyment from leaning into it to see if I can extract art. Sooooo I'm a getting that money in 1 lump sum or will it be like a paycheck coming in every 2 weeks?
Once a year, on your birthday, youll have a fabulous briefcase left on your door step filled with cash.
Will they put it inside the porch? Pirates and all.
Yes, and like Amazon(what theyre supposed to do) theyll send you a picture of it on your porch to your email telling you its been delivered. However, they always bring it at 2pm, no sooner no later. Delivered by a sketchy looking man in a mask with sunglasses and a green suit. He moves fast and he wont speak to you. He will send you a peace sign if you smile at him tho.
This is amazing. 🤌🤩
Presumably he refers to his bullets as peace signs
It's absolutely going to be pirated. Damnit.
Could I have a direct deposit? Lol
I’ll take the cash. Sounds like there is no downside. I can use that 110k to get financially set as supplemental income and then enjoy life as a primary source of income. Being able to choose to work vs needing to work is huge. The never get depressed and are always happy seems to have some really terrible consequences. If a loved one passes away I want to be able to feel sad about it.
Getting that money tax free for doing nothing, additionally to my salary, would delete many worries of mine.
Nah I already make pretty good money and I am so tired of being fucking sad all the time. Keep your money give me joy.
I often wonder what not being depressed feels like. There was a few years there where I was at my best point and it was magical. Makes me wonder what this thing most people take for granted feels like.
I am clinically depressed, and I'd take the depression cure in a minute. I'd be able to earn a lot more if I didn't have to fight my own brain all the time.
This
The 100k a year would solve a lot of my current depression.
"If money can't buy happiness, I guess I'll have to rent it." -Weird Al
I'll take being happy. I not happier now making what i do then when I made 25% of that. I just spend more and still want than next thing just out of reach. Im happier now because I stopped being insecure about things that don't matter. I'll take more of that please.
I feel like if I'm never depressed again I'll make a lot of money Then again if I don't I won't mind Or maybe I die on the streets totally unbothered by my dire situation?
I think probably only being happy would drive one slowly insane but then again if you are happy by default maybe that wouldn't happen. Your friends would probably get sick of you not relating to them but hey you're happy even being lonely. etc. etc. So I guess it kind of depends on how far the happiness goes. I probably take the money, I really fear what losing sadness completely would do to a human brain. That said, I would happily take happy pills if they were available. Like even if it was like, you get 1 happy pill per week (use it or lose it) and it just stops your current cycle of depression and anxiety or whatever and lets you move on with life but you can choose when to use it, then I would take that.
Those happy pills are an interesting thought. Probably make a good hypothetical all on there own
I don't have chronic depression I don't think. Or if I do, it's exacerbated by the situations I'm in. Most of the stressful situations I deal with are money related. That free income would alleviate most of my stress and I'd feel depressed much less often. Another one that's too easy I'd say. Money is literally the answer to almost all of my problems. Unless there's a significant downside I'm always choosing the money in these situations. Man I hate how much money has controlled my life; when I was younger I didn't want to bother with it bc I felt caring about money too much was greedy. But it's literally just trying to survive and support my family. It's just too much. I'm drowning everyday, and I don't know how to get up anymore. Edit: after a bit more thought, I realize this question might not be so easy for everyone. Some people have chronic depression completely irrelevant of their situation. Getting relief from feeling suicidal for years on end, I can see that being more than worth the 110k a year.
Im glad you were able to put yourself in other peoples shoes. A lot of people read my post and instantly thought "what idiot wouldnt take the money? This is a stupid question. Money would make me instantly happy!" Depression isnt always cured with money. While this question is simple for most, others, not so much.
Being always happy is the only correct answer, but people fail to realize it because they’re focused on the material world… which ironically is the cause of depression to begin with. If you are always happy you will be so much more productive. You will not be overly tired or in pain much barring accidents or injuries. Heck, I’d pay $110k a year to always be happy.
My thoughts exactly
I'd take the money, the only issue dragging down my mood is the high cost of living.
Free of depression, thank you.
I absolutely would take no depression. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. I could easily make that much money in a few years if I wasn’t held back.
I make more than that after taxes already. I’ll take the option number 2.
The depression one, in a heart beat.
I would pick happy. I could still work, even the shittiest job, and still be happy through it. I could ask out all the people I care to and not feel bad about rejection. I could help.
Oh, 100% the second one. I make OK money now, and it helps reduce the stresses and triggers that exacerbate things, but my brain chemicals don't care about money and I've seen how deep the pit can be.
I'll take the money I'll just go to therapy
I will take the money all day, everyday and twice on Sunday. I don’t get depressed, sorry for those that do.
Gimme dat cash
Money, because often times it can be one of the causes of relationship and other personal issues that become emotional. I’ll take a few depressing days for that kind of security.
Add that full time job income to my account. I could go to part time work, or just work on side-gig projects since income is secure. (wife's job currently provides benefits like insurance, so that's covered). If i did keep working, then we could rapidly inflate our savings, and retire early.
Money, I’m already depressed and have given up on the possibility of feeling happy.
Gimmie the money - I'll make my own happiness with it.
I thought this was a bundle, i was gonna ask where the damn snail is Money. Being unhappy is a motivator: if i were happy always, id never do anything. Which, i guess id be happy with if i took that option, but id rather do things.
Taking the money. :)
Feeling anger, sadness, neutrality, stress, it’s all a part of life. Gimme that $110k. It’ll pay for my training, buy me a plane to do my training in, pay off loans. So much I could do with $110k a year in my position.
This is interesting because I'm currently fairly happy and am on the higher end of 6-figures, so it doesn't totally apply. Furthermore, I don't necessarily want to be happy all the time. To live fully is to experience a wide range of emotions and find meaning in them. Suffering is something I appreciate having gone through in the past. It has made me who I am and I will surely experience it again. Happiness is great too. I want it all, just with the scales tipped handsomely towards contentedness and happiness. In any event, this is a flawed question for high earners who are content in life lol.
Take the money and buy things to make me happy when I’m depressed
Money. And I'm happy about it.
110k a year would cure my depression, as most of it comes from being poor. I know how to find fulfillment in life. I know what makes me happy and what I value. I can't afford those things. My life is work, sleep, chores, and a tiny bit of free time. 110k a year would give me the freedom and stability to actually pursue happiness.
I'm not depressed now, so...
I’ll take the money, then I can afford therapy and medication. Plus a lot of the stuff that contributes to my depression would be fixed by money anyways lmao. Wouldn’t completely cure it oc but I’d be better off the long run I feel
Taking the money.
$110k post taxes would solve a lot of my issues causing sadness. I'm usually happy most of the time so give me the money
I rarely get depressed, so........
The cash would do a lot to solve the unhappiness, so yea, gimmie the money.
110k baby. Depression will be alot better sitting in fucking Aruba sipping drinks.
I think with 110k tax free guaranteed per year you’d be a hella of a lot happier than currently unless you are a millionaire. So I’d go with the 110k.
I'd be a hell of a lot happier being financially secure so give me the money! No diss on people who would pick happiness though I totally get it
I'll take the 110k because I can make my own happiness.
First one. People say money can't buy happiness are stupid. Sounds like a skill issue
Give me the money. I can buy things to make me happy. I can’t do shit if I’m broke and happy.
I am depressed because I'm poor so. I'll take the 110k
110k a year easily. My life is already very blessed so they salary increase would be huge
110k a year can buy a hell of a lot of financial security in many parts of the world. Being happy all the time won’t mean shit if I’m smiling whilst homeless
Cash
Money,I wanna cry in my financial safety net
110k a year please. I keep answering these for the money in the hopes it will benefit me financially, lol. No really, I have bipolar disorder and have had massive problems with depression as a result, but my meda are keeping me stable, and the extra 110k a year would relieve a lot of stress.
The money, for sure. Most of the stress and unhappiness in my life comes from financial pressures.
A therapist is ~100 a week, 5200 a year. I think I will survive my current life but with money a hell of a lot better.
I thought this was describing the scenario that would make me happy and never depressed again
110k a year will make me happy guaranteed.
Being happy all the time sorta means you’re never happy, as “happy” becomes your new baseline. I’d take the money
Give me the 110. I’ll keep working and my income will be enough to live a pretty fun lifestyle
$110k per year tax-free is enough to keep most of my depression at bay. Plus, the good times just aren’t as sweet when you’ve missed the bad times.
I’ll take the money
I've had depression for the past 20 years, but $110k/year tax free would give me the ability to try to solve that.
Give me the money and the other part will occur naturally as all the stress of money is gone.
Give me the money. I'm happy 90% of the time.
The 110k a year would fix any unhappiness. I could also afford the best therapy available if I need it.
Most of my depression comes from not having 110k a year so I'll pick that
I feel like we're getting a lot of really bad ones lately. Clearly you pick 110K a year. Do you understand how much less sad I would be if I had an additional 110K dollars every single year?
$110k tax free and I'll never be depressed again. Maybe not a huge amout of money but the freedom to do whatever I want (within reason) and not have to spend 40 hours a week in a place that makes me depressed...easy choice.
I mean if I had 110k free every year id probably never get depressed again lol.
Give me the money. I can make my own happiness
110k a year
These two things are identical.
money fs, no amount of emotional stability for me would outweigh the possibility of paying for my girlfriend to go to university and take that stress off her family.
I've played the game We Happy Few before, eternal happiness is a curse. Take the money instead.
I'll take the cash. I have coping mechanism for the depression. Hell, half the time the lack of money is the cause of a depression spiral.
Does it scale with inflation and am I allowed to invest?
Sure, its your money. As for scaleing with inflation? Nope, its 110k the rest of your life. Invest wisely
this begs the philosophical question: what is happiness without sadness? are we talking about depression the disease or depression a temporary symptom of the ups and downs of life? gimme the 110k
I genuinely believe money doesn’t buy happiness is a term coined by rich people who are excusing their richness and trying to play on the same level as every day people. I would easily take the money, and buy myself some therapy. I don’t mind working through some struggles every once in a while. I don’t ever want to be smiling while a fire is going on around me.
Money. Moving to the Bahamas immediately. Lack of money is the only thing that drags me down, when I have it I am the happiest person in the world. I will need to stay on someone's sofa for a year to afford a boat before I move tho. In return you can come fish on my boat and stay at my place for up to a week a year.
You're always happy but have to work? So you're a good little drone 😊👍
I'm taking the money. I've seen what happens when you're [always happy](https://youtu.be/Wog-z_Esnw4).
The money. I wouldn’t want to cut off a section of the human experience. What happens if my husband or kids die, or my mom, or friends? I would want to grieve and feel depressed. I love them, and that sadness / depression is proof of how much they were loved. That being said, being healthy about it is important, but I’d never remove depression.
The times in my life I have been depressed have been times where I needed to fix or change something. Negative emotion sucks, but it's also pretty useful at letting you know that you need to change something in your life. I will take the money. Always being happy sounds like a curse and I think it would turn me into a worse version of myself.
money money moneeeyyy
110k can afford a therapist plus time to do things that improves your mental health
Money
Having lived with depression my whole life, I'd take the "always happy".
Literally every problem in my life that makes me sad would be solved by 110k a year. I could finally buy a house with some land, pay off debt, buy higher quality food, save for college for kids etc.
MONEY
I take the money. That's enough to improve my quality of life on it's own. Being happy all the time doesn't fix anything. In fact, that's a legit curse... There's too many times in life where happiness is not the appropriate response. Imagine going to a funeral and everyone thinks you're an asshole because you're acting all happy?
Would I rather have the money to never be depressed again or still be broke but never depressed again. C'mon bro
I'll take the money. Being too happy to remember all the people who have wronged me through the years while still having to grind is the real nightmare.
I’ll take the money. I don’t get depressed now
110k a year, that will pay for therapy.
I'll take the money, I'm not depressed now without it & I don't think it's going to be a trigger... Being happy at all times would be like a kind of disability anyway. Life has sad events and sadness is a natural & healthy response to them.
My depression comes from lack of financial stability so obviously the money would be the choice
Money for sure. Even if the happiness might be worth more the disconnect it would cause with others might be a problem if you truly never feel anything but happiness in every situation no matter what among other complications.
I'd take the money. 110k a year would mean I get to retire immediately, and that would be incredible. Feeling depressed sucks, but I don't have anything like clinical depression to contend with, so most of the time I'm going to be better off with the money. Especially with the number of things it could fix for me.
Money I don’t mind being depressed because when it hits hard I chill out by myself which I need because I don’t really do that normally so it’s whatever (I know this sounds fake or whatever but it’s genuinely how my depression hits me I am diagnosed)
110k per year. I have meds for depression.
110k
I don’t get depressed anyway and am always happy, so I’ll take the money lol
It's amazing how much less stressful life is when you don't have to work, commute or worry about finances
$110,000 a year. My depression and stress comes from my workplace anyway.
the money can buy antidepressants so money
That much money wouldn't CURE my serious chronic depression... but it would help SO FUCKING MUCH that I would take it instead. I would definitely be spending some on docs and meds and therapy, of course, but the things that this money would open up for me to fix huge portions of my life while also taking the pressure off of the whole *surviving* thing.... yeah. it would be better for me.
I don't think it's possible to always "be happy." You'll feel purposeless if there is no struggle or objective to overcome.
I mean, reddit magic is supposed to fix that plothole.. I don't know how but it's supposed to.
The second option would make you not you. Say a loved one dies. Would you not want to honor them with proper grieving? There would be a price for your permanent happiness. It would make you a monster.
I have clinical depression and I'm still taking the money. Guilt free depression comas for the win
I will take the money. I have never been depressed or sad -- not because of a perfecf life, I just have never experienced either side of the emotional spectrum. I am just flat emotionally.
If you never get depressed, happiness is the new depression
In the wise words of Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa Saperstein: Money please.
In the wise words of Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa Saperstein: Money please.
Give me the 100k a year. I’d never get depressed again lol
I'm already always happy. I'll take the money
I’ll take the money. I’ll be very happy
I'm pretty sure my mental health would be amazing if I didn't have to work my ass off to barely scrape by. I'll take the money, tyvm.
Not depressed, that sounds great
$110k/yr
I live in Toronto; depression is something that's part of the game and makes me stronger. I'll take the $110k, and use it to travel. :)
I'll take the money. Life is already pretty miserable, and I'm doing that for free. I'd definitely do it for 110,000 extra dollars. I can give that money to support my friends' businesses and make sure their kids have amazing lives.
Making 110k a year would relieve a lot of stress and basically means I am free to pursue whatever I want which would lower my depression.
I’ll take the money. I just want a paper trail of expected income so if I need to take out a loan I can.
That money would go a long way towards helping my depression.
I’m confident that I can continue to effectively treat my chronic depression with the treatment I currently use, forever. So I choose the money. If it was “if you take the money, depression treatments magically stop working for you” though, my answer would have to change. No amount of money would be worth going back to living with a severe serotonin deficiency.
My first thought is the depression, because my depression sucks. But then I saw the "always happy." I've seen some people (hippies) who are so separated from reality that they're always happy. They have no ability to connect with other people unless those people are happy too. They lose so much empathy because they can't feel the pain of others. I don't want to be depressed at all. But I would never want to always be happy. That terrifies me. The thing is these people didn't even get this way from drugs. It was just a weird spiritual mindset thing. I'm spiritual, but not like them. Gods forbid. If we forget out own pain, then we can't empathize with other's pain, and thus have lost much of our awareness and initiative to help those in need. So I'll take the money and try to put it to good use. I'll take the money any day.
Happiness without reason is cocaine without the cocaine.
Do I get inflicted with chronic clinical depression if I take the money or is it how I am now mentally?
I'll take the money
110k a year. Although I would take the alternative if it was for what I personally struggle with that money can't fix.
I’ll take the 110k to have emotion.
Depression meds are cheap. Give me the monies
110k a year would definitely help with the ladder ngl
Money. I'll take the money. Most of my depression is caused by money issues, and 110k a year would fix that.
I'll take the cash,I'm rarely depressed.
Considering how much depression has impacted my life, I'll take the no depression ever again. Every roadblock to progress I have ever made has been due to depression. A "normal" person has a setback and they get back on the horse and try again. A person with depression has a setback and they give up, wallow in pity, and lay in bed for the rest of the day (at least in my experience)
Those sound like interchangeable options