#3: Lists and Luddites
Happiness is a chemical reaction. That much is clear. It's harder to pin down what causes the chemical reaction in the first place. Everybody has a different list. Personally, I'm happiest when my homework is done and my medications are working. At the same time, I hesitate to call antidepressants a source of happiness. Generally they do nothing but make actual sources more effective. Key word: generally. Sometimes antidepressants work so well that they are the cause, and sometimes they don't work at all. I'm also unsure of whether to call "lack of stress" a source of happiness. It's certainly satisfying to have nothing to do. I just think that saying "lack of stress" is like saying "lack of depression" or "lack of a gaping wound in one's chest." Of course it's nice to not be stressed or depressed or bleeding to death, but does it make us happy? Maybe it does. Maybe our default state is happiness, but there is so
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