Happiness seems to be a term that each of us gives a different meaning or a different significance. Some of the commentators believe they're happy even though they suffer from anxiety or fear. Some believe happiness is just the experience of feeling pleasure. Some think happiness is not realistic because we'll always have ups and downs in our lives.

Many listed self-confidence, self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-worth, self-fulfillment, self-knowledge, self-friendship as goals in therapy. And some of you stated that when you achieve those, you expect or you've experienced a feeling of happiness as a consequence.

A contrast was made between happiness and joy - that happiness is shortlived but that joy could be permanent. That joy might be the living in the moment.

Some listed specific concrete goals such as managing symptoms or working towards career goals or finding health in all aspects of life (physical, mental, emotional).

I'm wondering though if we all don't have the same goal - we want to feel better. We could call that feeling 'happiness' or 'joy' or 'contentment' or 'peace', but wouldn't that be a common mission for all of us?

Sure, we will face tough stuff our whole lives. Is the key to 'happiness' that we're able to be knocked down occasionally but that we have gained the tools to bring ourselves upright again?

Can a stable sense of well-being, whether we call it 'happiness', 'joy', 'contentment' or any other word be our authentic goal?

I don't know. I'm groping here so if any of you want to help me out, I'd appreciate it. It's that I thought I had gained a certain amount of 'understanding' and had acquired a certain amount of 'tools', but still I seem to flounder occasionally and find myself once again plummeting into the darkness. I think my T will be disappointed that although it seems like I had succeeded overcoming certain emotional obstacles, now I'm facing them again.