I have never known romantic love either but that definitely isnt what makes us human. For me, caring about others & being there when they need support & having them be there for me has been more fulfilling than all the 54 years I lived before moving here. My family was difficult to connect to because they didn't know how to connect & I married a guy who had no idea how to connect either. I thought that was NORMAL because of what I grew up around.

Honestly the first time I realized what love felt like was when I was sitting on my bed snuggling with one of my eskie dogs that has always had a heart connection with me. It was like a lightbulb moment & that same caring love I have felt for many of the wonderful caring people in my community who are now a part of my life.

I have never felt intense happiness but that doesn't mean I haven't experienced happiness at some level. My whole life after leaving my dark past has a feeling of happiness totally surrounding it. It doesn't have to be a dramatic experience for it to be real.

Maybe you are putting too high of an expectation on what the emotion of happiness feels like?

For me, doing things for others who get joy from it brings me happiness. When someone needs something & I can provide....fulfillment brings happiness.

I went through 13 years where nothing I experienced brought happiness & depression ruled my life until I finally broke free of that marriage & that life & my parents had died so I was free to go where ever I wanted. I just happened to land is a very caring & loving community......that has nothing to do with anything romantic. I find that caring for others is much more fulfilling than romantic love any day. Never had it & don't miss it. It by some miracle a right guy comes along in my older age....great but not making my life miserable if it doesn't happen.

Depression can cloud our vision of happiness but so can our perspective. Put them both together & you create your own misery in your life. Changing ones perspective & sometimes getting out of the miserable environment if the environment is creating the negative effect can help give one a more positive look on life.

If its coming from inside & the way we are viewing life then we need to reassess our perspective.