cross-posted from: https://lemmy.org/post/3793773
The way everything makes you happy is the same. The hormones through which they make you happy is the same and there is no limit to this. For example, you might think that a certain type of food makes you happy in a different way than another type of food but this is an illusion, they are all the same actually. They all make you secrete more dopamine and nothing more or different. Every kind of drug makes you happy in the same way. Furthermore, the more things you experience that makes you happy, the harder it will become for you to be happy because your standards will increase each time. So please keep this in mind, you dont have to try everything in life even if it is for only once. Every happiness that you experience is the same. Dont fall into the illusion that they are different just because the source of happiness is different, it is always the same happiness. There is only one type of happiness. There was an experiment where they gave rats dopamine and then those rats died from hunger. The happiness you experience from eating is the same as the happiness from cocaine. They are all the same. Do not fall for consumerism.
Children experience more extreme emotions in general, not just happiness. Think of the tantrums they throw.
And honestly, no, my main goal isn’t to blindly chase dopamine.
For one, happiness is more complex than that, you cannot just reduce it to one hormone (e.g. what about serotonin or oxytocin?)
Secondly, I think experience and personal development are important, they put happiness into perspective and let you appreciate it better. Leaving your comfort zone can be deeply rewarding, even if it doesn’t immediately result in a dopamine boost.
I can confidently say that I am happier now than I was as a child, despite the fact I now laugh less.