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For some, the pursuit of happiness is a righteous one. For others, it may feel reckless. Here’s how .
.. [+] the ‘fear of happiness’ can manifest, and how to tell if you have it.
For many people, the pursuit of happiness is seen as the ultimate goal in life. We’re encouraged to seek joy, fulfillment and contentment—and, for the most part, happiness is viewed as a sign of success and well-being. But for others, happiness is less simple.
Instead of being a state to aspire to, happiness feels like a dangerous high—a peak that only makes the inevitable fall that much harder. For those who experience a fear of happiness, joy is not a goal; it’s a precursor to pain. Though this mindset might seem cynical or overly cautious to some, it’s a reality backed by psychological research.
Here’s what the fear of happiness entails, and how you can identify whether it might be affecting you. Happiness As A Baseline For Well-Being Western culture generally holds happiness in high regard. According to a 2014 research paper from the Journal of Happiness Studies , happiness is often viewed as a core component of well-being.
We tend to believe that a good life is one in which we are satisfied, free from negative emotions and, most crucially, full of positive ones. Feeling content is not enough; it’s about actively pursuing that contentment in all areas of life. The authors, Mohsen Joshanloo and Dan Weijers, explain that this pursuit of happiness is deeply rooted in Western values.
They note, “Ever since the enlightenment, westerners have responded to the ideas of liberal modernity, hedonism and romantic individualism by believing in the sovereignty of individuals over their personal happiness, and the importance of positive mood and affect balance as ingredients of a good life.” Hackers Force Chrome Users To Hand Over Google Passwords. Here’s How Apple’s Update Decision—Bad News Confirmed For Millions Of iPhone Users Today’s Eclipse Of The Full Moon Sets Up A ‘Ring Of Fire’ — What To Know In other words, Western culture tends to assume that happiness is not just a value to be pursued, but perhaps the most important value of all.
But what happens when happiness doesn’t feel like a worthy goal? What if, instead, it feels like a risk? Why Happiness May Not Be A Universal Baseline Although happiness is widely accepted as a positive thing in many cultures, this is not a universal belief. Some people—including many within the Western world—view happiness with suspicion or even fear. Joshanloo and Weijers call this phenomenon an “aversion to happiness,” and they propose several reasons why someone might experience it: How To Tell If You Have A Fear Of Happiness In a more recent 2022 study published in the journal Motivation and Emotion , Joshanloo found that certain life experiences and beliefs can predict whether someone might develop an aversion to happiness.
For example, an unhappy childhood, perfectionism, a belief in black magic or karma and feelings of loneliness are all strong indicators. Ultimately, this suggests that if you’ve experienced hardships in your formative years, grown up with an overly critical inner voice or found it difficult to trust in the good things life offers, it’s understandable that happiness might feel like a fleeting or risky emotion. In a 2013 study published in Personality and Individual Differences , Joshanloo developed the Fear of Happiness Scale (FHS) to help people better understand this mindset.
A simple questionnaire, the FHS consists of five statements—each of which users must rate with their level of agreement: If these statements resonate with you, you might feel reluctant to embrace happiness fully—as though allowing yourself to be happy is an open invitation for misfortune. This is a mindset that can be hard to break, especially if past experiences have reinforced the belief that happiness doesn’t last. However, acknowledging this pattern is a powerful step towards change.
Reflecting on these questions, it’s important to understand that having a fear of happiness doesn’t mean you’re fated to avoid joy forever. It’s natural for all of us to want to protect ourselves from pain and disappointment. But in doing so, we might unintentionally close ourselves off from the full spectrum of positive experiences that life has to offer.
Ask yourself, what would happen if you allowed yourself to feel happiness without the fear of what comes next? Could you sit with the joy, however fleeting, and enjoy it for what it is? Remember, happiness isn’t something that needs to be feared or controlled, or a feeling that renders you an Epicurean hedonist. It’s not a reward with strings attached, nor is it an omen for imminent suffering. The more we can open ourselves up to it—even if in small, cautious doses—the more we can start to see happiness as something that enriches our lives, not something that risks destabilizing it.
Curious about how deep your fear of happiness runs? Take the Fear of Happiness Scale to receive a science-backed answer: Fear Of Happiness Scale.
