What makes you happy and content?

After many years of anorexia,anxiety,and depression which is still a daily battle but with the combo of eating/weight gain,mental meds,and self coping I am making progress. The mental is very hard as many know on all aspects. I still struggle with what makes me happy and feel a sense of peace or being content. I know for me being around others helps a lot but I wonder what others have found helpful to give them a better quality of life?Thanks for any ideas or input.

I, too, struggle with anorexia. What makes me the happiest is playing/cuddling with my new puppy.  It's a good distraction and helps put the focus on something else. The greatest feeling in the world for me is waking up and feeling her laying against my body :)

I also suffer from anxiety and depression.  While medications can be completely necessary, there will never be a "magic pill".  Medication can help even out the chemicals in your brain so that you don't feel such extreme ups and downs (or just downs), but your thought process is what will carry you on.  And in my experience, when I'm off medication, I don't even realize that I have a thought process.. my thoughts race from my anxiety and I have such a hard time focusing on anything.  But when I am on medication, sure, I have my moods and I feel a certain way sometimes that I don't enjoy feeling, but for the most part, I am able to figure out what helps me and make myself feel better.

Going for a nice walk (at a slow pace is the best!) in a pretty area is great, also window shopping or shopping (if you have the money and need to purchase something.. I wouldn't shop just to shop), or going to the beach or a park and listening to your ipod or something like that will help.. and talking to somebody if you are feeling down can also be incredible.. even if they don't talk back and just listen.  Sometimes, once in a while, at least, it's nice to let out a good cry when you feel the need.  Swimming is also really fun.. not even laps, but just floating around in the pool or ocean or lake.  Playing with puppies is great.. and just taking a nice hour-long afternoon nap is also really refreshing and I always wake up feeling refreshed and less stressed out beause often times I don't get enough sleep (I think you need even more when you're in recovery from an eating disorder!), so if I only sleep 6 or 7 hours, I take a nap or get to bed an hour earlier the night before.

Running. Reading. Affording myself guaranteed pleasures--like running, reading, thinking, sleeping, petting my cat, drawing, etc.--things where I hardly depend on anything else but myself to reap a positive emotional reward.

Actually, just taking my mind off of myself, in any capacity, seems to always lift my spirits. That's why reading is so freaking awesome .You get to concentrate on someone else's ideas, someone else's stories, you get to be empathetic rather than selfishly pathetic.

In other words, I find that I really have to get my head out of my own ass before I can be really happy. But that's just me.

p.s. I don't mean this at all to imply that thinking about yourself is your problem; this is just my own neuroses--I'm ridiculously vain and selfish. You just asked what makes us happy and I responded--typically self-centeredly--about what makes me happy. Sorry.

Lying in my BF's arms, being appreciated, shopping for shoes, the sheer happiness of my dogs when I arrive home from work, accomplishing daily tasks, the colour turquoise,

Thank you for your thoughts.

Olivia I am so happy that your puppy brings you so much joy.

Katesorad I agree that there is no magic pill but I do feel for me it has helped me be more rational and hopeful plus on making goals and doing it for life. I believe a combo approach.For me sleep is huge issue and I am trying any new meds but I can go full nights with none which brings my tolerance and mood down.

Phimegaphi you don't seem selfish at all. I wanted to know what makes others happy. It gives me ideas on what brings others joys when in times I don't know for myself. For me joy and contentment go hand in hand

Vejitarian thank you too. I do feel good when I accomplish a goal as well. I used to never finish things for one reason or another and now I try to complete because it akes me feel better about myself in general.

I am trying to get into volunteering cause helping others really helps me feel better about myself and takes me away from my self issues.

Blogging.

Whenever I have a hard time with ED, I talk about it on my blog and I always have advice, feedbacks, support from other people. Really helps me, because I have issues with my parents (they don't understand ED at all) and I don't have ''real'' people to talk to.

Otherwise there's shopping, drawing, cheerleading, cooking, music, watching chick dramas on the Internet, like 29 episodes of Desesperate Housewive on the row xD!

For me scrapbooking or other artsy/crafty things really help me get my mind off things. I also find that when I do ballet or dance my mind get distracted from all the ED thoughts. I guess I'm concentrating so hard on what I'm doing that I don't have time to think about anything else.

Sleep!! with a cool breeze and a nice blankie.

walking my doggers and having people say they are cute.

working hard! I am a hostess and damn cheerful and people really appreciate my attitude.