The pursuit of happiness is making you miserable

Taking care of your health just got easier, thanks to my sponsor Zocdoc, start here at: https://zocdoc.com/drscotteilersThe antidote to depression isn’t happiness—it’s contentment. I explain why chasing happiness can actually make depression worse, especially when anhedonia makes positive emotions inaccessible or when short-term relief leads to unhealthy decisions.If my podcast has helped, my new book, The Light Between the Leaves, goes even deeperNext Steps:📩 Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.About me:I know what it is to feel hopelessly stuck and worthless to the world in general. I also know what it is to live without those feelings. I’m both a Clinical Psychology specializing in treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, and a human who has spent more than a decade managing sever depression and anxiety.Mental Health Coaching with meTherapy with me (for people in Iowa)Find me on YouTubeResources🪣 Get my free 5-day guide to reclaiming your time and energy despite mental health struggles.😴 Dramatically improve your sleep in 2 steps with my new Sleep Workbook.📖 My 1st book: For When Everything is BurningDisclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.But I do care.I break down the “hedonic treadmill,” why good things eventually become our new normal, and why constantly needing more can leave us less satisfied with what we already have. Contentment gives me something more stable to build on because it doesn’t require me to feel good in order to recognize that parts of my life are good.I also share five ways I’ve learned to practice contentment, including challenging emotional reasoning, accepting some discontentment, and resisting the belief that one more achievement or purchase will finally make me feel whole. The goal isn’t to convince yourself everything is wonderful—it’s learning when good enough really is enough.