CMV: Nobody is really happy

I can't define happiness in plain terms, because philosophers have been disagreeing for centuries, and if the greatest thinkers can't give one definition then I sure can't. What I can try to do is point your mind towards some concept of happiness you already have.

I don't mean happiness in the sense of fleeting pleasure, and I think very few people would mean this.

What I do mean by happiness is in the general direction of satisfaction, contentment, accomplishment, purposefulness, etc., but it is none of those things specifically. It is what makes people want to stay in their marriage, keep their job and go to work, and aspire to things.

My reasons for believing no one experiences this happiness are these:

1. I see unhappiness everywhere, even where needs are met and lifestyles are successfully maintained.
2. Solutions to unhappiness seems to be one of the biggest markets out there.
   1. Therapy
   2. Drugs (medicinal or otherwise)
   3. Self-help books and podcasts
3. I find happiness to be sparse in my own life.

Part 1 (unhappiness is everywhere) - I know money doesn't buy happiness, and it even seems to cause real suffering if it is obtained too far beyond utility. But then again, an even sharper unhappiness comes in the form of poverty. It seems there is no amount of money we can have that makes us happy. "Don't let money control you" is pointless advice, because if you are poor it controls you because without it you may die, and if you are rich it controls you because... well I'm not sure why but billionaires don't seem to want to give any up.

So much humor and comedy surrounds the topic of the dying or unhappy marriage. I'm finding it hard to believe that married people can make it 40+ years, and still be happy together (not out of principle but because I haven't really seen it).

Again I'm not saying happiness never happens. But the lasting, permanent happiness we all want is what I am losing hope in.

Part 2 (ubiquity of solutions to unhappiness) - Therapy (something which I am strongly in favor of and which I think is important) being the most prevalent, society seems rife with solutions to the problem of unhappiness. Medication (also in favor) is another big one. Fad diets, books which provide massive paradigm shifts, and many more things all are marketing to the unhappy and the unsatisfied. The sheer quantity of these kinds of things makes me think that there isn't much lacking in the market for them (that is, very few don't fall under the unhappiness umbrella).

Part 3 (I am unhappy) - I'm not always unhappy. Like I say, I think happiness happens. We see something pretty, we do something fun, etc., and we will be happy. But not happy in the long run, not happy in the realest sense. This is my experience, anyway.

For me, accomplishments are fleeting, shortcomings are overpowering, and prospects of being a happy person are poor. Not to say I have no hope for my life. On the contrary, I think I will be able to do quite well for myself. I just find it hard to believe I'll be happy.

CHANGE MY VIEW!
This is very depressing, I know. That's why I want to change my mind. Everything I wrote above is because of evidence, or the lack thereof. If I can be presented with proper evidence of happiness, or at least something which explains why I see so little of it, I am willing to change my mind.

Note: if your rebuttal is that you, yourself, are happy, thats great! I just don't find it very convincing. Even if I am actively feeling down, when someone else expresses their unhappiness, I suddenly become Mr. Sunshine, pointing out the good and trying to help. At least, I would like some evidence that you really are as happy as you say.