What is this obsession with happiness?

Misery, turmoil, disappointment, disdain, and others hold value.

If it were not these things, I don't think I would recognize as many simple joys in my life. Things like the sounds and smells of my husband sleeping soundly next to me, a late afternoon sun shower softly spraying, field mice joyfully jumping with their spring-loaded match-stick legs in the grass, placing just five more pieces in a very difficult puzzle, the salty crunch of a grilled cheese and spam sandwich, or the sparkly smile on child's dirt smudged mug.

I think some of the biggest mental health problems of the world stem from a lack of rich experiences. Admittedly, it is natural for humans to seek trauma when there is none. This is especially apparent for those that have "had it good". Increasingly, those that have never gone days without food, had their body violated, neighbors murdered, or witnessed loved ones die of cancer, have no frame of reference to know true happiness. Those that have know the pure satisfaction of a steak grilled over a camp fire, the intoxicating smell in the nook of a lover's neck, the unspoken kindness of a flatmate that brings in the bins from street every week, and the golden laughter of stories shared at death's bedside.

But, don't take my work for it...

• America is obsessed with happiness — and it’s making us miserable
• Emotional Minutes 50: Obsession with happiness and how to feel more content.
• How Happiness Became A Cultural Obsession