There are plenty of ways one can express unhappiness - standing away from the situation, expressing it with your body language, or simply talking about it out loud. And although ‘simply talking about it’ might be the straightest way to find a solution in an uncomfortable situation, we all know that it’s not always so easy; if it were, we’d probably all be so much happier! That said, there are other signs, besides the obvious, that you can look for in a person you care about to see whether they might be feeling unhappy and dissatisfied with something that’s going on in their life. Thankfully, these brave internet people have shared the signs of unhappiness they’ve witnessed in people close to them on this excellent and extremely helpful Reddit thread. So, although it’s not one of our entertaining kind of lists, it is definitely enlightening.
Okay, so to begin with, the Redditors mention some a bit more obvious, though nevertheless often overlooked, signs of an unhappy person. They include but aren’t limited to the person losing any interest in things they used to enjoy, trying to live their life without putting any effort into it, or withdrawing from any social activities. So, if you ever see any of these signs of being unhappy in a person close to you, you might want to start thinking about helping them. Of course, unhappiness and signs of distress might not be as obvious, so these people also mentioned some more subtle signs, like the person delaying their answers to your texts or emails, constantly overthinking the smallest of details, or not sharing any opinions they might’ve expressed freely earlier. Feeling unhappy is definitely a burden and an obstacle, so why not extend a helping hand to those around you if they are showing these signs?
Mental health, as you well know, is extremely important for a person’s overall health and outlook on life. An unhappy person can change, but they often need outside help for that. So, read these signs of unhappiness, and help those around you who might be showing them.
#41
"I feel like this might sound like a cliché but getting worse at a game they were really good at, which kinda depresses them more.
I have a friend who loves Mario Kart. He is basically a God at it. We used to play a lot, (and we still do) he knows every shortcut, how much he has to tilt the stick for every turn, etc. But one time I noticed I had been winning for quite a while. I thought he might be giving me the chance to win but he actually wasn't. It seemed that for every race we had he just put all of his effort in and got no result. Turns out he was having a very rough month, and it impacted the way he was playing. The only thing I could do is just try to cheer him up, and suggest other challenges that might distract him."
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7points
#42
“Maybe this is just me but, if someone seems to be happy about everything. like, every little thing can get them excited, but they don’t have any hobbies or any excitement for anything else. the ones that always seem to be the happiest could have some things going on, and they’re just good at hiding it.”
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7points
#43
"I look for avoidance behaviors. They’re usually subtle, like canceling plans at the last minute, a usually on-time person showing up late, somebody offering a lot of excuses for why they can’t/won’t do something that used to be part of their typical routine."
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7points
#44
"They chase highs and constantly try to distract themselves with entertainment. They don't have a very vibrant inner life, so they can't be content just sitting still by themselves with their own mind and don't often have deep conversations with their inner group. So then you can also sometimes tell by the company they keep. They are constantly trying to get into things that will make them happy, and may even seem happy a lot. They are rarely if ever just content."
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