Poll: Do you believe that humans are half?

[Legion]

I think it depends (like most things).

Do people needp to be in a relationship to be happy?

No, not really.

Are people who have never been in a relationship more likely to be unhappy than those who have?

Yes, probably.

I wouldn't say a relationship is needed to be happy all of the time, but I think somebody who has had a decent relationship is more likely to be happier, even when single, than those who never have.

Speaking as somebody who is very much a loner by nature, as enjoyable as spending time with friends can be, I can't say that I really feel the need to spend time with them. But I do sometimes feel lonely not being in a romantic relationship. Not always, but sometimes.

There are some people who are the other way around. They need to spend most time with somebody else, and only occasionally feel happy when on their own.

The idea that people can't be truly happy without a relationship is a foolish one.

 

[spartan231490]

Well, I think there are better places you could have gone to get this answered but, then again, there are worse places too. I think that the two things are not dependent on each other. Yes, people most definitely evolved to be in romantic relationships. However, that does not mean you can't be happy without one, though some people certainly can't. To be fair, it takes a very rare person to be happy alone, but having a romantic relationship isn't the only way not to be alone. In the end, do what makes you happy, and don't let anyone else tell you what that is.

However, if this subject(being alone and whether or not that will allow you to be happy) is causing you any amount of doubt or distress, I strongly recommend reading "Love and Will" by Rollo May. It's a philosopher/psychologist discussing how our society has really fucked up the way we deal with love, and how this causes a whole host of problems in people. It is a very interesting read, and it gives a lot of insight into the subject.

 

[RJ 17]

Snip.

Tell me, the last time you checked, were you your friends? No? Then why should you be trying to follow their map to happiness?

Each individual is completely different. Some people are loners and can live perfectly fine and content lives by themselves, others seek attachments and relationships with others. Both arrive at the same destination - happiness - by taking their own routes.

Personally I think it's a load of hogwash . Considering divorce rates are astronomical, I think it's becoming rather clear that human beings aren't meant to mate for life. There's only a handful of species on the entire planet that mates for life and I don't believe that we're meant to be one of them. It's all fine and good to be in a relationship, I can tell you it does fill you with the warm'n'fuzzies every time you see your boyfriend/girlfriend. But time changes everything, and given enough time you begin to resent the person you're with.

But enough about relationships, back to the topic of happiness.

No one can tell you what's supposed to make you happy, you get to determine that for yourself. For instance, happiness for me is a week to myself just being rather lazy, to be perfectly honest, and hanging around my apartment. I took a stay-at-home vacation back in december, had a full week and a half off in which I didn't do anything. Just sat around playing games, watching TV, and I went out with some friends a couple nights. And let me tell you, it was everything I could have dreamed it was. That was happiness for me: a week and a half free from all responsibility, just doing what I like to do. Don't have a girlfriend so I didn't need to be in a relationship to have all that fun.

My point is that every person is different, we're all just sweet little snowflakes drifting about, each one unique from the rest. What makes you happy won't necessarily make others happy. And what makes others happy won't necessarily work for you.

>:3 for a more cynical/joking look at things, I believe anyone trying to tell you to get into a relationship is really just laying a trap. They say "Misery Loves Company", and so it stands to reason that if they're truly miserable in their relationship, they'd want to drag you down to join them in that misery by encouraging you to get into a relationship yourself. Same thing with marriage and children.

 

[NoeL]

The liberal in me wants to scream "I don't need no one but me!" but in reality, whenever I'm not in a relationship (or at least not getting sex) I feel unfulfilled - and I'm pretty sure most people are the same. So ignoring asexuals for the moment, I'd say just about everyone longs for love and companionship and probably feels incomplete without it. There are other factors too, like a feeling of accomplishment. If you look back on a life full of regret, even if you found love you'll probably still feel unfulfilled.

 

[lunavixen]

I appreciate the friends i have and enjoy their company (on the rare occasions i get to see them), but I've never been in a relationship, I don't feel the need to be in one, and i'm happy, or about as happy as i get. I don't see why i should validate my happiness because of/on account of my relationship status with another person, i'm not romantic and about as subtle as a freight train.

 

[mrhappy1489]

Pretty sure this is a no. Fact of the matter is, as long as a person is content with his/her life, that's true happiness. While I personally wouldn't mind a relationship down the track, I'd say as long as achieve my dreams I'll be happy.

 

[Zipa]

Everyone is different some people are naturally introverted and prefer to spend time and be on their own while others can not live unless it is through someone else and go through relationship after relationship because of this.

That said discounting asexual for the moment who could just be a biological anomaly (no offence meant) we are all driven to have sex and enjoy it, thanks to millions of years of evolution to insure we propagate and our species lives on. Yes there are homosexual/bisexual/ects but they still for the most part like sex its wired into our brains.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

everyone needs to fill that hole in their life, be it through love, knowledge or ambition.

All three are equally valid.

 

[King of Asgaard]

What makes a person happy is entirely dependent on the person in question.
Case in point, I'm 18 and I've yet to be in a relationship, or go on a date (yes I'm still young, there's plenty of time etc, not the point I'm trying to bring up).
Am I unhappy? Well, I'm stressed, and I get the occasional pang of depression, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself unhappy.
Would I be happy/happier were I in a romantic relationship? Most likely, but I'm not hell-bent on getting into one at the time.
Does that make me less of a person? Hell no, and anyone who'd tell me otherwise is either a liar or a fool.

 

[DioWallachia]

Humans are social creatures since their "humble" begginings. Its natural to THINK that one CANT live without someone simply because....well, depending on others was nessesary for survival and for civilization to develop. It is engrained in your head after many many many generations to always jump the bandwagon. Back then people had NO time for introspection because "HOLY SHIT, A FUCKING SABER TOOTH TIGER IS GOING TO EAR YOUR LIVER! GET IN THE CAVE!", and letting everyone tell you how to live was nessesary for you to survive (strenght in numbers and all that shit).

But in this day an age? there is no reason to believe that, unless you have been told several time that you are a worthless piece of crap that cant make a change in the world. Sort off the same way that Shinji Ikari thinks.

This age society works under the "Why fix what isnt broken?" mentality. Since relationships make people happy, then everyone should do it since it has been prove that it works.

 

[Kyber]

No, i think it's rather silly to think that this so called "True Happiness" is only achievable with a companion, and it's even more silly to think there is just this one and only person for you in the whole world. The person you fall in love with is determined by chance, the chance that you will meet her/him at the specific time, and the chance that at the moment you will engage in conversation or even notice one another. I do agree with Zhukov and Jensen (don't know how he traveled back in time though) that some individuals feel more happy in the company of others, but i despise the thought of having a so called "Soul Mate" or something along those lines, and the whole concept of destiny all together.

 

[The Funslinger]

Well, I believe that I personally am at my happiest bangin' bitches being in a relationship. I won't generalize my personal necessities to others, though. I know how annoying it feels due to a fairly low point in my adolescence and the repeated advice a friend kept cramming down my throat was 'I'm happy being single, so why aren't you?'

Pushing someone into moving traffic was never more tempting.

 

[Hagi]

On the contrary, I believe the opposite.

I believe that if you can't be happy on your own then you won't be able to achieve true happiness in a relationship either.

If your main reason for being in a relationship is simply so that you don't have to be alone then I honestly don't believe you're going to truly be happy. You'll just be constantly worrying and afraid of ending up alone anyway.

I think you need to be happy with yourself first before you can become happy with someone else.

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

No of course you don't HAVE to be in a relationship. I'm sure there are examples of people who are happy alone, some people are loners and introverts. Perhaps loner, introverted asexuals! Man then you are clearly just not born to be around people, we should send someone like that to do all the lonely space stuff no one else wants to do or something.

I mean, I'm happy enough to be alone. 18 years old atm. There was even this girl who was clearly in to me on valentines day who I could have asked and would have been guaranteed to say yes but...nah. I didn't act on it. If she likes me then she can go through the stress of asking me out by her self. Gender equality ftw!

Besides, the shitty school dance was on that night. Who likes those anyway?

 

[chiggerwood]

I absolutely love the results of this one. If it had a voice I like to think that it'd be saying 'FEEEEUUUUUUUuuuuUUUUUCK YOU!"

To be perfectly honest I'd much rather stick my dick in a food processor than another human being, but that's just me. I find romantic relationships to be completely inane, idiotic, annoying, and a hindrance to the mind of the participating parties. I honestly see little difference between love and insanity, or mental retardation, but once again that's just me. I have no problem with friendships, and being good friends with someone and that's where it ends for me. However if it makes you happy to be hugging, kissing, cuddling, and poorly rubbing genitals with another human being and then being the one to sleep on some soggy sheets then all power to you! Just don't expect me to go to your wedding. However in three years I will be more than happy to attend your divorce proceedings.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

Love is crazy shit, that being said, if you've ever experienced it, it's like going on a drug fuelled superbender,
without all of the serious life threatening side effects of one.

However, when the woman who you love to the extent that you feel like you could punch down a mountain, or fight a thousand bears, tells you she was lying to you for over a month of that relationship, meaning in my case nearly half of it, it's like having your balls run over by a train, freakin painful, only not in your balls, but like chest cavity collapsing into a black hole situated in your spine, level shit.

After you experience that, it's really REALLY hard to love again, I know I still haven't loved anyone in that way since, hell I've barely felt anything for anyone since then, so as far as I can see, I got one chance, and it fucked me the hell up, ended in extreme pain, and now I get to live the life of an emotionally jaded individual who can't love, so yeah, be careful with that shit, cuz it may not kill you, but it can turn your heart into a motherfucking gargoyle.

In other words, I don't really believe that it is REQUIRED to be happy persay, but it's one hell of a drug, and anyone who hasn't tried it, should.

 

[Zealous]

While romantic/sexual relationships are pretty awesome, there are countless other ways to find happiness. Thinking that the only way to be truly happy is to have an intimate relationship with someone is seriously unhealthy in my eyes.