A few weeks ago I got into a sadness spell, to be honest I think I had not taken one of my medications, but I was very sad and having terrible thoughts. I had gone to my therapist balling my eyes out saying I just don’t really know why it’s worth it, life. He asked me to dwell on this question “What does a good life mean to you?” At first, I was like the hell do I know I’m 21. But randomly I was typing up as much as I could think of, I started making lists of what makes me happy, what makes me who I am, etc. And I had so many thoughts then, finally, I thought back to this one time when my personality of psychology teacher asked us to do an interview on Erikson’s stages. The very last one is “Ego Integrity vs Despair” basically you look back and feel unfulfilled, unaccomplished, depressed etc you develop despair. In ego integrity it’s the opposite, and that’s what I decided my answer is. A good life, is a life where I can look back and be able to feel happy with almost everything I have done, and remember mostly happy memories. It’s easier said than done to fulfill this but I am working on it one breath at a time.
S 