picture only semi-related.
I just got in an argument with my boyfriend. I said I don't feel joy very often. He said that means I'm depressed. I was like, no, I feel content pretty often, it's just joy that's rare.
Like, I'll feel joy at a good concert or on top of a mountain or on psychedelics or another department joins the union at work, but it's like a sometimes thing. I don't just like go around life feeling joy at work or at home or whatever.
Like, i'll feel happy or content when I'm with friends or when I drink the perfect amount of coffee, or playing guitar, but joy is special.
Is this a temperament thing? am I depressed? Do we mean different things by joy? What's going on here?
You aren't supposed to feel joy all the time. Joy is, pretty much by definition, a non-baseline emotion. Depression is a different thing. You can take a depression inventory test if you think you might be depressed, or just want to have some language to discuss with your boyfriend. "Not feeling joy constantly" isn't a symptom of depression, it's a symptom of existence.