If nothing makes you happy anymore, it's time to make these 9 changes

Where has your happiness gone?

A woman with long brown hair and a serious expression gazes to the side against a blurred, light background. She is wearing a pink top and a beaded necklace.

It’s often hard to be happy with all the stresses and strains of life.

Maybe that’s not the problem, though.

Maybe you were happy before but now nothing makes you happy. Life doesn’t always change for the better.

However, there are several things you can do if nothing brings you joy and happiness.

It’s not easy. Improving your mindset and mental health does require work, making changes to your life, and patience.

LOTS of patience.

How can you feel better, be happier, and find joy?

1. Take stock of your situation to identify what is harming your happiness.

A woman with long brown hair sits at a desk in an office, looking stressed or contemplative. She rests her head on one hand while using the other to operate a computer mouse. The office is bright with several unoccupied workstations in the background.

People have so much going on in their daily lives that it is hard for them to keep up with everything.

So, the first step is to take inventory of your life and present situation.

What are the neutral and negative things that you are currently dealing with?

Neutral things count because they require an investment of emotional energy to take care of, and they aren’t likely to be providing any positive lift to your life.

Consider the different stresses that you’re currently dealing with.

Is it work? Is it friends? Is it life in general? Is it your bills? Is it a lack of time?

Ask yourself, “Why does nothing make me happy?” Then, make a list of what you think is making you unhappy and causing you stress.

2. Consider which of these problems can be solved and how.

A man with dark hair and glasses is sitting at a desk with a laptop, notebook, and pen. He is wearing a dark green button-down shirt and a watch, and is looking intently at the camera with his hands clasped together. There is a window in the background.

That list of negative and neutral things going on in your life is an action plan.

These are the problems that you need to invest energy into resolving so that you can free the emotional energy that you’re spending on them.

Do you have friends and family that are abusive or make you feel bad? It might be time to reevaluate just how much time you’re giving them.

You don’t want to spend your valuable time with emotional vampires or abusers who will leech your happiness away.

Is your job a constant source of stress? Are there any ways that you can mitigate that stress?

Can you change departments in your current job? Ask to work under a different manager? Start looking for other work that might not have as much stress?

Is a lack of money the problem? Can you work out a budget to see where your money is being spent and whether or not you can control it?

Are there frivolous things you can cut out to give you more money to throw at getting out of debt? Are there ways that you can make a few extra dollars without burning yourself out?

Resolve whatever issues you can. Finding joy in life is hard when you’re constantly under these stresses.

3. Take some time to play, exercise, and rest.

A man with a beard is lying on a gray sofa, propped up against green and orange cushions, reading a book. He is wearing a casual, light-colored outfit and appears relaxed in a comfortable, well-lit room.

Do you live a busy lifestyle? Have a thousand things to do with work, your relationship, and kids to wrangle?

Do you have deadlines looming? Need to get groceries from the store? Need to tackle that sink full of dishes? Need to hack your way through that pile of laundry?

There will always be something more to do.

That’s why it’s so important to practice self-care and make it part of your routine.

You need rest and play to give yourself a chance to recover. Block out time in your busy schedule for it if you can’t easily fit it in otherwise.

If you don’t, the responsibilities that you must take care of will eat away at it.

Exercise is so important for maintaining a happy mental space. Not only do you keep in shape and keep your body healthy, but you also cause your brain to produce the chemicals that you need to be a happier person.

Exercise is always a net positive for your overall well-being. The human body was not built to be sedentary, even though our modern lifestyles promote it.

Create the time and space for self-care. Treat it with the same gravity as any of your other responsibilities. It is that important!

4. Reconnect with people, places, and hobbies that used to bring you joy.

Two women are sharing a joyful hug at an outdoor event. One woman with blonde hair, wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket, has a big smile. The other woman, wearing a blue and white patterned top, has her back to the camera. A stage and crowd are visible in the background.

Nurturing happiness back into a healthy place requires dedicating time to the things that bring you happiness and joy.

That could be hobbies, a place you love to be, or positive people that you like to spend time with.

Maybe it’s a romantic partner or a dear friend that you just have to catch back up with.

Perhaps it’s tending to your garden so you can watch it grow and blossom.

Spend some time reconnecting with the things that bring you happiness and fulfillment.

Make it a regular habit to partake in these activities so that you can continue building on those positive things.

And if you have no passions or hobbies, now is the time to find some.

5. Develop healthier habits with technology.

A man with short dark hair and a beard is sitting in a gym, wearing a black athletic shirt, and looking at his smartphone. He has earphones in his ears and appears focused or contemplative. The gym equipment and a large air conditioning unit are visible in the background.

Technology is a powerful tool that can both help and harm, depending on how you use it.

Social media is a powerful piece of technology that can help you discover interesting things, meet new people, and keep up with friends and family.

However, social media platforms are also engineered to keep your eyes and attention on that platform.

These companies employ behavioral psychologists and similar professionals to take advantage of addictive behaviors.

That, of course, promotes unhealthy use of social media platforms.

In addition, you run into the issue of what kind of content you are shown on your feed. Angry, frustrating news is everywhere which will rob you of your happiness.

Then there’s the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and the envy created by others sharing pictures and stories from their life.

Of course, these stories often aren’t true or don’t tell the whole story. They’re curated to get likes, be shareable, and draw attention.

Limiting social media use may help improve your overall mental health.

6. Process and clear out your emotions.

A woman with long curly hair is leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, head tilted back, and wearing a bright yellow shirt. The background is blurred, focusing attention on her relaxed and meditative expression.

Meditation is an incredible tool for creating peace of mind and clarity, which makes room for more happiness and joy in your life.

Meditation is a directed, intentional act that you use to process emotions, feel them, and let them go.

The stress and negative emotions that you carry with you need to be vented off and set free from your mind.

No, meditation will not magically cause your problems to go away or make you okay with things that you shouldn’t be okay with.

What it will do is help clear out some of the emotional baggage and negativity that may be occupying your thoughts.

Search the internet or an app store and you will be able to find many guided meditations and meditations for beginners.

7. Look at how balanced your eating and sleeping habits are.

A man in a light gray t-shirt sits at a kitchen counter, drinking a glass of water. On the counter, there's a laptop, a cup of coffee, and a fruit bowl with oranges and apples. The background has kitchen cabinets and a green plant.

Are you drinking water? Probably not enough, with the way processed foods and sugary drinks can dehydrate us.

Healthy eating and water are two essential parts of maintaining good mental health.

An unhealthy diet can worsen your moods and make you feel more negative emotions by dragging your thoughts into a negative space.

Food and drink are not just enjoyable things, but they are also necessary fuel that your body and mind need to stay healthy and active.

Make sure you’re putting good things into your body as well alongside comfort foods and treats.

And while you’re at it, cut back on the not-so-good things (but that doesn’t mean depriving yourself altogether).

Junk food is precisely that—junk. Much of it is engineered to be tasty but not necessarily nourishing.

You don’t need to eliminate them, but an excessive amount of junk food, caffeine, alcohol, and other substances can bring your mind down and keep you from experiencing your happiness.

8. Stop searching for “true happiness.”

A middle-aged man with short gray hair and a beard gazes thoughtfully to the side. He is wearing a gray jacket, and the background is blurred, suggesting an outdoor setting. The image captures a calm and introspective moment.

The term “true happiness” isn’t quite accurate. In fact, there are different kinds of happiness.

True happiness occurs when an event in your life provides a natural response of happiness and joy.

Created happiness is something that you create for yourself. You may find that visiting with people, gardening, or exercising helps you create happiness.

Fleeting happiness is when you experience a positive experience that makes you happy.

However, none of these states are necessarily better than the others. They can all boost your spirits when nothing makes you happy anymore.

The problem may be that you spend so much time focusing on one that you aren’t letting yourself just experience the happiness.

“Well, that’s not true happiness, so I’m not really happy.” Research disagrees with that assertion.

Instead, research tells us that all different types of happiness are valid if you’ll just let yourself experience it without picking it apart.

9. Don’t try and go it alone.

A female doctor in a white coat, with a stethoscope around her neck, discusses medication with a female patient wearing a gray tank top. They are seated in a medical office with shelves of medical supplies in the background. The patient listens attentively.

Sometimes a significant change in your mood can spell a more serious problem, like depression or other mental health conditions.

If you’ve tried all the above and nothing is working, or you’re so low that you can’t even take the steps above, reach out to a medical professional or therapist.

Sometimes medication or therapy are what you need to help lift you above the fog so that you can start making the changes you need to be happy again.

There’s no shame in that, so don’t suffer in silence.