because I have not yet found a way to overcome my own misery, I can only turn to how others have done so, but I have not established any reason to accept that those methods would work for me. If activity A makes person X happy, it does not necessarily follow that activity A would make me happy. Even if activity A makes every other person in the world happy, it still could not be said with absolute certainty that it would make me any happier. While it is possible that the advice or teachings of others could lead me to find happiness within my own life, I cannot necessarily conclude that it is so.

This line of thinking was the first one that occurred to me today when considering how to overcome my despondency. It seemed that no matter how successful they appear, I should doubt the effectiveness of the paths to happiness that others have taken when applied to me. Even if I did make me happier, I would have no reason to believe that it would continue to do so.

Of course, this fails to address the fact that...