Some people are naturally positive and optimistic, whereas others tend to see the world in a more negative light and always think the glass is half-empty. Therefore, it is only natural that some people tend to complain more than others do. However, complaining is not always related to how pessimistic or unhappy a person is. Most of us have things we complain about, yet there are some people that seem to complain about everything.
Just because someone complains a lot, does not necessarily mean they are unhappy. Obviously, there is some connection between what happens in someone's life and the things that they complain about. When a lot of bad events occur, one is more likely to complain than when everything is rosy. Some people though, seem to complain a lot regardless of life's circumstances. We all know of people who are always complaining and never seem to stop.
There are different reasons why people complain. For some people, complaining comes forth out of a true sense of unhappiness. They are unhappy about themselves or about their lives and they express this by complaining to others about their bad fortune. When people are that unhappy it does not really matter what happens in their lives, because they will always find something to complain about. They need to complain, because for them it is a way of coping with their unhappiness that they have learned is effective.
This is different to the every day complaining most people do. We all complain sometimes, about little things that happen to us, like being stuck in a traffic jam or being turned down for a job. However, because most of us are not truly unhappy we do not have the need to complain all the time. When no bad events take place in our lives, we simply cease to complain. This is not the case with so-called compulsive complainers.
People do not only complain incessantly because they are unhappy, for some complainers it is more of a bad habit that they have picked up. These are the kind of people who either just need to complain for no good reason, or they are so used to complaining all the time that they do not even notice that they are doing it. You can recognize them by their casual way of complaining. They might walk into your house and mention that traffic was a nightmare, the weather sucks, they are not feeling too well and that something in your house smells funny.
A final reason why some people complain a lot is because it makes them feel better. These people are not necessarily unhappy people, but by complaining about every little thing that bothers them, they actually feel better. In other words, they burden other people with all their problems and worries, making those people feel bad, while they in turn end up feeling great. There is nothing wrong with complaining, we all need to do it now and again, but the trick is to not over do it. The last thing you want is to end up being known as one of those people who complains about everything.