I have issues with the word "deserve".

Many people take it as meaning "It's my birthright; I don't need to do anything to get that" (i.e. entitlement). But life doesn't work that way: you have to sow what you want to reap.

1. If one enters a relationship or marriage thinking it should be easy, no commitment required, and it should make him/her automatically happy, then that person is in for a bitter surprise.

2. The same applies when one person thinks he deserves a great job with a fat paycheck, even if he knows squat about that job, or he he's lousy at it.

Everybody would admit that the person in the second example is a damn fool; I'd say it's the same with the first example.

Of course I agree nobody deserves to be UNhappy.

But if you want something great out of life, usually you have to put in the hard work it requires: be it getting a degree, learning a profession, playing a musical instrument, keeping fit and healthy, or developing a happy relationship. It just doesn't happen automatically, or by default.

None of the above is something you can get "for free", or just because you exist.

So, while I agree with the Dr. that thinking you deserve to be unhappy is absurd, and something you better work on to erase it from your mind, using the word "deserve" about happiness or relationships might be misleading.