All the above points you make highlight the fact that our energies are directed or focused toward the exterior. This creates behaviours of possession and dependence with ensuing consequence depending on the individual's makeup. We need to direct some of our energy and precious time to our interior. Pause for a moment and connect to our heart. That is where happiness is born.
Know the self; free the self.
By our nature, the environments we grow in thrust us into fantasy realities of the ego. The ego itself is not bad. It is like a tool: a hammer has many uses, but if you never let it go, you'll only limit your potential to act. Only by becoming aware of that fantasy can we step away from it and realize our full potential.