by bensyverson
18 subcomments
- Ha, this is fun. But there's a kernel of truth to it. The problem with American culture specifically is that it treats "happiness" as a goal, rather than a fleeting feeling that is probably better described with a more specific word (joy, accomplishment, excitement, satisfaction, contentment). Our culture leans on this so hard that people start to think there's something wrong with them if they're not feeling generalized happiness most of the time.
That's just not how life works.
- The critique feels valid to me. There’s a tendency in modern psychology/media to pathologize the average human baseline: if you’re not consistently optimistic and thriving, something must be wrong with you, or at least you need to be in a pursuit of this.
But constant happiness isn’t realistic, it’s like a desire to be permanently high. From my own experience I’ve landed somewhere near the Buddhist framing: the healthy default is just calm and neutral, with happiness and sadness coming and going away.
Trying to force happiness as a permanent state seems like its own problem, which is kind of what Bentall is pointing at from the other direction.
by letharion
2 subcomments
- I'm assuming this is some kind of jab at the general propensity of psychiatry to classify most things as disorders, rather than a serious proposal. If anything, I think the problem has gotten worse since this was published. (Then again, maybe happiness has also gotten more rare since 1992?)
- This reminds me of this old gem from The Onion:
FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful [video/NSFW/2:06]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4tugPM83c
- I need some advice on etiquette. Is the correct answer to
"Good morning!"
still "That's what the government wants you to believe."
or is it now "You want me to contract a psychiatric disorder? What did I ever do to you?"
- After ROTFL, and checking is not 1st april, seems in the same line of: "life is a disease, sexually transmitted, with 100% lethal exitus".
More seriously (very little indeed) maybe the 'problem' is all those activities that need to create more and more new problems/disorders to justify all the work uppon, so what if psychiatry is a psychiatric disorder? regressum ad infinitum, take the red pill.
About happiness, Buddha, asked about the way to happines, say: happiness is not the destination, is the way.
by xyzelement
1 subcomments
- I find the word "happy" is unfortunately overloaded and confusing - and in its confusion makes it hard to know how to achieve the state.
I think other languages have more shades for this much like eskimos have many words for snow.
For example in the Jewish tradition the word "nahas" is something like the satisfaction of watching the children you raised become excellent parents of their own.
Another word "simha" could be translated as "happy occasion" but really is only used for positive lifecycle events (birth, marriage, etc)
In modern English we would probably use "happy" for all these but it's unfortunate that we'd also use the same word for triviality like "I am happy jerking off in my basement"
The beauty of "nahas" and "simha" is they point us towards a sustainable and deeply meaningful way to be "happy" - to achieve significance in our lives that makes us feel good because things are deeply good.
"Happiness" does not act as a guidepost in the same way. I believe it actually comes from the same root as "happen" - a sort of vagarity you hope to stumble into but aren't sure how to work towards.
Don't get me started on the English word "love" lol.
- I think the DSM 5 says a disorder must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
- Reminded of that episode of House where the lady with dormant syphillis had something like this.
I wonder are there any ways I can contract this without breaking marital vows
by _doctor_love
1 subcomments
- > It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder and be included in future editions of the major diagnostic manuals under the new name: major affective disorder, pleasant type. In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system. One possible objection to this proposal remains--that happiness is not negatively valued. However, this objection is dismissed as scientifically irrelevant.
Reading this I can't help but feel that the person who wrote it is a POS.
by eouw0o83hf
1 subcomments
- I really liked this paper. I think it's less of an outright joke that it's possible to squint your eyes and laugh that happiness could be a disorder, and more of shining a light on the psychopathological system that tends towards over-diagnosis and hyperfixation on those diagnoses.
"If our so-called scientific system were really objective and honest, it would include happiness as a disorder." I think this is the goal the paper is trying to expose, more than just making a joke about mapping a good feeling to a description of a bad feeling. Indeed, I think the last line of the paper gives it away - our current system is very incomplete and needs to be extended:
> Indeed, only a psychopathology that openly declares
the relevance of values to classification could persist in
excluding happiness from the psychiatric disorders.
- Our tax dollars pay for this research? Im all for intellectual discourse, i just dont want to pay for it
- Good news is that the government can offer free treatment.
by 8bitsrule
1 subcomments
- The way to happiness is to stop chasing it.
Never mind all the ads ... It isn't 'out there somewhere'.
- Happiness is a derivative of purpose. If someone optimizes their life strictly for happiness while deprioritizing purpose, they likely won't achieve either.
Pursuing a meaningful goal almost always requires enduring unpleasant phases and friction along the way.
- "It's so, so sad, to be happy all the time." - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZPxUiAKTo
- "You look happy. What's wrong?" Ultimate conversation starter.
- If this proposal was to add toxic positivity and optimism bias as a psychiatric disorder, I'd be on board with that.
by techblueberry
1 subcomments
- Ahh 1992. At the time he probably didn’t know he needed to add a /s or he’d be taken seriously in our delusional future.
- If you are too happy to work, you are sick. Makes sense.
- Reminds me of https://thenewinquiry.com/book-of-lamentations/
edit: A review of the DSM as if it where a dystopian novel basically, makes some interesting observations/points
- Redundant as it is possible to be bipolar with light hypomania without depressive episodes. So its already covered.
- Overall happinesses and motivation and belief are signs of too high level dopamine.
Most business owner people have it. That's why they are often out of touch with random Joe.
They belive in success even if math is saying that's bias.
Form of pychosis
by dmschulman
0 subcomment
- Woosh
- Americans have an amazing trait to make money and marketing bullshit out of almost any idea, however great or silly it originally is.
In the process they usually spoil and dumb down it to the point of making no sense (but making more money).
Happiness? Fine! Well sell that.
Happiness is overrated? Even better! Let’s wrap that and shove it down the throat of different focus group.
This is just brilliant.
by adyashakti
2 subcomments
- it's Catch-22. the world is such a mess that if you're happy, you must be delusional.
by AnimalMuppet
1 subcomments
- <checks calendar> Wait, this isn't April 1st!
Seriously, happiness is a psychiatric disorder? Rare, sure, but a disorder? That's the craziest thing I've heard since... well, since the Iran war, I guess, so not very long. Still, that's nuts. I cannot imagine the world view that it must take to look at happiness that way.
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