T
he human condition is unique
but not so different from that
of other species which also
feel a range of emotions, from
elation to desolation.
Our evolutionary design meant that
we needed to act upon feelings as part
of our own self-preservation. After all, it
was handy to experience fear when being
chased down by a sabre-toothed tiger or to
crave tribal belonging so as to not have to
fend for yourself in the wilderness.
But in the past 50 years survival has
come down to diagnosing and labelling
rather than acknowledging and accepting
the very real sensations that inform
us about our human experience. The
medicalisation of emotions has meant
we’ve forgotten that to be human is to feel
rather than to formulate.Popping the happiness pill
The 19th-century American short-story
writer William Sydney Porter, famed for his
wit and surprise endings, wrote simply and
succinctly about what it is to be human: “Life
is made of sobs, sniffles and smiles, with
sniffles predominating.”
The kicker in this aphorism is the
perception that sadness outweighs
happiness. And many of the great writers,
theologians and philosophers throughout
the ages subscribe to this notion of life
and the nature of being.
Modern thinking, by contrast, insists
we simply cannot accept this thesis. Unlike
our ancestors, who were fighting just to
stay alive, self-preservation for many of
us in the Western world is not really
a consideration although we do need
a sense of safety and physical wellbeing.As a result, we have become more
introspective and this is a good thing as we
ponder the meaning and purpose of our
existence. But, in the age of positive thinking
and pop psychology, we have become so
fixated on happiness that we think of it as an
entitlement as opposed to viewing it as just
one aspect of the varied human experience.
This sense of emotional entitlement
has made us less resilient and even less
realistic. We are not as fortified to deal with
the onslaught of emotions, especially those
that would plunge us into despair. That’s
why we turn to quick fixes. GPs who have
little training in mental health prescribe
what are colloquially known as happy pills,
based on minimal criteria and even less
investigation of the patient’s situation.
This frivolous term has slid easily into
our modern lexicon and seemingly makesMedicalising emotions
By medicalising your emotions, you reduce or minimise your true self and look to problem solve
rather than to understand what is really going on for you. In this article, we look
at how to stop fi xing and start feeling again.Wo rds MARIE ROWLAND88 | wellbeing.com.au
mind
MEDICALISING EMOTIONS