Happiness meets all reasonable criteria for a psychiatric disorder

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Download full PDF article at http://www.angelfire.com/home/ricardobenoliel/psico/index2.html#Happi… der "Happiness meets all reasonable criteria for a psychiatric disorder. It is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, there is at least some evidence that it reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system and it is associated with various cognitive abnormalities – in particular, a lack of contact with reality. Acceptance of these arguments leads to the obvious conclusion that happiness should be included in future taxonomies of mental illness, probably as a form of affective disorder. This would place it on Axis I of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [20]. With this prospect in mind, I humbly suggest that the ordinary language term "happiness" be replaced by the more formal description Major Affective Disorder: Pleasant Type, in the interest of scientific precision and in the hope of reducing any possible diagnostic ambiguities."

huge LOL ROTFLMAO!! Thanks for the smiles!!

Response:

aint it the truth though.. spot on!!!!

Download full PDF article at

http://www.angelfire.com/home/ricardobenoliel/psico/index2.html#Happi… sor – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – der "Happiness meets all reasonable criteria for a psychiatric disorder. It is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, there is at least some evidence that it reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system and it is associated with various cognitive abnormalities – in particular, a lack of contact with reality. Acceptance of these arguments leads to the obvious conclusion that happiness should be included in future taxonomies of mental illness, probably as a form of affective disorder. This would place it on Axis I of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [20]. With this prospect in mind, I humbly suggest that the ordinary language term "happiness" be replaced by the more formal description Major Affective Disorder: Pleasant Type, in the interest of scientific precision and in the hope of reducing any possible diagnostic ambiguities."

Response:

Download full PDF article at

Question: Why do people find this pleasantly humorous? This is ENTIRELY serious. This was from the Journal of Mental Ethics, June 1992, and was seriously proposed as an inclusion to the DSM, since "happiness" is a demonstratably abberant mental state that leads to diminished capacity for reasoning. Happiness is, in fact, a drastic and demonstratable lack of contact with reality. The root phenomenon is known psychologically as "optimistic bias" or "the illusion of control"; it has been demonstrated time and again that those people most capable of ‘coping’ pleasantly with life, and most capable of being happy and fulfilled, are those with the most positively unrealistic beliefs of their own self-importance and control over their environment. Clinically depressed people tend to have far more realistic expectations about their control over their environment than ‘well-adjusted’ people do, who often ascribe themselves far more control over perfectly random and pseudorandom events. Happiness is a mental disease that leads to delusionally high expectations from reality. The only reason it’s accepted is that it’s a desirable trait. In fact, one accepted method for counselors to attempt to treat the depressed is to attempt to detach them as much as possible from ‘reality’. http://www.cpa.ca/cjbsnew/1992/april/abs_koen.html http://www.biopsychiatry.com/depressive-realism.htm http://www.student.richmond.edu/~achu/drempirical.html The jury’s still out, of course, and some of these articles should show evidence both for and against the concept of ‘depressive realism’, but it’s interesting to note that there’s a significant amount of statistical evidence to support it. Anyone who wants a more comprehensive set of information is welcome to do a Google search on ‘depressive realism’ and sift through it all.

Response:

Download full PDF article at

http://www.angelfire.com/home/ricardobenoliel/psico/index2.html#Happi… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – sor der "Happiness meets all reasonable criteria for a psychiatric disorder. It is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, there is at least some evidence that it reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system and it is associated with various cognitive abnormalities – in particular, a lack of contact with reality. Acceptance of these arguments leads to the obvious conclusion that happiness should be included in future taxonomies of mental illness, probably as a form of affective disorder. This would place it on Axis I of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [20]. With this prospect in mind, I humbly suggest that the ordinary language term "happiness" be replaced by the more formal description Major Affective Disorder: Pleasant Type, in the interest of scientific precision and in the hope of reducing any possible diagnostic ambiguities." huge LOL ROTFLMAO!! Thanks for the smiles!! Question: Why do people find this pleasantly humorous? This is ENTIRELY serious. This was from the Journal of Mental Ethics, June 1992, and was seriously proposed as an inclusion to the DSM, since "happiness" is a demonstratably abberant mental state that leads to diminished capacity for reasoning. Happiness is, in fact, a drastic and demonstratable lack of contact with reality. The root phenomenon is known psychologically as "optimistic bias" or "the illusion of control"; it has been demonstrated time and again that those people most capable of ‘coping’ pleasantly with life, and most capable of being happy and fulfilled, are those with the most positively unrealistic beliefs of their own self-importance and control over their environment. Clinically depressed people tend to have far more realistic expectations about their control over their environment than ‘well-adjusted’ people do, who often ascribe themselves far more control over perfectly random and pseudorandom events. Happiness is a mental disease that leads to delusionally high expectations from reality. The only reason it’s accepted is that it’s a desirable trait. In fact, one accepted method for counselors to attempt to treat the depressed is to attempt to detach them as much as possible from ‘reality’. http://www.cpa.ca/cjbsnew/1992/april/abs_koen.html http://www.biopsychiatry.com/depressive-realism.htm http://www.student.richmond.edu/~achu/drempirical.html The jury’s still out, of course, and some of these articles should show evidence both for and against the concept of ‘depressive realism’, but it’s interesting to note that there’s a significant amount of statistical evidence to support it. Anyone who wants a more comprehensive set of information is welcome to do a Google search on ‘depressive realism’ and sift through it all.

Thanks Brent.. the home page from your third ref was really interesting and a valuable addition to any knowledge base.. Personally I think I go with Dunning & Storey though… in the criticisms section "Another criticism on depressive realism is that depressives create social environments that are unpleasant (Dunning & Story, 1991). Depression carries with it sometimes emotional, motivational, and social deficits that can ruin positive social environments, making the achievement of positive events and the evasion of negative events more difficult. Thus, depression may not only influence depressives’ expectancies of the future, but it may actually dictate the future outcomes that depressives attain. In this way, depressed people create a self-fulfilling prophecy by producing the negative events that they predict and generating the reality they perceive." As you say the jury is out .. certainly food for thought. Bob

Response:

Happiness is a mental disease that leads to delusionally high expectations from reality. The only reason it’s accepted is that it’s a desirable trait. In fact, one accepted method for counselors to attempt to treat the depressed is to attempt to detach them as much as possible from ‘reality’. oic you are talking about those happy go lucky irresponsible types that are always filing for bankruptcy?

LOL – but it’s just a chemical deficiency!!! — Kathy "I wasn’t as smart then as I am now. But who ever is?" - Tina Turner

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I agree. Happiness is most definitely a psychiatric illness. It probably hasn’t been formally accepted by the medical community because no profit can be made by doing so. Afterall, widespread, safe, and effective treaments have been prevalent for some time now. Mike

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"Another criticism on depressive realism is that depressives create social environments that are unpleasant (Dunning & Story, 1991). Depression carries with it sometimes emotional, motivational, and social deficits that can ruin positive social environments, making the achievement of positive events and the evasion of negative events more difficult. Thus, depression may not only influence depressives’ expectancies of the future, but it may actually dictate the future outcomes that depressives attain. In this way, depressed people create a self-fulfilling prophecy by producing the negative events that they predict and generating the reality they perceive."

*nods* this is entirely possible. However, I have some philosophical problems with it. There has to be some form of root cause; it doesn’t make sense to me that people, with no prior evidence, would suddenly create such self-fulfilling loops. Perhaps some people have unlucky runs, come to believe these to be normal instead of statistical abberations, and then use this to create an unrealistically morbid picture of reality – thus forming the feedback loop.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Another criticism on depressive realism is that depressives create social environments that are unpleasant (Dunning & Story, 1991). Depression carries with it sometimes emotional, motivational, and social deficits that can ruin positive social environments, making the achievement of positive events and the evasion of negative events more difficult. Thus, depression may not only influence depressives’ expectancies of the future, but it may actually dictate the future outcomes that depressives attain. In this way, depressed people create a self-fulfilling prophecy by producing the negative events that they predict and generating the reality they perceive." *nods* this is entirely possible. However, I have some philosophical problems with it. There has to be some form of root cause; it doesn’t make sense to me that people, with no prior evidence, would suddenly create such self-fulfilling loops. Perhaps some people have unlucky runs, come to believe these to be normal instead of statistical abberations, and then use this to create an unrealistically morbid picture of reality – thus forming the feedback loop.

Yes..I tend to agree with you… its reminiscent of the James-Lang theory of motivation ie..when we see a lion .. do we become afraid and run away or run away and become afraid.. It seems a question of motivational orientation.. I dont so much see it as a root cause but more of the conditions of transition or gestalt switch to a depressive conceptual framework.. In situational depression its clearer.. a catastrophic loss or whatever but in socalled endogenous depression.. its not so clear at all.. the "out of the blue" subjective perception might not be the whole story.. perhaps its a case of repeated stressors ..like metal fatigue . where a final trigger..which might be below the perceptual threshold even.. leads to catastrophic loss of motivation. and this is experienced as "out of the blue". as with many socalled counterfactual theories.. depressive realism certainly lights up many unexamined assumptions and stimulates far more questions than it gives answers .. at least to my mind. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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How many truly contented or happy individuals rely on narcotics to bridge the gap of some emotional void? Regards, J.C. Scott

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It is my belief the only reason we care that someone is depressed in the first place is because it tends to bear a negative impact on their life and manifests itself in myriad, destructive ways not only to themselves but those around them. I am incredulous anyone would offer up such an absurd proposal.

Response:

You might try quoting the message you’re replying to, Zero1 d

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