A proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder (1992)

AnimalMuppet

<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.

techblueberry

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.

kusokurae

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

letharion

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?)

adyashakti

it's Catch-22. the world is such a mess that if you're happy, you must be delusional.

eouw0o83hf

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.

boesboes

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

pogue

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

bensyverson

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.

delichon

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?"

gabrielso

Good news is that the government can offer free treatment.

tss93

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.

8bitsrule

The way to happiness is to stop chasing it. Never mind all the ads ... It isn't 'out there somewhere'.

iberator

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

skeledrew

"You look happy. What's wrong?" Ultimate conversation starter.

emsign

If you are too happy to work, you are sick. Makes sense.

rglover

"It's so, so sad, to be happy all the time." - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZPxUiAKTo

jayd16

I think the DSM 5 says a disorder must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

_doctor_love

> 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.