Article re: treatment of depression

[pegkerr]

Happiness: Enough Already
The push for ever-greater well-being is facing a backlash, fueled by research on the value of sadness.

I am trying to figure out why this article upsets me so much. I guess because several members of my family (including me) are on medication for mood disorders. I read this as insinuating that perhaps we are just a little too eager to forego a truly authentic life in exchange for a surcease of the pain of depression. Well, actually, the article is talking about the pain of sadness, which it seems to conflate with depression.

Am I over-reacting? Your reactions?

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Van Gogh is not a very good argument against happiness, considering that a) he was psychotic rather than temperamentally gloomy, b) who knows how many more paintings he'd have done if he hadn't SHOT HIMSELF?

Frankly, I don't think genuine happiness is either so prevalent or over-valued that one needs to write a book decrying it.