In 2006, 31 million prescriptions for antidepressants
were written by doctors. According to studies, as many as one in 12 people are
affected by depression. In the face of what seems to be an epidemic, two leading
psychiatrists have published a new book in which they deplore that doctors are
turning sadness, a normal human emotion, into a disease.
Allan Horwitz, professor of sociology at Rutgers University, and Jerome
Wakefield, professor of social work at New York University, argue that sadness
is a natural state of mind inherent to the human experience. “It should not be
medicated away with a handful of Prozac”. The authors point to the misleading
diagnosing process of depression, and explain how feeling sad can actually be
beneficial to our evolution, as it can help us learn from our experiences.
It is interesting to note how this position, which dares to challenge a societal
trend, is aligned with great philosophical traditions. Philosophers such as
Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Buddha, and many more, teach us how to embrace
emotions, face them, and move on without dramatizing them. Like the waves of the
ocean, sadness, fear, or anger can agitate the soul, but in the depth of the
sea, stillness can be found. There lies the Being, with its lasting strength,
wisdom, courage, stability, and calmness.
This is the path to self-knowledge, human freedom and lasting joy.
