Sharon Begley’s literary article Happiness: Enough Already claims that happiness is an emotion that can both bring us success in life and act as a barrier that can block us from achieving said success. Eric Wilson found this out to be true after reading numerous self-help books on how to become happier. University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener also found this out after speaking with the Scottish parliament where was told that too much happiness is not good for the public. In fact, Diener’s journal Perspectives on Psychological Science states that “once a moderate level of happiness is achieved, further increases can sometimes be detrimental to income, career success, education and political participation” (Pg 455). Both Wilson and Diener
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In 1999, the Broadway production of “Death of a Salesman” was looked at by two psychiatrists who then diagnosed the main character Willy Loman with clinical depression. Author Arthur Miller was outraged by the response, saying that Loman was simply sad due to the social problems he was facing. Jerome Wakefield of NYU and Allan Horwitz of Rutgers University pointed out that the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines sadness as depression. This labels sadness, even when it’s appropriate, a disease that must be cured by drugs when all it takes is help from friends and family. According to the article, Wakefield says that "we have attached a stigma to being sad with the result that depression tends to elicit hostility and rejection" (Pg 457). In conclusion, Happiness: Enough Already tells readers that many Americans are looking at sadness as an emotion to avoid. As what Eric Wilson says, “Americans’ fixation on happiness fosters a craven disregard for the value of sadness” (Pg 455) even when it can help us become critical thinkers and motivate us. The author ends her article by saying “It would be foolish to underestimate the power and tenacity of the happiness cheerleaders. But maybe, just maybe, the single-minded pursuit of happiness as an end in itself, rather than as a consequence of a meaningful life, has finally run its course” (Pg
In 1999, the Broadway production of “Death of a Salesman” was looked at by two psychiatrists who then diagnosed the main character Willy Loman with clinical depression. Author Arthur Miller was outraged by the response, saying that Loman was simply sad due to the social problems he was facing. Jerome Wakefield of NYU and Allan Horwitz of Rutgers University pointed out that the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines sadness as depression. This labels sadness, even when it’s appropriate, a disease that must be cured by drugs when all it takes is help from friends and family. According to the article, Wakefield says that "we have attached a stigma to being sad with the result that depression tends to elicit hostility and rejection" (Pg 457). In conclusion, Happiness: Enough Already tells readers that many Americans are looking at sadness as an emotion to avoid. As what Eric Wilson says, “Americans’ fixation on happiness fosters a craven disregard for the value of sadness” (Pg 455) even when it can help us become critical thinkers and motivate us. The author ends her article by saying “It would be foolish to underestimate the power and tenacity of the happiness cheerleaders. But maybe, just maybe, the single-minded pursuit of happiness as an end in itself, rather than as a consequence of a meaningful life, has finally run its course” (Pg