Depressed affect made people think better.” The challenge, of course, is persuading people to accept their misery, to embrace the tonic of despair. To say that depression has a purpose or that sadness makes us smarter says nothing about its awfulness. A fever, after all, might have benefits, but we still take pills to make it go away. This is the paradox of evolution: even if our pain is useful, the urge to escape from the pain remains the most powerful instinct of all.
– Paul Andrews an evolutionary psychologist on the ‘benefits’ depressive episodes have on an individual, particularly those with creative minds. (Depression’s Upside, NYTimes.com) (via lanipauli)
1 year ago
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