The Other Side of Happiness

Comfortably Numb

Bastian asserts that people in the developed world have grown increasingly intolerant of every form of pain. Although life is objectively more comfortable, affluent and less threatening than ever, that’s apparently not enough. He describes the way thought leaders in the area of well-being push the attitude that a good life consists of nothing but positive experiences. They regard unpleasant experiences as worthless or even harmful, an impediment to good mental health. Physical or emotional suffering is, in this view, a personal defect to fix with medication.

Bastian strongly argues that this attitude is demonstrably counterproductive. Despite modern comforts and positive thinking, pain and sadness persist. He notes that the effort to erase pain constantly escalates: Marketing painkillers and antidepressants is now a multibillion-dollar business, and it continues to grow. This pain-intolerant outlook is dysfunctional, Bastian says, because it springs from a flawed understanding of pain and sadness.