There Is More to Life Than Being Happy

It seems counterintuitive that happiness is not something that brings meaning to our lives. But according to Gallup, it’s not possible to be happy looking for happines instead of meaning and gives the example of Victor Frankl, the famous Jewish psychiatrist who survived Holocaust and author of ”Man’s search for meaning”. He also affirms that happines can’t be pursued, it must ensue. As it doesn’t help us find happines, this search may thwart it. During his years in Nazi camps, he could observe other arrested Jewish’s attitudes and behaviors. He also realized the things that kept him alive while being forced to work under Nazi soldiers without any visible and reasonable hope in the middle of the war.

Happiness is about feeling happy, being a taker rather than giver. The researchers from Stanford University summaries it saying ”If anything, pure happiness is linked to not helping others in need.”Evolutionary psychology says you feel happy when you satisfy your needs. Like animals, humans become happy when they get what they want. Yet, meaningful life is getting joy from giving to others. This is the difference between humans and animals, pursiut of meaning.

Clearly, the life’s meaning is not about being happy. Everything is made for us, incluiding feelings such as sadness, stress, anger. And meaning doesn’t come from stress free, extremely happy things.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/

Francine Prose Explores Anne Frank’s Literary Genius

It seems counterintuitive that a thirteen-year-old girl expresses herself like an author with experience. Anne Frank is one of the symbols of holocaust who lived in Holland and died in a nazi camp when she was 15. But as she was seen as survivor, her talent has not been recognized like she deserved.

Francine Prose realizes it after reading Anne’s diary again in 2005, keeping in her mind that Anne was only thirteen years old when she started writing it. Prose says it occurred to her that the greatest book ever written about a thirteen-year-old girl was Anne’s diary. Although some authors didn’t agree that her diary was a masterpiece for a young girl and most people saw it as a document, a proof of holocaust, Prose argues her talent as a writer.

It wasn’t just a diary because she wanted it to be read. After 1944, she went back and reviewed her diary, rewrote some parts. Beyond the diary, she comments about other stories that she wrote. She, for sure, wanted to be an author and would like to be considered an author. And her talent is unquestionable for a young girl who was obligated to go to Jewish school and hide for about two years.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113198365

Prozac: What’s Race Got to Do With It?

It seems counterintuitive that prescribed drugs may depend on people’s race. Yet, Azeen Groyashi’s article about prozac use and race shows us that your insurance or race may affect the quality of drugs that your doctor will prescribe.

According to a student from Washington State University, antidepressant use is rising and rate among hispanic and black patients from 1992-2008 were less than half that of white patients. David Sclar says that they don’t know the reason behind it, as people wouldn’t feel comfortable easily and because of that, it’s really hard to do a research that would offer reliable results.

While the government is trying to reduce the number of people without insurance and improve their life quality, it’s not acceptable to receive different treatment for similar conditions. Although we don’t know why, physicians are the first ones to be observed, because who prescribe drugs are physicians, and their guidelines should be updated if it’s needed.

Prozac: What’s Race Got to Do With It?