Bio-happiness
Written by Elijah Eldreth
Twenty-year-old Kim Torence is a community college student working part-time as a librarian assistant at her local public library. Friends and relatives praise Kim for her bright and outgoing personality, and her consistent pursuit of her goals and future endeavors. However, for the past few months Kim has noticed a behavior shift concerning her thoughts on life and its purpose. She has also spent significant time questioning exactly what her life was going to be like once she received her Associate’s degree and applied for a full time job. She was never one to contemplate the existential, nor did she believe she was moving down such a path, but nonetheless noticed an odd shift in her behavior that affected her motives for action.
From her perspective, she wasn’t in any current state that would be deemed depressive, but just in a current mindset of self-doubt and self-examination, and wasn’t sure what brought upon this odd mood in comparison to who she was before. Her friends believed she was just anxious for what was to come, as she was in the midst of graduating and therefore during a period of sudden change. She understood other people's perspectives on her behavior, but she wasn't really concerned about her future goals, as she still had high hopes of securing a position as a full-time veterinary technician assistant.
Kim soon took it upon herself to reach out to her physician, where she was scheduled to meet with a behavioral specialist. She wasn’t deemed to be suffering from depression, but was informed of a new procedure in which selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are administered to individuals aside from those who suffer from depression, approved recently by the FDA. Her specialist believed that prescribing SSRIs could help balance her mood swings and give her back that overall sense of happiness, thus resetting her mindset back to her original endeavors. Of course, she was informed that SSRI’s are antidepressants, and thus could bring about side effects of depression and/or suicide.
Aware of her actions, Kim’s family grew concerned over what she was doing, believing she was limiting her capabilities of personal achievement and distorting her original behavior by preventing natural emotional responses from existing. Since she was not suffering from depression, they believed the consequences involved should be questioned, but Kim argued that she doesn’t deserve to suffer from such behaviors that she believes take away her happiness.
As of now, Kim has been taking the SSRIs for a few months, and has only reported positive effects. She has noticed increased motivation in furthering her goals, alongside confirming to be in a relationship after a long hiatus. Although her family has also noticed her positive changes, they grew concerned about how much of her behavior was natural, and what was possibly artificial.
Questions:
Should pharmaceutical solutions be used outside of regular diagnosis for chronic mood conditions?
Could behavior ever be deemed artificial? Explain.
Would you consider SSRI-mediated happiness genuine happiness based upon your own definition of the term?
Works Cited
Jemetz, A., Calvin, A. N. A. C. D., Buckley, A. N. A. C. A., Gould, A. N. A. C. F., Author Name
And Credentials:John C.A. Stevenson, Author Name And Credentials:Geoffrey J.
Gouinlock CFA, White, A. N. A. C. D., & Weber, A. N. A. C. B. (2019, December
31). Natural vs. synthetic happiness. Nexus Investment Management. Retrieved February
7, 2022, from https://www.nexusinvestments.com/insight/natural-vs-synthetic-happiness/
Walker, M. (2006, November). In Praise of Bio-Happiness. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from
https://ieet.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IEET-02-BioHappiness.pdf.
