The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
Matt Killingsworth, a Harvard psychologist, is advising depressed people to stop thinking. He conducted a web survey, the results of which suggest that depression is a product of thought, such as reminiscing, strategizing, reflecting, and imagining. When such higher brain activities are avoided, so is depression.
Depression was most likely when thought transpired during work, shopping, or watching television.
“The best advice I can give a patient suffering with depression is to become a dog,” Killingsworth said. “If that’s not possible, then work harder and be a more manipulated consumer,” he added.
The study also found that those least affected by depression worked at jobs that require little or no thought, with politicians, bankers, lawyers, and celebrities reporting the highest levels of happiness.
“One can either be intensely mindful of one’s work, or do work that doesn’t require mind; unfortunately there is no third way,” Killingsworth said. “The data suggests that, as the avoidance of depression is the primary goal in life, one ought to work hard and shop hard, or sell out.”
(Source: Guardian)
