This thought-provoking article explores how modern capitalism has turned human isolation and sadness into a multi-billion-dollar business. It argues that consumerism and hyper individualism wear us down, only to sell us temporary fixes like retail therapy, luxury "self-care" products, or even AI companions rather than addressing the root causes of our distress.
There are concepts known as "necessary" and "sufficient." The only question is how quickly you can grasp these definitions—whether before or after the onset of "depression" (itself the result of conclusions drawn from personal cognitive dissonance)—assuming you possess a mature mind and are free from chemical interference with your cognitive processes.
One of the deepest questions here is what happens when human suffering becomes something an economy can continuously organise itself around.
Depression is real suffering, and people deserve serious care, support, and treatment when they need it. But there is another layer worth examining: what happens when the systems surrounding suffering begin to reward its classification, measurement, management, and continued consumption?
A person can gradually become identified with a diagnosis, a treatment pathway, a set of symptoms, or even a market built around managing those symptoms.
That does not mean the suffering is imaginary. It means we should be willing to examine the architecture around it.
Perhaps the deeper question is not simply how we treat depression, but whether our culture has become better at managing distress than understanding the conditions that produce it.
More will never be enough
Is called plastic therapy. Aware of this since the 80's
There are concepts known as "necessary" and "sufficient." The only question is how quickly you can grasp these definitions—whether before or after the onset of "depression" (itself the result of conclusions drawn from personal cognitive dissonance)—assuming you possess a mature mind and are free from chemical interference with your cognitive processes.
One of the deepest questions here is what happens when human suffering becomes something an economy can continuously organise itself around.
Depression is real suffering, and people deserve serious care, support, and treatment when they need it. But there is another layer worth examining: what happens when the systems surrounding suffering begin to reward its classification, measurement, management, and continued consumption?
A person can gradually become identified with a diagnosis, a treatment pathway, a set of symptoms, or even a market built around managing those symptoms.
That does not mean the suffering is imaginary. It means we should be willing to examine the architecture around it.
Perhaps the deeper question is not simply how we treat depression, but whether our culture has become better at managing distress than understanding the conditions that produce it.