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A review by o88
Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry by Randolph M. Nesse
3.0
“Several years into my work teaching psychiatry, I was frustrated as well as confused. The field seemed to be narrowing to the slogan ‘mental disorders are brain diseases'. The phrase is great for marketing drugs, decreasing stigma, and soliciting donations, but it short-circuits clear thinking”
This book is a reassessment of the field of psychiatry by introducing how evolutionary biology factors in and should be taken into consideration to better understand emotions and mental disorders. The main question raised here is “Why did natural selection leave our bodies with traits that make us vulnerable to diseases”. The book then tries to explain how emotions are essentially defences and symptoms for bad things happening in people’s lives. Ultimately, the author, a former psychiatrist, is trying to advance the profession, particularly it’s foundations, by bridging psychiatry with evolutionary biology for a more comprehensive understanding of mental health.
There is some useful common sense information here particularly with motivation, goals, low moods, and ‘depressogenic situations’, and how feeling ‘trapped’ in pursuing an unreachable goal is a disaster for mental health. Also, that it’s challenging to generate motivation and enthusiasm when positive outcomes are so few and far in between. Also, having ‘hope’ may sometimes be counterintuitive to well being as it may leave you stuck in a bad situation, and ironically, lead to depression.
Bottom Line:
Not as rich with information as I would have liked. The book's target audience is for psychiatrists, but it will appeal to the layman who is interested in evolutionary biology. The big takeaway for me is that the profession still seems to be very far off from understanding and treating emotional disorders effectively. It’s actually quite surprising how psychiatrists are not on same page and how flawed the DSM is. I think the evolutionary biology angle at best may help you understand yourself a little better, if you subscribe to a naturalistic perspective on things, but there is little practical use with that sort of information.
3/5
This book is a reassessment of the field of psychiatry by introducing how evolutionary biology factors in and should be taken into consideration to better understand emotions and mental disorders. The main question raised here is “Why did natural selection leave our bodies with traits that make us vulnerable to diseases”. The book then tries to explain how emotions are essentially defences and symptoms for bad things happening in people’s lives. Ultimately, the author, a former psychiatrist, is trying to advance the profession, particularly it’s foundations, by bridging psychiatry with evolutionary biology for a more comprehensive understanding of mental health.
There is some useful common sense information here particularly with motivation, goals, low moods, and ‘depressogenic situations’, and how feeling ‘trapped’ in pursuing an unreachable goal is a disaster for mental health. Also, that it’s challenging to generate motivation and enthusiasm when positive outcomes are so few and far in between. Also, having ‘hope’ may sometimes be counterintuitive to well being as it may leave you stuck in a bad situation, and ironically, lead to depression.
Bottom Line:
Not as rich with information as I would have liked. The book's target audience is for psychiatrists, but it will appeal to the layman who is interested in evolutionary biology. The big takeaway for me is that the profession still seems to be very far off from understanding and treating emotional disorders effectively. It’s actually quite surprising how psychiatrists are not on same page and how flawed the DSM is. I think the evolutionary biology angle at best may help you understand yourself a little better, if you subscribe to a naturalistic perspective on things, but there is little practical use with that sort of information.
3/5