Forget “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” Suffering Can Be Good for You

“We are constantly told to free ourselves from our traumas and pain, but what if we just accepted them?”

“I despise the kind of book which tells you how to live, how to make yourself happy! Philosophers have no good news for you at this level! I believe the first duty of philosophy is making you understand what deep shit you are in!” ― Slavoj Žižek

Being a psychology student and also a person suffering from depression for many long years, I visited plenty of psychotherapists, both in my home country of Georgia and in Europe. I learned countless theories and perspectives on and about mental illness—both as a patient and as a student. However, little brought much of a relief until I “discovered” psychoanalysis.

Unfortunately, in today’s academic world, psychoanalysis and its research are not taken seriously and are buried under the strictly scientific and evidence-based curricula. Academic curricula in these particular fields should be more honest, however, and most importantly feel authentic by accepting the mystery and the lack of scientific knowledge in some cases. Only through this acceptance, I believe, will we have space to grow.

I believe that more research has to be done in the field of psychoanalysis to enable it
to develop—instead of leaving it behind and watching it become part of the history.
I am convinced that psychoanalysis cannot be replaced by cognitive and clinical neuroscience. It is extremely important to highlight psychoanalysis as a very helpful lens, which enables us to understand human beings, arts and as a result: the world around us.