Perhaps I am looking at this situation the wrong way but given Pausch's death as well as the recent deaths of such celebrities as Tony Snow and Tim Russert, men who have might be described as being positive/optimistic in outlook, high in self-efficacy, having a "fighting spirit" and other "good" psychological characteristics, all these things going for them and yet they have died at such early ages.
Perhaps being positive/optimistic etc. does not extend one's life. Maybe it may make one's quality of life better before the end but in Pausch's case, given the severe pain caused by pancreatic cancer, I have the feeling that such an attitude would have been overshadowed by the desire to keep the level of pain medication at an appropriate level up until the point that it was still effective. One can always choose how to exit, which may suggest a viewing of the movie "The Shootist" which was John Wayne's last movie. Perhaps I am asking what is the lesson to be drawn from Pausch's life beyond a lecture he once gave. Maybe only the standard lessons apply (i.e., choose your parents carefully, choose your genetic endowment carefully, choose your childhood environment carefully, etc.). As for the view of life provided by Dick Cavett, I have mixed feelings about this as well. I think that it is a good thing for people with depression or other significant conditions to get help because sometimes that might help. But sometimes it doesn't. There are people with depression who don't respond to standard pharmacoptherapy or psychotherapy, a condition known as treatment "refractory" depression (for a brief review based on presentations made at the "other" APA see the following entry on Medscape.com [you might be asked to register to access the info]: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/576515 >From the opening paragraphs: |Selection from: APA 2008: Depression |Treatment-Refractory Depression CME/CE |Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, MD Jennifer M. Covino, MPA | |Treatment-refractory depression (TRD) and its associated |distress and disabilities continue to challenge caregivers. |Innovations in therapeutics that address residual symptoms, |and improve rates of remission and quality of life are essential. |Obstacles to such innovations include a lack of understanding |of the pathophysiology of the illness, and an array of confounding |factors, including social and environmental stressors. | |For years, the mainstay of treatment for severe depression |has been pharmacologic interventions and electroconvulsive therapy |(ECT). Yet for many individuals these essential treatments fail |to alleviate the suffering associated with this debilitating condition. |Data from the World Health Organization ranked unipolar major |depression fourth among all medical conditions in disability-adjusted |life years (DALYs) with a projected increase to second by the year |2020.[1] It is therefore essential that researchers develop novel |treatment strategies as we expand our understanding of biological |and genetic mechanisms of depression. Research presented at the |161st Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association on |May 3-8, 2008 in Washington, DC, included further advances in |research and treatment of TRD. Perhaps it is good thing to give people hope. But maybe it's not such a good thing when the only thing one can give is hope (or, in its extreme form "irrational exuberance"). Perhaps we should just look on the bright side of life. See: http://www.thebards.net/music/lyrics/Always_Look_Bright_Side_Life.shtml | (You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing. |What have you lost? Nothing!) -Mike Palij New York University [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:46:05 -0700, Christopher D. Green wrote: >I must admit that this outpouring of praise for Randy Pausch -- >from a bunch or professional psychologists, no less -- has me a >little baffled. Don't get me wrong. Pausch seemed like an energetic, >optimistic guy who would be fun to be around, and his death as >so young an age is a tragedy. But his view of human behavior was, >well, naive at best. > >If you really think that the world of behavior is so simple that it can >be reduced to Tiggers and Eeyores, and, what is more, that we all >have the power to simply choose which kind of person we'd like to >be, then I suggest you read the column that Dick Cavett wrote on >depression in the New York Times a few weeks ago: >http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/smiling-through/ > >It strikes me as being much more sensible and realistic, even if it >isn't quite as "uplifting." --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
