I only got around to checking out the Randy Pausch talk yesterday. I'm in agreement with some - not all! - of what Mike Palij wrote, but I first want to deal with one side-issue he brings up:
> 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. I don't discern any implications along these lines in the more appreciative responses to Rausch's talk, so I think this is a separate issue. (Nevertheless an important one - a friend of mine whose reading *has* led her to think in this way experienced excruciating feelings of guilt when her husband died of cancer in his 40s a few years ago because she believed that her previous pressure on him to "communicate" his feelings against his strong temperamental reluctance to do so was a factor in his developing the disease.) Back to Pausch's talk. One's reaction depends so much on one's own personality/temperament/personal experience that there is (of course) no right/wrong or morally/emotionally better way of responding to it. Personally I incline more to Chris's view, partly as a reaction to the unremittingly upbeat sentiments - his parents, his family, his teachers, his work colleagues, his students, his work, all were wonderful. (And I'm afraid the teddy-bear interlude didn't do anything for me - maybe because I don't recall having one. :-) As Chris says, no one would want to detract for one moment from an appreciation of Pausch's courage and the inspiration he has given others, but we can only try to be honest in describing our responses. (And I think Chris deserves some credit for doing so on such an emotive topic after the several strongly appreciative postings.) For those like Joan and Louis who argue for attitudes/practices that enhance one's capacity to deal with life's problems and tribulations, I'm in full agreement. But, like Chris, I would want to add some caveats. As personal experience counts so much here, I must add that, though I suspect I have never been as low as Dick Cavett, I do know what he means when he says that in the depths of depression accomplishing the most mundane task is a day's work. (And this state can last for many months on end, sometimes years.) I can recall a time when I genuinely believed that walking all day, for day after day, week after week, while practising mindfulness, focusing on one's breathing, and so on, *must* eventually reap some reward, some lifting of the depression/anxiety. Alas not, and in the worst states only the dreaded (!) drugs eventually produced results. That doesn't mean I think self-help, from developing positive attitudes to relaxation/meditation techniques, and so on, are not important - on the contrary, I think these are all ways of helping to maintain a mentally/emotionally healthy state, or dealing with down periods, but I fear that some of those self-help books out there that sell in their millions are liable to produce self-reproach in those for whom it just doesn't help when they most need it, as the authors all too often make it seem (if only by implication) that if the techniques are not effective it's your own damn fault. So if there's any moral here, I'd say we must recognise that there are no "answers" that apply to each and all of us, and keep in mind that (believe it or not) people are born with different temperaments: J. Kagan, *Galen's Prophecy: Temperament in Human Nature*, Basic Books, 1994. A rather different public talk: TV Playwright Dennis Potter gave a televised interview a few days before his death, occasionally stopping to sip morphine from a cup. Brief extracts: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/video/2007/sep/11/dennis.potter Edited interview: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2007/sep/12/greatinterviews : And a very different response to a death sentence: http://tinyurl.com/6xpevu All courageous in their own way. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- [tips] Pausch and Cavett Christopher D. Green Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:46:05 -0700 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." Chris -------------------------------------------------- Re: [tips] Pausch and Cavett Joan Warmbold Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:51:42 -0700 I also enjoyed Cavett's poignant, frank and insightful column about depression. However, the work by cognitive-behavioral psychologists combined with Seligman's work on the science of happiness strongly support that we can make the conscious choice to focus on the positive, to emphasize and effectively use our strengths, as well as learn to establishing our priorities and use our time for effectively. To me, in Randy's "Last Lecture," he provided a sterling cognitive-behavioral model of a person who had the attitude and behaviors that enabled him to live a wonderfully satisfying and productive life. In so doing, I personally am far less likely to take the downside to my situations. I mean, I just have to view segments of his lectures and/or his book, and I'm back up and running. I also recommend to my students the book by Richard Carlson, "You Can Be Happy No Matter What," as well as Burns book, "Feeling Good Handbook," and Seligman's book, "Authentic Happiness." I truly feel if we would start working with children on how to learn to focus on the positive and on one's strengths, many would have far more productive and happier lives. We develop patterns early and some learn to feel sad and have a low self-esteem. Randy freely admitted in his lecture that he had 'the luck of the draw' with the wonderful parents and family life he experienced. We all can't have such ideal childhoods but we all CAN learn how to become more productive, optimistic and content. I think why Randy touched so many of us was that he could maintain such an upbeat and productive/pragmatic attitude and lifestyle while knowing he was dying and leaving behind a wonderful family. He served as an inspiration to us all that apparently could even touch the hearts and minds of professional psychologists. Joan ------------------------------------------------------- RE: [tips] Pausch and Cavett Louis Schmier Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:21:25 -0700 Well, I haven't been "in trouble" on this list for a while. So, here goes. Chris, I agree that human beings and that which afflicts them, is extraordinarily complex. I agree that we must be careful not to think that the likes of Pausch are a panacea, although his rapid rise to renown reflects a wide-spread need among so many people. Yet, as the like of Dick Cavett and Mike Wallace testify in interviews and on help ads, we do have the power to choose to fix "busted brains" in the attempt not to be "drowned," as Cavett phrased it, by their affliction and to become at peace with themselves and that which is around them. However, not all mental and emotional issues, for want of a better term, are physiological; not all can be managed or "cured" with a pill. We can't accuse Pausch and those who cheer him as simplistic and offer an alternative simplistic reality. I would argue that there is a place for the Pausches of this world, for medication and meditation, for drug-therapy and psycho-therapy. From my various personal observations and experiences, as well as my wife's personal and professional experiences, too much of psychiatry and psychology seems to have gone from one extreme to another. Contrary to the impact of any extreme, we shouldn't drown out human nuance. Make it a good day. Louis --------------------------------------------------------------------------- re: [tips] Pausch and Cavett Mike Palij Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:18:03 -0700 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 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
