Comment

Comment by cheeki kea on March 16, 2022 at 1:11am

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1376114

A proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder.

R P Bentall

Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Abstract

It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder and be included in future editions of the major diagnostic manuals under the new name: major affective disorder, pleasant type. In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system. One possible objection to this proposal remains--that happiness is not negatively valued. However, this objection is dismissed as scientifically irrelevant.

Full text

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (885K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.