First 20-odd chapters the author narrated many problems of modern society. The list is long - Stress, childhood trauma, side effects of silently suffocating, self-criticalness, social expectations that shape our lives, guilt, self-loath, autoimmune diseases and not being authentic with ourselves. Some are first-world problems and many are across the board. When I was reading them I was connecting with some and feeling helpless (because that is the nature of those problems).
I agree with the many problems he mentioned. Some problems are part of the “conformity bias”. We want to “fit in” and in that process, we suffer, and do things that we don’t like. And some problems are like “I don’t know what I can do” types - though it makes me feel sad and feel victimized for things that are not in my control. For example. He says all addictions have roots in childhood suffering. He has a point - but I have a choice now.
The last chapters are on self-compassion, awareness, acceptance, and healing types of solutions. They give comfort and relief for sure. He shared his personal experience in a South American country, some shaman/rituals that helped him “feel good”. They told him that he accumulated some kind of “darkness” while “fixing others as doctors”. I guess that’s where my disconnect started.
Overall, the way I see all the problems he narrated as a good "list of unresolved challenges” in the modern world. I see these are a result of “evolution”. Modern life is stressful, unfortunately. It is what it is. Some of the problems we are facing will not be solved in our lifetime, but I have confidence we will find long-term solutions. In that process, we set “new normal” baselines… and some 500 years down the line, there will be one more book debating myths of that new normal :).
I was drawing an analogy with three other books while reading Myth of Normal.
Suggestible You - I read this 6 years back. Chronic diseases cost billions of dollars (670 per year?). And most of the medicine used is a version of placebo (or in-conclusive impact pill). So he recommends that we bring in the practices in countries like China, Taiwan, India, and South Africa. Imagine shamans/rituals done by doctors in white coats and with the whole hospital setup. After reading this book I stopped thinking of medicine in “binary”. It is not good vs bad -> what percent good? That is where I started putting 10% into placebos. And then there is another factor - affordability.
Rachael Hills - One is a psychologist who wrote about the social issues around marriage/dating in the Americas. This is research she did and the kind of pressure people go through in selecting a partner. I was surprised to hear the kind of pressure people go through when they stay “single” here in developed countries.
Malcolm Gladwell (In “What the Dog Saw…”.) In this book, he argues that modern-age women’s main problem is exposure to hormones. A few centuries ago we didn’t have birth control. During the prime age of 15-20 years, every 1 1/2 to 2 years women were either carrying or feeding. With birth control and new age, challenges are new that humans are exposed to in the modern age.
I know it is a bit long, but that concludes my thoughts on this book :).
