Languishing
Do you also have the feeling that it doesn’t make much sense in asking “how are you?” anymore?
I can no longer ask, let alone answer. I’d rather jump straight to the point once it is quite obvious that things are not okay.
Last April, the New York Times published an article in which it recognized the concept of languishing as an emotion that describes the general feeling of exhaustion. A void filled by lack of joy, clouding our sense of time (what month is this?), dulling the hopes of a better future.
The term was coined in 2002 by a sociologist and psychologist named Corey Keyes, recognized for his work in the field of positive psychology. It is possible to use his research to understand how the pandemic has broadened up that acute distress space, making room for a nearly chronic feeling of languishing. A blurry feeling that drains motivations and is reflected in the disability to concentrate and flow in moments of absolute presence.
The understanding of language as a technology that has the power to materialize subjectivity, as mentioned in the last edition of the newsletter, is precisely what I’d like to highlight with the “arrival” of this new term. The opportunity to seize the feeling of languishing is in the popularization of the concept. To be able to say that we are languishing in response to the automatic “how are you?” gives us the chance to communicate better and above all, the chance to connect. I believe that relating to the shreds of evidence of a pandemic life will help us to go through this difficult moment, such an unusual moment that it seems almost unnameable.
The very popularization of the concept of depression made it possible to diagnose one of the greatest “diseases” of the 21st century. In one episode of the Podcast Ilustríssima Conversa, Christian Dunker comments on the consolidation of the term and how it allowed the diagnosis of people who suffer from depression, as well as the possibility, for those who are depressed, of self-recognition and identification with the symptom. It grants the possibility to act, to care, to treat, and to leave this mentally unhealthy place.
The possibility of recognition can be created beyond terms. Many therapies based on psychology and psychoanalysis can be summed up in the exercise of materializing subjectivity through words. Verbalizing memories, experiences and sensations is a practice that helps to assimilate and reframe emotions, distress, traumas, and, above all, to transform the mental state.
It is worth emphasizing that languishing is not characterized by the lack of the ability to feel good, like depression, at the same time that it differs from the state of mental well-being. Still, Corey argues that, for people who are languishing, the chance of facing depression in the short term is twice as big as for people who are not in such a state.
As I interviewed and talked to people, I have gradually felt the need to elaborate different ways of asking them about their status and to withdraw humanity’s most asked question so far: “how are you?”. Here are some new ways I have found to ask people how they are doing: “How are you feeling today?”, “How did you sleep?”, “So, what’s going on?”, “How was your weekend?”, “What’s up?”, “So, how’s it going today?”
If times ask for changes, there is nothing fairer than evaluate the way we refer to well-being, changing not only the question but also the answer.
Let’s take care of each other!
{01} Languishing The mental state that is a candidate to be the word, or rather, the feeling of 2021, arises to name a feeling of acute distress that drains motivation and focus, between flowering and depression.
{02}Depression Depression is a suffering modality that empties the senses, a prostration that doesn’t go away, disturbing aptitude and the appetite for life. Something that currently affects one-fifth of the world population. In his new book, “A Biography of Depression”, Christian Dunker explains how the meaning of depression has changed over the years. He explores the concept, the place, and (if I may, once again) the language technology to “cure” depression: “Don’t expect the antidepressants to work without language”.
{03}Migraine I can’t help but connecting languishing to a painful migraine crisis. For those who suffer from this neurological and hereditary disease, I recommend Cristina Nabuco’s article in Gama magazine. With a supercurrent and scientific look, it brings information about the origin of the migraine along with some new specific treatments, for pregnant women as well.
Ditamapa A mapping project associated with captured images on Google Street View of the streets, avenues, bridges, and viaducts named after the presidents of the 1964 dictatorship (Humberto Castelo Branco, Artur da Costa e Silva, Emilio Garrastazu Médici, Ernesto Geisel, João Figueiredo). Made by the artists Giselle Beiguelman e Andrey Koens.
The Ezra Klein Show: anxiety as a habit In this episode, Ezra Klein talks to Jud Brewer, Ph.D. psychiatrist and neuroscientist, professor at Brown University, where he is also the director of research at the Mindfulness Center. Super insightful tips on how to be aware of the way we live, deal with things, and how to try to unlock the “almost natural” path towards anxiety.
A one-two from the album “Drama” by Maria Bethânia:
Negror dos Tempos & different rhythm Trampolim. Both songs were written by Caetano Veloso
No, mornings don’t make you moral Does the early bird catch the worm? The article fetches some researches that question the place of “the morning morality”. At most, the “early birds” are just luckier: the norm of social activities works better for them because it meets their chronotype (internal clock, responsible for various physical processes).
We are different people at different times of the day. The article encourages you to embrace your chronotype.
