Patient: “Doc, I don’t know if I‘m depressed but I know something is wrong. Life is blah. I mean is this all there is?”
Dr. Sipes: “How long have you been feeling this way?”
Pt: “Too long. Actually, I think this has been creeping up on me for years. I’ve been wondering about this for years but wasn’t sure I needed a shrink. It’s not like I’m crazy or anything. I just don’t have any zest in life. And the weird thing is nothing is wrong. I have a great family, good job; everyone is healthy, really nothing wrong.”
Dr. S: After evaluating and determining that the patient is not depressed or is adequately treated for depression: “When was the last time you experienced joy, real enthusiasm for life?”
Pt.: “Can’t remember. But it’s been a long time. I suppose it was when my kids were young. Since then it’s just seemed like life has become so serious.”
Dr. S: “How do make a living?”
Pt.: “I’m an engineer. I work for a small firm. We mainly do work with the state government. I’m good at what I do. I get paid well. I like the folks I work with. It’s a good job. No complaints here. I just don’t enjoy anything anymore.”
Pink Floyd sang of being comfortably numb. But recently I have become increasingly aware of how we, in this left-brained American society, have become uncomfortably numb. Indeed, more and more I see people who have performed as high level professionals in very left-brained occupations such as medicine, law, engineering, accounting or various other businesses who complain that they have no joy in their life.
Of course joy is a right brain function. Joy is a consequence of playfulness, another right-brained function. Joy is more likely when we suspend the left brains analysis and judgment and experience life on life’s terms.
Making a living in your left brain has been a swell way to provide for a family. But in the mean time something was being lost. As is often said, we made a living but not a life.
Here’s the challenge, can we re-engage the right brain? Can we use the left brain to do what we need to in order to make a living and then engage the right brain to make a life? Stay tuned for suggestions on how to invigorate the right brain. Let’s live again!
