don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

"The slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts." George Orwell

Do you know what is meant by “dysthymia?” This refers to a mild to moderate depression. How about the antonym of dysthymia — do you know what the opposite word might be, a word that would basically express mild to moderate euphoria? In my guess, it would be “wellsthymia” but, regrettably, such a word does not exist, at least not yet. I made it up, as a positive term to balance “dysthymia.”

Maybe it would be better to create a word that communicates more than mild to moderate euphoria. Perhaps wellsthymia should mean serene and epic joy, a chronic positive mood, high energy and excellent self esteem, superb concentration, ease in arriving at effective decisions, sound sleep patterns and satisfaction with an evolving sense of meaning and purpose overall generally and specifically in work performed and service rendered. Furthermore, let’s agree that wellsthymia shall not be subject to medical analysis — it is a state to be valued and enjoyed, not proven or measured.

See if you can’t work it in to everyday conversations — Good morning, Susie, you seem in a wellsthymic mood today. Of course, if self-managing lifestyles were the norm, we would have lots of words like wellsthymia in our vocabularies. Imagine such a society — the implications of large numbers of citizens actively engaged in self-managing, highly responsible and conscious lifestyles are far more dramatic than a greater vocabulary for expressions of well-being. We can only speculate as to how long people might live beyond the current average of 76-some years or if the job market could adapt and integrate all those displaced health care professionals needing other satisfying ways to make a living. Imagine the environmental implications, as well as the changes in social, artistic and other sectors of American life? Would there still be a World Wrestling Federation? I doubt it. Monster truck pulls? Not likely. My friends, a mass acceptance of wellness would be revolutionary, but without the pillaging and plundering.

To sense how attractive this revolution would be, consider just one anticipated change, namely, the elimination of our current epidemic levels of obesity. Obesity not only leads to premature death and high medical treatment costs; it squanders the prospects of those who suffer from it for vitality, mobility and social integration. Surgeon Generals of the last two administrations have estimated the percentage of obese adults at 34 percent, or 58 million! Most of the rest of our population are simply overweight, and will be obese in time. In addition, 22 percent of children aged six to seventeen are overweight and very unfit. The current estimate is that 300,000 premature deaths annually are caused by obesity-related conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, some forms of cancer, gallbladder disease and osteoarthritis and, as noted, the quality of life intangible costs are much greater.

Estimated dollar costs are just easier to come by, and include $11.3 billion for type II diabetes, $22.2 billion for coronary heart disease, $2.4 billion for gallbladder disease, $1.5 billion for treating hypertension and $1.9 billion for breast and colon cancer therapy. Remember, these data, horrific enough, do not reflect quality of life costs. When a relatively small percentage of citizens knows how to manage and moderate stress, dine appropriately, manage responsibility for getting their needs met appropriately or have nearly enough fun or purpose in life, it is time for a mass movement toward wellsthymia -- or whatever we want to call it. Is this part of the Bush Administration agenda? A Congressional priority? Sadly, we are not even close to envisioning such goals, but the time to start is now, perhaps with the littlest of initiatives such as, for example, a neologism -- the invention of a new word—wellsthymia!

Recently, Albert Hunt quoted former Sen. Patrick Moynihan (D., NY) discussing the tendency of “defining deviancy down” to describe the way repeated abnormal social behavior gradually comes to be considered acceptable or normal. He meant it as a way to describe the sorry state of American politics, but it aptly captures the situation with respect to deteriorating lifestyles. It seems to explain the process of how, over decades, more and more kids and adults get less fit, learn to blame and whine, to look for excuses not to exercise or do the right thing in the sense of taking responsibility for a high quality lifestyle. It might explain how we have gone down the slippery slope into the slough of low level worseness or, in this case, 34 percent adult/22 percent child obesity. It might also explain the need for a dramatic turn that would lead more folks to consciously pursue a state of wellsthymia rather than the norm of dysthymia.

Now, if only I could figure out how to bottle wellsthymia and offer it in pill form.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of effective decisions. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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