For Those Who Don’t Want To Suffer Any Longer: “Seneca’s Prozac “

Seneca’s Prozac is a medicine-book that uses a philosopho-psychological perspective to alert us to the fact that we have never been, in all of human history, so rich materially and so poor spiritually. Here is irrefutable proof: the growth in the consumption of drugs like Prozac or the, which have become the inseparable companions of millions of people.

There are people who cannot stand not having it on hand, and who do not realize that instead of eliminating the suffering, they are content to calm the symptoms. But there are also those who think that taking medication is the answer.

This book by Clay Newman, inspired by the emblematic phrases of Seneca, a Roman statesman under the governments of Tiberius, Caligule, Claudio and Nero, is addressed to them. These writings formed the Stoic philosophy and give the precise dose of wisdom to learn to be happy.

The source of suffering comes from the belief that our way of seeing life is THE way of seeing life, and that anyone who sees things differently from us is mistaken. In fact, we tend to surround ourselves with people who think exactly like us, seeing them as the only sane and sane ones.

When our beliefs are confronted with other people or with circumstances which are far from our way of seeing things, we enter into a psychological illness which generates suffering.

Why don’t we question our way of thinking?

Seneca already said it: ignorance is the germ of misfortune and this, the root from which the rest of our conflicts and our disturbances flourish. There is not a single human being in the world who wishes to suffer on purpose. People want to be happy, but usually they have no idea how to get there.

Since the most common lie is telling to ourselves, rather than  questioning our belief system and starting a process of personal change, most of us get stuck. in victimhood, indignation, helplessness or resignation. 

Let’s stop looking elsewhere. Self-deception is a deficit of honesty. Honesty can be very painful at first, but in the medium term it is extremely liberating. It allows us to face the truth about who we are and how we communicate with our inner world.

The only thing that keeps you from being happy is yourself

Seneca, in his Stoic philosophy, asserted that one can achieve freedom and tranquility by moving away from material comfort, from external fortune and by devoting oneself to a life guided by the principles of reason and virtue, with the idea of ​​imperturbability. This way of seeing life has been interpreted by Eastern philosophical currents and today by new generations of treatments in psychology.

Our interpretations related to our emotional reactions are what make us suffer and make us come into conflict with ourselves. We are therefore the cause of our own evil. Repressed pain can make us sensitive and belligerent. Choosing a victimist attitude will always prevent us from understanding that the cause of the suffering has no connection with the stimulation in question, but with the reaction to the stimulation.

In reality, we are the only people capable of disturbing ourselves, we are and we will be the cause of our suffering. Others can kill us physically, but spiritually, only we have the power to harm ourselves. Unless his mind is cleared, this illusory war provokes a series of emotional burdens, such as guilt, resentment, hatred, punishment, and the desire for revenge.

These emotions are the result of the excessive, subjective and distorted interpretation of facts and emotions that have arisen in the past. However, past facts condition your network of relationships in the present and prevent you from moving forward into the future, highlighting a lack of forgiveness.

This quality develops when we free ourselves from the pain that we generate ourselves, because we do not know how to have pro-active, constructive and harmonious relationships.