Be careful what you wish for this new year!
“Beware of what you wish for in youth, because you will get it in middle life.” – Goethe
Be Careful What You Wish For is the title of one of Jeffery Archer’s best-selling novels. But the phrase is much older and has been attributed to an old Chinese proverb. We are all familiar with the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp from the Arabian Nights. Sometimes we too hope that a genie emerging from a magic lamp would grant our wishes. If you were to have such a lamp would it be a treasure or a liability?
Aladin and his magic lamp: If you had it would it be a treasure or a liability? Pic courtesy www ew.com
Do you sometimes wish that you could lead a life free of pain? Would it not be nice to have your teeth filled or extracted and feel no pain or not be bothered with all the headaches, stomachaches and body aches that keep you from enjoying life? Yes, some people in the world feel no pain. They suffer from a rare congenital disorder called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain or CIP. They are only a few hundred such people in the world and just around 20 case reports. Ashlyn Blocker, a teenager from the USA, is one such person.
When she was small, she was described as fearless by her parents and teachers. But pain is a protective mechanism, and its lack is dangerous. When Ashlyn was small her teachers put ice in her hot food to prevent her scalding herself. An aide kept constant watch when she played to stop her hurting herself. Ashlyn cannot feel cuts and bruises or insect bites and on several occasions, burnt herself by putting her hands in hot water. A genetic abnormality that leads to the disruption of signals in the nerves sensitive to pain causes CIP. It is rare because it confers such a disadvantage on affected individuals that they are unlikely to survive. A life free of pain can be lethal.
Do you at times wish that you could have a super memory? That you can remember everything? Would it not be a tremendous advantage in academic and day to day life if you never forgot anything? In 1929 a reporter from a Moscow newspaper visited Alexander Luria who in later years was to achieve world fame as a neurologist. The man was Solomon Shereshevsky, and he has been sent by his editor who on finding that Solomon never took any notes during the morning briefing thought he needed his head examined. Luria tested Solomon by reading to him long lists of random numbers and words. Solomon’s recall on the tests was near perfect. Amazingly when Luria retested him 15 years later, he could still recall the original lists.
In his book on Solomon, The Mind of a Mnemonist Luria describes the downside of having such a remarkable memory. When Solomon wanted to forget unpleasant memories, he had to write them on slips of paper and burn them to ashes. Even then he could not get rid of some memories. Flawless recall known in scientific jargon as hyperthymesia is not without its pitfalls.
Sometimes emotions can overwhelm us. Feelings are wonderful but at times can be downright painful. Do you sometimes wish that you can live life untroubled by feelings? Are there people who lack emotions? Yes, there are, and the clinical word for it is alexithymia. Persons affected not only have difficulty in experiencing feelings in themselves, but they also cannot understand what others feel. They have difficulty in expressing feelings as well as recognising facial cues of emotion in others.
Alexithymia is not a gift but a burden and persons affected lead lonely lives. Social relationships are essential for mental health. Humans need emotions even with all its attendant problems to live a life rich in social relationships.
Do you at times wish you had perpetual levels of high energy? Do you want to feel energetic and feel happy from the time you get up from bed until you go to sleep? Are there such persons? Well, there are individuals who at times may have these characteristics but those who live in such a state for prolonged periods may be suffering from a psychiatric disorder called bipolar affective disorder, and this particular state is called hypomania or if extreme, mania.
This is not a “happy’ state to be in. Persons who are hypomanic have disrupted lives. They also become rather irritable and annoyed with persons around when their grandiose ideas are not taken seriously. Though they have increased energy, it is not focussed, and they cannot complete complex tasks. Their elevated mood leads to social and financial indiscretions, and previously stable persons may end in debt or social stigmatisation. The biggest downside is that this elevated state does not continue and they may dip into a severe depression with high risk of suicide. Not a condition you would wish for.
Would you wish for great wealth? After all, it is no fun to be poor. But does an increase in your income bring you greater happiness. The answer is yes but only up to certain point. A study by two Nobel Prize winners Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman reported that emotional well-being increased with income but only up to an annual income of around 75,000 dollars. It does make sense that if your income is low, you will have to worry more about finding the necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. There are two caveats to this study. The first, Deaton and Kahneman did not find a decrease in happiness beyond $ 75,000. There was levelling off but not a decline. If you are very rich, maintaining several houses, a large staff and a fleet of vehicles or even a private jet might be stressful, but that is not due to you having too much money.
Would you like to live forever or least much longer than your current life expectancy? According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible Methuselah is supposed to have lived for 969 years. In modern times in France, Jean Calment died at the age of 121. She is the oldest person to have ever lived. The life expectancy in developing and middle-income countries has increased significantly in the past fifty years. With greater prosperity and increase in medical technology, people are now living longer and healthier lives, but that increase is now levelling off.
Scientists now say that at least in the foreseeable future it is unlikely that we will develop technology to enable humans to live for more than a century. Though we are living longer, we are not necessarily living better. Men born today will have 17 years of poor health and the women 22 years. In countries where the life expectancy has increased the chronic medical conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and dementia have increased too. What would you prefer a long life with poor quality of life in the later years or a shorter life which you can live to the full?
January is a time for wishing. But do be careful with what you wish for. If your wishes do come true, it may not be the best for you. Do not depend on a genie in an old lamp to grant you what you desire but work hard to achieve your dream but before you dream take time and think carefully.