Watter's Immune To Reality

Status quo is defined as the existing state of affairs concerning social or political issues. It may be impacted by the values or consciousness of a society. Status quo is healthy at times when members of society would agree to take similar actions to bring about major change. Gilbert’s “Immune to Reality” is an example that urges people to accept current conditions and let their psychological immune systems create positive views of unpleasant experiences. Nevertheless, existing circumstances may need to be altered at other times in order for some people to avoid making decisions they would regret later. Such case is depicted in Watter’s “Mega Marketing of Depression in Japan” as the Japanese believed that depression was a simple disease that

People should try to control their emotions and instead of feeling deep grief for painful encounters such as getting rejected from a job or failing a test, they should try to ignore these experiences and make improvements by focusing on their next endeavors. Moreover, people can change their perception of certain affairs in order to direct themselves down the right path and avoid making regrettable decisions. They may often unknowingly harm themselves due to lack of knowledge or resistance to getting rid of bad habits and unhealthy traditions. This is why people should alter their own consciousness and take wise actions to develop a more positive status quo. In Watters’ case, the Japanese were reluctant to change their views of depression. They refused to take anti-depressants and as Watters argued “the people’s attitude toward depression was very negative” (Watters 515). Further, Gilbert stated that it is easier for people to alter their views for less troubling experiences than for very unpleasant ones. He certified that one may “ultimately feel better when one is the victim of an insult than when one is a bystander to it” (Gilbert 137). One more factor by which society can change status quo is the ability to understand the circumstances behind pains and pleasures. People should look for explanations to change the state of their experiences and to comprehend how and why certain situations take place. In short, the society should change the prevalent way of thinking and maintain positive emotions at all times no matter how miserable an experience is. People must also understand why one decision may be valid and another may not. They must also avoid taking unwise and regrettable actions in order to alter and improve the social status