Doing so helps us calm irrational fears and also helps us realize that others have faced the same kind of situation. We can benefit from what they have learned, but De Angelis maintains we must each go through our own pain to learn to deal with it and come out better for it. She points out, "Wake-up calls are never on our itinerary…but they test who we are and reveal us to ourselves like nothing else can." De Angelis cites some startling statistics: depression affects approximately 19 million American adults; 22 million suffer from alcohol or drug abuse; 22% experience insomnia on a nightly basis. "We have more comforts, more possessions, more of everything than ever before in the history of humankind. Yet in spite of all this, we appear to be more miserable." De Angelis argues that many people mourn for the lives they thought they would have, rather than making the most of the lives they do have. She does not discuss the fact that depression, alcoholism, and insomnia can have real physiological causes, no does she discuss ways these diseases can be treated. The focus...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now