Sublime

The politics of radical empathy,

We tend to see mental health as “being normal”—happy, realistic, fulfilled.

resilience—“good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development.”

That is, the psychologically healthier patients were the most unrealistic.

Insanity is not a “regrettable . . . accident” but the “indispensable catalyst” of genius.

the researchers found that their unrealistically optimistic attitudes correlated with better psychological adjustment.

that normal people who became ill and then recovered would return to their former worldviews.

early failures repeatedly experienced by a person predisposed to depression inoculate against future illusion.

people estimate themselves as more likely to experience positive events than their peers.