Love Does Not Conquer All
Dear [Mentat],
Yes, a great many people suffering various mental sicknesses would remain unhappy even if they got into a healthy relationship. This is true of many pathologies. The person who eats the wrong foods, though he might stay sufficiently nourished to stay alive and provide enough for himself to sustain a secure living environment, would still not [...] realize maximal potential at the higher levels [in Maslow's hierarchy of needs triangle]. I’d argue therefore, that food that only keeps us alive while retarding our progress at the upper levels doesn’t count as a true level one gratifier. Indeed, many anomalies have malnutrition as their roots even when the individual appears otherwise to be well-fed. In this case, a relationship won’t solve the person’s unhappiness due to malnutrition.
On the question of how long it would be until the chronically unhappy, made apparently happy by a relationship, would start finding imperfections in their dream mates: I’d answer it by saying that if their dissatisfaction [...] is really and exclusively due to a problem with the dream girl, and not their own predisposition to discontentment, then I’d expect that the person who finds what he’s always wanted in a dream girl wouldn’t be any more likely to find flaws than anyone else. But, if some other unfulfilled need makes him sad like lacking security or proper nourishment, then he may find lasting happiness with no one, whether she’s a dream girl or a troll. Thus, a relationship only suffices for people who are otherwise fulfilled.
Many people seeking single cures for relentless melancholy will probably never find it, yes. I agree. Happiness may come however, as a result of a combination of all these. No guarantees of course. But in examining the lives of people appearing to be supremely happy, it’s difficult to find one discrete cause of that happiness. Sometimes, it can happen as discussed above. But usually, when someone’s happy, it’s a long string of events and circumstances that facilitated their bliss. No single magic pill. No single book. No single motivational seminar. Etc. Right thinking also contributes as well. If someone thinks irrationally about how the world should operate, then yes, even if God granted them the riches of Job, they’d still be dissatisfied.
