It’s okay to not be okay

Sean Illing interviews Mariana Alessandri, a philosophy professor and author, about her book "Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods." The conversation explores the cultural obsession with happiness and the pressure to avoid unhappiness, arguing that darker emotions like anger, anxiety, depression, and grief are essential parts of the human experience. Alessandri critiques the "light metaphor" and "brokenness story" prevalent in society and self-help culture, advocating for emotional honesty and a reevaluation of how we relate to and support those experiencing difficult emotions. They discuss the Stoic and Aristotelian approaches to managing emotions, the importance of acknowledging grief, and the need for new narratives that dignify suffering rather than seeking to eradicate it.