Keen’s stimulant analogy points to an important distinction: stimulation is not healing. Stimulants mobilize energy that is already scarce, while recovery rebuilds capacity through rest, safety, and honest appraisal. If someone is grieving, overwhelmed, or ill, the remedy is rarely a brighter attitude; it is time, care, and practical adjustments.
This is why false optimism can be so expensive. It encourages people to override boundaries—sleep less, work more, ignore symptoms—until the nervous system insists on being heard through anxiety, irritability, or collapse. What looked like resilience becomes depletion with a smile. [...]
