Quotes From Cousins

Norman Cousins was disturbed that his use of laughter as a metaphor for positive emotions might be oversimplified.

“I don’t want people to think they can make any problem disappear just by ha-ha-ha-ing it away.” He emphasized that a good attitude could improve the life of someone coping with disease, even if it couldn’t cure disease.

“The important thing is what we do while we’re alive. The great tragedy of life is not death, but what dies inside us while we live.” Cousins implored physicians to consider the patient’s emotional state and promote an optimistic outlook.

“If you tr e at just the disease without tr e ating the emotional devastation caused by the disease, you’re only treating half a patient.” Cousins chided Americans for being overly concerned with their weaknesses and downplaying their strengths.

“We are becoming a nation of sissies and hypochondriacs, a self-medicating society easily intimidated by pain and prone to panic. We understand almost nothing about the essential robustness of the human body or its ability to meet the challenge of illness.”