URL copied to clipboard
For the past two years, three researchers have tried to understand what ‘happiness’ looks like for residents of Kyrgyzstan, and particularly for LGBT and queer people in this Central Asian state, who regularly face rejection and violence.
The result of their work is A Book About Happiness: For Young (and not so) LGBT (and not only) People, which draws on interviews from members of LGBT communities in Kyrgyzstan, but also touches on broader topics: How has the idea of happiness changed in the post-Soviet space? What might happiness look like from a left-wing perspective? Why doesn’t the global positive thinking industry make people happier – wherever they are?
This article is more than 3 months old
The world has wised up to how our past affects our present. But I know that labelling ourselves as ‘traumatised’ holds us back
‘The trauma narrative has an obfuscatory effect, drawing a curtain over the more material sources of unhappiness in our lives.’ Photograph: Martyn Edwards/Alamy Stock Photo
‘The trauma narrative has an obfuscatory effect, drawing a curtain over the more material sources of unhappiness in our lives.’ Photograph: Martyn Edwards/Alamy Stock Photo
Wed 16 Dec 2020 03.00 EST
Last modified on Wed 16 Dec 2020 09.59 EST
Trauma as a medical phenomenon has its roots in the late 19th century, when it was known as “railway spine”, a condition suffered by survivors of railway accidents (a new phenomenon at the time) and believed to be caused by microscopic lesions in the body. It arose in tandem with the insurance industry; people seeking compensation needed evidence to back up their claims, particularly if they