A History of Euphoria

The Perception and Misperception of Health and Well-Being

Christopher Milnes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781032401737
• eBook ISBN: 9780429647857
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

Very few people have not at some point in their lives believed themselves or their loved ones to be reasonably healthy when, in "reality", sickness was encroaching or never went away. Health has been deceiving us for thousands of years, but rarely have we entirely dispensed with it as a concept. This book sets out to establish why and how that might be. The first of its kind, this longue durée historical study explores some of the ways in which people in western societies and cultures have come to believe that they, or other people, have perceived or misperceived health, well-being and euphoria—a word which, before the twentieth century, usually named the experience of health. This book draws from a number of areas of historical research, including the histories of convalescence, addiction, madness and Sigmund Freud's interest in Euphorie in his pre-psychoanalytical period.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• PART I The Perception of Health
• PART II The Misperception of Health
• PART III The Misperceiving Other
• PART IV Euphoria
• PART V The Misperception of Well-Being
• Index