--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Paradoxically, it now is much easier to…" description: "\"“Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental disorders than it is to understand them.”\" — Randolph M. Nesse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-t_860579.jpg" --- # Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental… ![“Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental disorders than it is to understand them.” quote by Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-t_860579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-t_860579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b80/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-t_860579.jpg) > ““Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental disorders than it is to understand them.”” [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating disorders is easier than fully grasping their underlying causes. **In simple terms:** We can treat without fully understanding. Key Takeaway Focus on research to bridge treatment and understanding. Themes mental health science knowledge gaps Mood curious thoughtful Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - clinical practice - patient counseling - policy making Key Concepts psychology neuroscience clinical practice Questions to Reflect On - How can research better link symptoms to mechanisms? - What limits our comprehension? A Different Perspective Understanding requires deeper interdisciplinary study. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mental disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-disorder/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) ## Related quotes > [“I wonder if I’ve got any of the 374 mental disorders,” I thought. I opened the manual again. And I instantly diagnosed myself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/i-wonder-if-i-ve-got-any-of-the-374-mental-disorders-i-thought-i/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“The DSM-IV-TR is a 943-page textbook published by the American Psychiatric Association that sells for $99...There are currently 374 mental disorders. I bought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-dsm-iv-tr-is-a-943-page-textbook-published-by-the-american/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Mental disorders don't really live 'out there' waiting to be explained. They are constructs we have made up - and often not very compelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-frances/mental-disorders-don-t-really-live-out-there-waiting-to-be-explained/) [Allen Frances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-frances/) > [“You can't compare men or women with mental disorders to the normal expectations of men and women in without mental orders. Your dealing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-t-compare-men-or-women-with-mental-disorders-to-the-normal/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Addictions and mental disorders are like a disease, and they need treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syesha-mercado/addictions-and-mental-disorders-are-like-a-disease-and-they-need/) [Syesha Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syesha-mercado/) > [“vegetarianism perpetuates (or even exacerbates) mental disorders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-durant/vegetarianism-perpetuates-or-even-exacerbates-mental-disorders/) [John Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-durant/) > [You can't put people in jail for having mental disorders. You can't do that, and they should not be held there. They need rehabilitative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-mcmillan/you-can-t-put-people-in-jail-for-having-mental-disorders-you-can-t-do/) [Cecily McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-mcmillan/) > [“Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/diagnostic-and-statistical-manual-of-mental-disorders/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [It happens that there are a lot of people who are very talented who also happen to have a mental disorder. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-a-berlin/it-happens-that-there-are-a-lot-of-people-who-are-very-talented-who/) [H. A. Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-a-berlin/) > [ The man Hillary \[Clinton\] introduced at the meeting goes so far as to say that no amount of trauma to children - or poor… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-man-hillary-clinton-introduced-at-the-meeting-goes-so-far-as-to/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [“I hadn’t realized what a collage of mental disorders my whole life has been,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/i-hadn-t-realized-what-a-collage-of-mental-disorders-my-whole-life/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Writers can treat their mental illnesses every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/writers-can-treat-their-mental-illnesses-every-day/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [We know how to treat depression, we know how to treat mental illness, and we have not had the political will in our country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalynn-carter/we-know-how-to-treat-depression-we-know-how-to-treat-mental-illness/) [Rosalynn Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalynn-carter/) > [Yes, this is 21st-century America. Where we have better means to treat mental illness than ever before, but choose to let the insane people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/yes-this-is-21st-century-america-where-we-have-better-means-to-treat/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [“although the phrase “come back” is misleading because in the realm of meditative daydream the only way to “go there” is, paradoxically, to totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/although-the-phrase-come-back-is-misleading-because-in-the-realm-of/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More by Randolph M. Nesse > [ “\[Mood allocates\] investments of time, effort, resources, and risk taking to maximize Darwinian fitness in situations of varying propitiousness. High and low moods adjust… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/mood-allocates-investments-of-time-effort-resources-and-risk-taking/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered by our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-by/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered bu our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-bu/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-that-people-gain-a-selective/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“People are not controlled by some internal calculator that crudely motivates them to maximize their reproductive success. Instead, people form deep, lifelong emotional attachments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/people-are-not-controlled-by-some-internal-calculator-that-crudely/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Darwinism gives no moral guidelines about how we should live or how doctors should practice medicine. A Darwinian perspective on medicine can, however, help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/darwinism-gives-no-moral-guidelines-about-how-we-should-live-or-how/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Therapists have long known that many depressions go away only after a person finally gives up some long-sought goal and turns his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/therapists-have-long-known-that-many-depressions-go-away-only-after-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Long before there were effective treatments, physicians dispensed prognoses, hope, and, above all, meaning. When something terrible happens-and serious disease is always terrible-people want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/long-before-there-were-effective-treatments-physicians-dispensed/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Thanks to subsequent years of conversations with evolutionists, especially Williams, and with medical school residents and faculty, he has found that an evolutionary perspective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/thanks-to-subsequent-years-of-conversations-with-evolutionists/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Emotional capacities are shaped by situations that occurred repeatedly in the course of evolution and that were important to fitness. Attacks by predators, threats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/emotional-capacities-are-shaped-by-situations-that-occurred/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Every textbook description of a disease should have, in our opinion, a section devoted to its evolutionary aspects. This section should address the following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/every-textbook-description-of-a-disease-should-have-in-our-opinion-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [Natural selection involves no plan, no goal, and no direction — just genes increasing and decreasing in frequency depending on whether individuals with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/natural-selection-involves-no-plan-no-goal-and-no-direction-just/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Even our behavior and emotions seem to have been shaped by a prankster. Why do we crave the very foods that are bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/even-our-behavior-and-emotions-seem-to-have-been-shaped-by-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [The body is a bundle of careful compromises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-body-is-a-bundle-of-careful-compromises/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Our dietary problems arise from a mismatch between the tastes evolved for Stone Age conditions and their likely effects today. Fat, sugar, and salt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/our-dietary-problems-arise-from-a-mismatch-between-the-tastes-evolved/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) [Explore all 24 Randolph M. Nesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) ## More Disease quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. 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