In conversation with a dear Portuguese friend recently, I was triggered, or more accurately re-triggered, by mention of a YouTube video that you too may have had a reaction to in the last few weeks, made by a Mark Manson. Mark is the author and co-author of four books, three of which, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope, and Will, were New York Times bestsellers.
While I think of it, where did that word ‘triggered’ come from, and why am I using it now?! Suffice to say, in perhaps a more British way: “I was not best pleased, and a bit cheesed off” with Manson and his silly assertions, albeit not as peeved as the UK cheesemakers whose wares were unable to make it to last weekend’s World Cheese Championships in Viseu, but that’s another story.
Anyway, the potty-mouthed Manson, who I would prefer never to be confused with, turned his attention to our red and green edge of Europe in an attention-grabbing production entitled – “Understanding the Most Anxious Country in the World”.
To give you a sense of the man, one of his reviewers Erica Rivera, writing for lifestyle website Mandatory, described his style as “as blunt as a man-to-man chat”. Another, Katherine Pushkar as “foul-mouthed, funny-as-hell, [and] dead-on”.
My one-line review, Munson on Manson as it were, comes later, but for now, all you need to know is that I have no wish for a blunt chat with him, and his oaf-ish style, saying “Holy Sh*t!” for example when first setting eyes on sacred Fatima. Even if that is half-right, he can keep his coarse language to himself and his side of the Atlantic.
And before I lace into his beautifully-produced, but shoddy treatment of my now fellow countrymen and women, and their delightful culture, let me insert here that I seem to be at the defensive stage of my expat journey here in Portugal; where I do not take kindly to the foreign criticism of my new home. I am perhaps even more sensitive about others misrepresenting and rubbishing the place I love so much, than the Portuguese themselves.
Forgive me that cuckoo-ish zeal, if you will, it’s meant well and no doubt thoroughly explainable by Mr Manson and his carefully-chosen academics, with whom he attempted to psychoanalyse Portugal and justify his strange claim. Portugal, set up as the “most anxious country in the world”, was high-grade clickbait that I could not resist, so in I went, defensive and ready to push back. Not unlike my feet-first response to an attack on Portuguese food in one of those dismal anti-Portugal Facebook groups, also recently, where people gather to criticise, knit-pick and make a case for leaving. To me, they are proof that misery loves company, and my comment “when are you leaving?” got me an official warning, as well as a note-to-self, to stay well clear.
I digress again, but I hope you get a sense of where I am at with my readiness to defend Portugal, knowing that it is not perfect, but remaining highly-sensitive to any attacks or unfairness, that I sense are more about the accuser’s personal problems, partisan position, or plain old axe to grind. Manson’s mini-documentary fits this bill, and his 27-minute pop at Portugal had me unsettled and put-about, despite its excellent production quality and sense of scientific enquiry.
Now, some will say his hundreds of thousands of YouTube plays and legion subscribers are what’s bringing a slightly green tinge, alongside the red mist (how Portuguese!), to what I am sharing with you. And, honestly, it doesn’t help when my intentionally non-clickbaity, largely positive videos languish on the outer edges of the video-sharing platform we both use, rarely touching four-figure audiences (sad emoji). But what he talks about, especially when he describes this country in terms of “sunny beaches and cappuccinos on cobblestone streets”, bears no resemblance to the land and people I have slowly come to understand and increasingly admire.
“In the 1980s, the first studies on generalized anxiety emerged and found that the Portuguese population was teaming with it,” claims Manson in the opening ‘scenes’ of his adventure into our collective anxiety. “In the first large international survey of generalized anxiety disorder in 1990, Portugal placed first in the world in general anxiety disorder diagnoses.”
“For such a quiet and peaceful country, Portugal’s mental health data are shockingly bad,” he continues. “In the US, 44% of college students self-report struggling with anxiety on a regular basis. In the EU, that number is 31%, and Portugal, 75%.”
“I’ve come to Portugal to figure out what the hell is going on here,” he warns us patronisingly and then proceeds, accompanied by an impressive array of experts and artists, to metaphorically rub his chin, as he endeavours to get to the bottom of our national neurosis.
“The story of Portugal’s mental health crisis is far deeper and more profound than I ever could have imagined,” he warns, as he continues his slick stroll through our psyches that takes in Salazar, Ronaldo, Fado, the shepherd children who saw the Virgin Mary, the economy and conformity.
Portugal, we get told, ranks highly in something called ‘uncertainty avoidance’, which you could say might be a good thing? But not it seems to Manson, who concludes his analysis saying “there is a subtle beauty to Portugal’s anxiety, a history encased and protected by their pain. And perhaps this is the lesson that the Portuguese have for us all,
Saudade [you knew it!], that there is a beauty in the longing, that you can savor the feelings of loss. And while the anxiety may torture you, it also keeps everything you love and care about safe.”
Mark, Saudade as I understand it, is not about anxiety, it’s about intensity. And your attempt to make it a one-word catch-all for a contrived academic premise that did not travel well or got lost in translation, is not sticking. In a very modern way, you took a scientific abstraction and travelled thousands of miles to make reality fit a theory. If, like me, you used the evidence of your own eyes, and all your senses, you might find some of the least anxious people on this earth. Historically complex, healthily cynical, darkly humourous and delightfully pragmatic, yes. That’s the Portuguese. But anxious, most anxious? Definitely not. It’s ‘Nãodade’, not ‘Saudade’, for you my friend.
Be honest, you just fancied a nice Portuguese holiday and needed to fashion an elaborate showcase for your sponsors, makers of the custom mattress cover that, funnily enough, helps with anxiety! We have wine for that, great wine, and belly-filling, wholesome food. And it’s ‘meia de leite’ NOT cappuccino, that also helps get us through our endless, angst-ridden days.
By Carl Munson
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
