I kind of agree with other person who said it’s basically just antidepressants… though I’ve shyed away from the one that made me deeply content (yet somewhat dysfunctional) in exchange for one that leaves me more functional in exchange for a bit more (healthy) strife.
I’d be quite curious of a world where everyone is on universally functioning antidepressants.
Is this society a functioning dystopia or a dysfunctional utopia?
Also OP have you ever played the video game ‘We Happy Few’, a key feature of the world is that everyone takes a mild psychedelic called Joy to stop them from remembering the past.
Another story that I seem to recall using a similar plot point is Brave New World and their drug Soma (IIRC)
My mum’s a child psychotherapist, from her perspective medication aught not to be the first thing people jump at, but it very much has it’s place; an example being children with ADHD who literally cannot sit down to the point of them getting distressed, actually being able to sit down and engage with therapy after starting medication. Similar things with anxiety and depression, if anxiety holds you back from opening up and personal thoughts and feelings then medication can enable that for therapeutic work to begin.
The bigger issue she has is when people (often parents) only want the medication but don’t want to try and engage with the therapy.
Just something to think about