Blaming culture is way too easy. Anxiety or depression have nothing to do with how "unjust" the culture is. Many people live in the exact same society as you, a

Blaming culture is way too easy. Anxiety or depression have nothing to do with how "unjust" the culture is. Many people live in the exact same society as you, and had worse starting conditions (socioeconomics, family) but excel, mostly because of social support and strong mindset skills (which can both be acquired through reasonable effort), and because they likely had a healthier childhood and more nurturing parents than others who don't end up doing as well. Jordan Peterson (psychiatrist) says the default state for animals is not calm, but anxiety. An animal only becomes calm in a given environment once he sees and smells that no predators are around to get him, and that they are not in danger. Someone who is chronically anxious will often have grown up in a dysfunctional family and been emotionally neglected. Society didn't do that to them. Traits prevalent in 10+% of the population can still be disorders. In any given society, you'll have the rich, the middle, and the poor. You'll have the psychologically healthy, the average, and the psychologically unhealthy (the 10+%). These traits aren't "selected for" or "advantageous" in some situations. In this society, most people with low self-esteem will die with low self-esteem, since, when it comes to the psyche and emotions, most people only improve superficially, they learn to cope rather than fixing for good. They'll obviously pass that low self-esteem down to their children. No selection involved. Would you say low self-esteem is "advantageous"? Is it an "appropriate response"?