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I strongly dislike the way people talk about mental health as if it is just a personal problem or a disease when, often, it is a reasonable reaction to the worl

I strongly dislike the way people talk about mental health as if it is just a personal problem or a disease when, often, it is a reasonable reaction to the world as it is. When we conceive of it entirely as a disease we fail to focus on making positive social changes which might make everyone's lives better. Somehow it doesn't feel like a coincidence that in capitalism the "individual problem" narrative seems to always be at the forefront.

stavros 2y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_life_syndrome https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_life_syndrome
meany 2y ago
I think the challenge is that no matter the circumstances our minds are designed to adapt to the situation. This is often called the hedonic adaption. If you live in a modern western country, your life is likely significantly better than the wealthiest and most powerful people from the 14th century. Most likely if you're prone to depression, you will reset to a negative viewpoint even if societal issues are addressed. Below is an excerpt from article discussing research into lottery winners and paraplegics. "In 1978, a trio of researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Massachusetts attempted to answer this by asking two very disparate groups about the happiness in their lives: recent winners of the Illinois State Lottery — whose prizes ranged from $50,000 to $1 million — and recent victims of catastrophic accidents, who were now paraplegic or quadriplegic. In interviews with the experimenters, the two groups were asked, among other things, to rate the amount of pleasure they got from everyday activities: small but enjoyable things like chatting with a friend, watching TV, eating breakfast, laughing at a joke, or receiving a compliment. When the researchers analyzed their results, they found that the recent accident victims reported gaining more happiness from these everyday pleasures than the lottery winners. This is how the study is usually written about, in a “gee whiz, ain’t that counterintuitive?” kind of tone. But what’s really striking when you look at the results reported by the researchers is how close their answers actually are: On average, the winners’ ratings of everyday happiness were 3.33 out of 5, and the accident victims’ averaged answers were 3.48. The lottery winners did report more present happiness than the accident victims (an average of 4 out of 5, as compared to the victims’ 2.96), but as the authors note, “the paraplegic rating of present happiness is still above the midpoint of the scale and … the accident victims did not appear nearly as unhappy as might have been expected.” This is partially because of what’s become known as the hedonic treadmill, or hedonic adaptation, that annoying tendency humans have to get used to the things that once made them happy. I particularly love how the authors of this 1970s paper phrased it: Eventually, the thrill of winning the lottery will itself wear off. If all things are judged by the extent to which they depart from a baseline of past experience, gradually even the most positive events will cease to have impact as they themselves are absorbed into the new baseline against which further events are judged. Thus, as lottery winners become accustomed to the additional pleasures made possible by their new wealth, these pleasures should be experienced as less intense and should no longer contribute very much to their general level of happiness." From the following article: https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-and-the-lottery.html https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-an...
- DamnInteresting 2y ago
  The hedonic treadmill also helps to understand why wealthy people--regardless of how they acquired their wealth--seem desperate to increase their fortunes. They have more money than they could ever need, yet they want more. See Elon Musk and the $50 billion pay package.[1] I feel like this happens a lot with creative people as well--an artist can become successful and widely respected, but still become deeply unhappy if their skill or audience declines, regardless of financial success. It is the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about celebrity suicides--Robin Williams, Naomi Judd, Anthony Bourdain. If there's no increase in wealth or station, there's no dopamine. And that is depressing. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/13/tesla-shareholders-approve-musk-pay/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/13/tesla-s...
giantg2 2y ago
I agree that somethings like depression can sometimes be rational responses to the environment the person is in and can't just be medicated away. However, I don't think it's right to ignore the disease aspect, nor to politicize problem.
altruios 2y ago
paper straws, conserve your water, wear your mask... Just don't fix society, let capitalism sell you solutions to a broken society: it's more profitable... /s

stavros 2y ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_life_syndrome https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit_life_syndrome

meany 2y ago

I think the challenge is that no matter the circumstances our minds are designed to adapt to the situation. This is often called the hedonic adaption. If you live in a modern western country, your life is likely significantly better than the wealthiest and most powerful people from the 14th century. Most likely if you're prone to depression, you will reset to a negative viewpoint even if societal issues are addressed. Below is an excerpt from article discussing research into lottery winners and paraplegics. "In 1978, a trio of researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Massachusetts attempted to answer this by asking two very disparate groups about the happiness in their lives: recent winners of the Illinois State Lottery — whose prizes ranged from $50,000 to $1 million — and recent victims of catastrophic accidents, who were now paraplegic or quadriplegic. In interviews with the experimenters, the two groups were asked, among other things, to rate the amount of pleasure they got from everyday activities: small but enjoyable things like chatting with a friend, watching TV, eating breakfast, laughing at a joke, or receiving a compliment. When the researchers analyzed their results, they found that the recent accident victims reported gaining more happiness from these everyday pleasures than the lottery winners. This is how the study is usually written about, in a “gee whiz, ain’t that counterintuitive?” kind of tone. But what’s really striking when you look at the results reported by the researchers is how close their answers actually are: On average, the winners’ ratings of everyday happiness were 3.33 out of 5, and the accident victims’ averaged answers were 3.48. The lottery winners did report more present happiness than the accident victims (an average of 4 out of 5, as compared to the victims’ 2.96), but as the authors note, “the paraplegic rating of present happiness is still above the midpoint of the scale and … the accident victims did not appear nearly as unhappy as might have been expected.” This is partially because of what’s become known as the hedonic treadmill, or hedonic adaptation, that annoying tendency humans have to get used to the things that once made them happy. I particularly love how the authors of this 1970s paper phrased it: Eventually, the thrill of winning the lottery will itself wear off. If all things are judged by the extent to which they depart from a baseline of past experience, gradually even the most positive events will cease to have impact as they themselves are absorbed into the new baseline against which further events are judged. Thus, as lottery winners become accustomed to the additional pleasures made possible by their new wealth, these pleasures should be experienced as less intense and should no longer contribute very much to their general level of happiness." From the following article: https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-and-the-lottery.html https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-an...

DamnInteresting 2y ago
The hedonic treadmill also helps to understand why wealthy people--regardless of how they acquired their wealth--seem desperate to increase their fortunes. They have more money than they could ever need, yet they want more. See Elon Musk and the $50 billion pay package.[1] I feel like this happens a lot with creative people as well--an artist can become successful and widely respected, but still become deeply unhappy if their skill or audience declines, regardless of financial success. It is the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about celebrity suicides--Robin Williams, Naomi Judd, Anthony Bourdain. If there's no increase in wealth or station, there's no dopamine. And that is depressing. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/13/tesla-shareholders-approve-musk-pay/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/13/tesla-s...

giantg2 2y ago

I agree that somethings like depression can sometimes be rational responses to the environment the person is in and can't just be medicated away. However, I don't think it's right to ignore the disease aspect, nor to politicize problem.

altruios 2y ago

paper straws, conserve your water, wear your mask... Just don't fix society, let capitalism sell you solutions to a broken society: it's more profitable... /s