Turns out being empathetic can make people sad or anxious sometimes and indifference to the wellbeing of others is relaxing.
[deleted] on
[deleted]
EtheusRook on
Caring about actual issues, rather than how many minorities are in Star Wars, causes anxiety. More news at 11.
ramesesbolton on
I’m going to put aside stereotypes and value judgments for a second.
my personal take on this is that conservatives tend to be more traditional, and tradition can provide structure, social cohesion, and meaning in one’s life. I’d argue that human societies all developed traditions for precisely that reason. less traditional people have to create their own structure and find their own purpose in life, and that process can be extremely stressful and isolating especially if they don’t succeed at it right away.
skoltroll on
Conservatives SAY they’re happy, but act like dicks to friends, family, and strangers.
Once again, Nate Silver doesn’t do enough work on his data. Mental health is a LOT MORE than what you ADMIT you feel.
Aurongel on
The fact that this data is **self-reported** tells you everything you need to know about how reliable these gaps actually are. Self awareness of mental health and the ability to admit weakness is something that is not as heavily stigmatized on one side of the political aisle versus the other.
Traditional patriarchal norms like stoicism push people (*mostly men, let’s be honest…*) to deny any potential mental/emotional weakness rather than acknowledging it and actually addressing it. Saying you’re happy/healthy to a room full of strangers and actually **being** happy/healthy are two very different things.
By the way, happy National Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
em26273 on
These are self-reported surveys, which can be skewed, especially since conservatives often stigmatize therapy and emotional vulnerability. I’d argue their recent policy priorities suggest resentment more than happiness.
spleeble on
This is a whole essay about “self-reported happiness” that makes no effort to discuss or address the bias that can come from self reporting.
And there’s nothing beautiful about the data either.
Ironhide94 on
The level of condescension and superiority in this thread is mind blowing
pawnman99 on
Almost like constantly making up new problems to worry about causes increased anxiety and hopelessness.
And almost like believing you are responsible for your own well-being creates a sense of control in your life, which leads to improved sense of accomplishment and worth.
DirkDirkinson on
Interesting data. It would be nice to have survey data from when Biden was in office to compare this to. With how polarized america is right now, I’m really curious how much of this gap is simply due to who is sitting in the oval office.
allhailthehale on
I grew up in a *very* conservative rural area and now live in a very liberal urban area. Obviously that’s not, like, empirical science but I am very skeptical of these results.
I’d like to see data not based on self reporting. I think this more reflects cultural norms around mental health. I knew just as many miserable adults growing up as I know now.
Ez_ikea_directions on
The comment section here is wild. The neurosis is palpable.
velvet_funtime on
today from The Atlantic:
> But research corroborates my wave-pool hunch: Democrats are becoming the party of political junkies; Republicans, the party of people who would rather think about anything else. And there are more of the latter than there are of the former.
balancedgif on
there’s an enormous amount of copium in this thread.
CougarForLife on
The questions that come from this being self-reported seem more interesting and enlightening than taking the results at face value
string1969 on
It’s the difference in energy and efforts-between making yourself happy (Conservatives) and making everyone suffer less.(Dems)
boyyhowdy on
If these results are from the US, it is probably because society is so far off from the social democratic values that liberals desire and straying even farther from them. On the other hand, conservatives are giddy that we are in an era when the social safety net and healthcare are being shredded, sexual minorities and immigrants are being persecuted, and the hierarchies of who is on top and who is on the bottom are being reinforced.
10xwannabe on
Hate to break it to folks but this ALSO spills over to mental health in the CHILDRENT of their parents. The data supports higher depression and anxiety in children of liberal parents then conservative parents.
animerobin on
Then why won’t they stop complaining about everything?
If you ask them about the 4 years of Biden they act like it was hell for on earth. If you ask them why they support Trump and Elon dismantling the country, they say it’s rotten to the core and must but rebuilt from the ground up. If you ask them about their life, they’ll say it’s great, they’re rich and comfortable and happy. What is wrong with them?
BrettHullsBurner on
The most odd note from their “across all demographics” chart is that people on both sides that are more interested in politics and news have higher happiness scores. Really would have thought “ignorance is bliss” would have applied there.
Pinkumb on
I am crestfallen but maybe not surprise the amount of motivated reasoning in these comments. Essentially the response is: “they should be miserable! everything sucks!!!”
I think it is a non-insignificant factor that the political group that simultaneously believes: you’ll never achieve the financial comfort of prior generations, the planet is dying because of your existence, you were born innately privileged, and the country has been taken over by the worst villains of all of history… also happens to have a lot more people who are not happy.
You can be left-leaning without being a doomer, but the argument across all the comments is justifying being insufferably miserable.
Caudillo_Sven on
I had someone on reddit explain to me the other day that to be happy or content with life is to be a bootlicker and complacent in structural injustice. Case in point.
tmzspn on
‘Ignorance is bliss’ is not a new concept.
Pathetian on
I see this brought up as a gotcha often enough, but isn’t this a given?
You have one group of people who are , by definition, in favor of the status quo and another who, by definition, want change. Why would the latter group ever be happier than the former?
aclaypool78 on
Such a silly study. The systems are designed to work for conservatives. They live in positions of inscrutable power. Of course they’re happier. A presupposition of “liberals” is that the systems don’t work for many people and we need to develop better ones, particularly for marginalized groups. The futility of fighting as the underdog (not to mention empathy for others) takes a toll on mental health.
I’ll propose a similar study to test the hypothesis that people making below the median income have more stress about money. Dumb dumb dumb.
ohiotechie on
This is self reported. I wonder what the conservatives relatives and friends would say. Frankly the conservatives in my life are some of the most miserable people I know. They are *always* angry about something, and always see the cup as half full even when it’s overflowing.
Most liberals I know are fairly happy even if they are not at all happy with the state of the nation and politics. They tend to have good friends with strong bonds and are supportive of others.
Granted I have no science to back this up but it’s been my experience.
Inevitable-Spirit491 on
Now poll liberals and conservatives on whether they think mental health is real
Paddlesons on
Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy. -Louis CK
msabid on
Self-reporting of good mental health correlates with level of social stigma of less-than-perfect mental health? Shocker.
TheWalkinFrood on
I will keep saying this until I’m blue in the face, but conservatism is a mental disorder on par with all the others in the dark triad. I honestly think it should be added so we have a dark quartet.
artguydeluxe on
Smarter people are more depressed, because they realize a majority of people around them are dumber than they are.
Schwingzilla on
I have an actual question: Is this data about mental health, or is it about happiness? If he’s saying those are the same thing, that’s really bad reporting. Or is it mixed?
WaterNerd518 on
This poll exemplifies that very true saying, ignorance is bliss.
A few things going on here. One is that conservatives are far less likely to value their mental health enough to really examine and reflect on it. Many think the whole idea of mental health is softy, liberal bs. Another is that conservatives have an entire political perspective that ignores the real problems we face in our lives like civil rights, environmental justice, economic justice, climate change, oligarchism, etc, etc. So the laundry list of real things liberals are concerned about is replaced by imaginary problems that conservatives choose to fight against because that makes them feel better while doing nothing to improve anyone’s lives.
Kiyan1159 on
The cope in these comments is wild.
brought2light on
Back when I was conservative I would have told you I was happy… because you are supposed to.
Conservative people tend to view people’s problems as proof that you aren’t faithful enough, or you deserve it, so you keep any unhappiness to yourself and convince yourself that you are happy.
ContinuedContagion on
I think this is misleading. This isn’t talking about happiness, it’s talking about mental health. I would have absolutely predicted this outcome. Internally directed stigma and shame are a hallmark of conservatives and emblematic of all their heroes (“the strong, silent type”). Of course they are going to self-report that “everything is fine!” For them, admission of a problem is weakness. Suffering in silence is a strength.
Most of the people I know who voted for trump, not necessarily conservatives, did so because of anger and fear.
Optimus_Prime_10 on
Now control it for education level. Ignorance is bliss.
evilsniperxv on
Maybe because one side understands the grim dark reality of the situation we’re in, and the other lives in a f’ing fantasy world.
Mo6181 on
It’s completely anecdotal, but the most “conservative” people I know are filled with rage all of the time. My parents, for example, were fairly centrist to not political most of my life. They retired about 5 years ago. Suddenly, they had a lot of free time. They filled it with Fox News, where they are told all day what to be angry about. It is usually bullshit, but story after story begins, “This will make your blood boil.” My sisters and I watched as they both became angrier and angrier.
My mother blew up on a family vacation over nothing. My wife and one of my sisters blatantly told her she has changed and is just angry all the time. She could not believe it. She swore she was absolutely happy as can be. She certainly should be. They bought a really nice house on a lake fairly close to their children and grandkids. We had a pretty tight-knit family. They have plenty of money saved. They should be happy. They think they are happy. They aren’t.
Now, their increasingly fringe views have caused some separation in the family. I have kept my distance the last year or so. I am a fairly liberal person. My wife is too. We have a wonderful marriage. We are doing pretty well financially. We have an amazing kid. We have a pretty happy little family. I don’t feel I am doing great mentally. I couldn’t deal with their crazy views and attitudes anymore, so I forced myself to take a step back from my tight-knit family, and now I am dealing with anxiety for the first time in my life.
Self reported mental health is absolute bullshit. Many conservatives don’t even believe in mental health. They think LGBTQ people are mentally unwell, but not themselves.
44 Comments
Turns out being empathetic can make people sad or anxious sometimes and indifference to the wellbeing of others is relaxing.
[deleted]
Caring about actual issues, rather than how many minorities are in Star Wars, causes anxiety. More news at 11.
I’m going to put aside stereotypes and value judgments for a second.
my personal take on this is that conservatives tend to be more traditional, and tradition can provide structure, social cohesion, and meaning in one’s life. I’d argue that human societies all developed traditions for precisely that reason. less traditional people have to create their own structure and find their own purpose in life, and that process can be extremely stressful and isolating especially if they don’t succeed at it right away.
Conservatives SAY they’re happy, but act like dicks to friends, family, and strangers.
Once again, Nate Silver doesn’t do enough work on his data. Mental health is a LOT MORE than what you ADMIT you feel.
The fact that this data is **self-reported** tells you everything you need to know about how reliable these gaps actually are. Self awareness of mental health and the ability to admit weakness is something that is not as heavily stigmatized on one side of the political aisle versus the other.
Traditional patriarchal norms like stoicism push people (*mostly men, let’s be honest…*) to deny any potential mental/emotional weakness rather than acknowledging it and actually addressing it. Saying you’re happy/healthy to a room full of strangers and actually **being** happy/healthy are two very different things.
By the way, happy National Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
These are self-reported surveys, which can be skewed, especially since conservatives often stigmatize therapy and emotional vulnerability. I’d argue their recent policy priorities suggest resentment more than happiness.
This is a whole essay about “self-reported happiness” that makes no effort to discuss or address the bias that can come from self reporting.
And there’s nothing beautiful about the data either.
The level of condescension and superiority in this thread is mind blowing
Almost like constantly making up new problems to worry about causes increased anxiety and hopelessness.
And almost like believing you are responsible for your own well-being creates a sense of control in your life, which leads to improved sense of accomplishment and worth.
Interesting data. It would be nice to have survey data from when Biden was in office to compare this to. With how polarized america is right now, I’m really curious how much of this gap is simply due to who is sitting in the oval office.
I grew up in a *very* conservative rural area and now live in a very liberal urban area. Obviously that’s not, like, empirical science but I am very skeptical of these results.
I’d like to see data not based on self reporting. I think this more reflects cultural norms around mental health. I knew just as many miserable adults growing up as I know now.
The comment section here is wild. The neurosis is palpable.
today from The Atlantic:
> But research corroborates my wave-pool hunch: Democrats are becoming the party of political junkies; Republicans, the party of people who would rather think about anything else. And there are more of the latter than there are of the former.
there’s an enormous amount of copium in this thread.
The questions that come from this being self-reported seem more interesting and enlightening than taking the results at face value
It’s the difference in energy and efforts-between making yourself happy (Conservatives) and making everyone suffer less.(Dems)
If these results are from the US, it is probably because society is so far off from the social democratic values that liberals desire and straying even farther from them. On the other hand, conservatives are giddy that we are in an era when the social safety net and healthcare are being shredded, sexual minorities and immigrants are being persecuted, and the hierarchies of who is on top and who is on the bottom are being reinforced.
Hate to break it to folks but this ALSO spills over to mental health in the CHILDRENT of their parents. The data supports higher depression and anxiety in children of liberal parents then conservative parents.
Then why won’t they stop complaining about everything?
If you ask them about the 4 years of Biden they act like it was hell for on earth. If you ask them why they support Trump and Elon dismantling the country, they say it’s rotten to the core and must but rebuilt from the ground up. If you ask them about their life, they’ll say it’s great, they’re rich and comfortable and happy. What is wrong with them?
The most odd note from their “across all demographics” chart is that people on both sides that are more interested in politics and news have higher happiness scores. Really would have thought “ignorance is bliss” would have applied there.
I am crestfallen but maybe not surprise the amount of motivated reasoning in these comments. Essentially the response is: “they should be miserable! everything sucks!!!”
I think it is a non-insignificant factor that the political group that simultaneously believes: you’ll never achieve the financial comfort of prior generations, the planet is dying because of your existence, you were born innately privileged, and the country has been taken over by the worst villains of all of history… also happens to have a lot more people who are not happy.
You can be left-leaning without being a doomer, but the argument across all the comments is justifying being insufferably miserable.
I had someone on reddit explain to me the other day that to be happy or content with life is to be a bootlicker and complacent in structural injustice. Case in point.
‘Ignorance is bliss’ is not a new concept.
I see this brought up as a gotcha often enough, but isn’t this a given?
You have one group of people who are , by definition, in favor of the status quo and another who, by definition, want change. Why would the latter group ever be happier than the former?
Such a silly study. The systems are designed to work for conservatives. They live in positions of inscrutable power. Of course they’re happier. A presupposition of “liberals” is that the systems don’t work for many people and we need to develop better ones, particularly for marginalized groups. The futility of fighting as the underdog (not to mention empathy for others) takes a toll on mental health.
I’ll propose a similar study to test the hypothesis that people making below the median income have more stress about money. Dumb dumb dumb.
This is self reported. I wonder what the conservatives relatives and friends would say. Frankly the conservatives in my life are some of the most miserable people I know. They are *always* angry about something, and always see the cup as half full even when it’s overflowing.
Most liberals I know are fairly happy even if they are not at all happy with the state of the nation and politics. They tend to have good friends with strong bonds and are supportive of others.
Granted I have no science to back this up but it’s been my experience.
Now poll liberals and conservatives on whether they think mental health is real
Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy. -Louis CK
Self-reporting of good mental health correlates with level of social stigma of less-than-perfect mental health? Shocker.
I will keep saying this until I’m blue in the face, but conservatism is a mental disorder on par with all the others in the dark triad. I honestly think it should be added so we have a dark quartet.
Smarter people are more depressed, because they realize a majority of people around them are dumber than they are.
I have an actual question: Is this data about mental health, or is it about happiness? If he’s saying those are the same thing, that’s really bad reporting. Or is it mixed?
This poll exemplifies that very true saying, ignorance is bliss.
A few things going on here. One is that conservatives are far less likely to value their mental health enough to really examine and reflect on it. Many think the whole idea of mental health is softy, liberal bs. Another is that conservatives have an entire political perspective that ignores the real problems we face in our lives like civil rights, environmental justice, economic justice, climate change, oligarchism, etc, etc. So the laundry list of real things liberals are concerned about is replaced by imaginary problems that conservatives choose to fight against because that makes them feel better while doing nothing to improve anyone’s lives.
The cope in these comments is wild.
Back when I was conservative I would have told you I was happy… because you are supposed to.
Conservative people tend to view people’s problems as proof that you aren’t faithful enough, or you deserve it, so you keep any unhappiness to yourself and convince yourself that you are happy.
I think this is misleading. This isn’t talking about happiness, it’s talking about mental health. I would have absolutely predicted this outcome. Internally directed stigma and shame are a hallmark of conservatives and emblematic of all their heroes (“the strong, silent type”). Of course they are going to self-report that “everything is fine!” For them, admission of a problem is weakness. Suffering in silence is a strength.
“Self-reported”
https://tenor.com/zM3V.gif
Most of the people I know who voted for trump, not necessarily conservatives, did so because of anger and fear.
Now control it for education level. Ignorance is bliss.
Maybe because one side understands the grim dark reality of the situation we’re in, and the other lives in a f’ing fantasy world.
It’s completely anecdotal, but the most “conservative” people I know are filled with rage all of the time. My parents, for example, were fairly centrist to not political most of my life. They retired about 5 years ago. Suddenly, they had a lot of free time. They filled it with Fox News, where they are told all day what to be angry about. It is usually bullshit, but story after story begins, “This will make your blood boil.” My sisters and I watched as they both became angrier and angrier.
My mother blew up on a family vacation over nothing. My wife and one of my sisters blatantly told her she has changed and is just angry all the time. She could not believe it. She swore she was absolutely happy as can be. She certainly should be. They bought a really nice house on a lake fairly close to their children and grandkids. We had a pretty tight-knit family. They have plenty of money saved. They should be happy. They think they are happy. They aren’t.
Now, their increasingly fringe views have caused some separation in the family. I have kept my distance the last year or so. I am a fairly liberal person. My wife is too. We have a wonderful marriage. We are doing pretty well financially. We have an amazing kid. We have a pretty happy little family. I don’t feel I am doing great mentally. I couldn’t deal with their crazy views and attitudes anymore, so I forced myself to take a step back from my tight-knit family, and now I am dealing with anxiety for the first time in my life.
Self reported mental health is absolute bullshit. Many conservatives don’t even believe in mental health. They think LGBTQ people are mentally unwell, but not themselves.
I bet libertarians are happier.
It hurts to have a conscience.