Signal Received

I’m the first one here.
I don’t usually post at this hour, but I thought the above might amuse some of you.
[ Slides pint of advocaat along bar. ]

Why hello, barkeep.
[ Smiles ingratiatingly. ]

A recent study (which I did not bookmark, sadly) showed that in countries/places with more economic/social freedom, mental illness went up. My theory is this: making life choices is hard. In places without much freedom of expression, you inherit the family rice farm and you do rice farming. Not much choice of clothing or religion. All of this takes away the need to construct a personal reality, which again, is difficult. The difficulty causes anxiety and also depression, as well as bad life choices, because it is hard.
As a study of Belgium during WWII when their mental hospitals were still functioning found, mental illness admissions went down during the war, probably because everyone knew exactly what they had to do to survive and it focused their attention.
So we have tons of people who have some sort of minimal income (maybe students in college, maybe barristas) with lots of free time who really really want and need structure. So their bad choices lead to clownshows of green hair and protesting everything. They “identify” as oppressed when in reality, the world they protest would be a dream come true for 99% of humanity through history.

Mandatory Far Side reference.

In the noted study, and I have seen this elsewhere, being physically fit correlated strongly with lack of mental illness and with conservatism. Why? Perhaps because if you are fit you feel in control of your life and don’t need big gov to save you. It may go the other way, that conservative views lead you to become fit because you take personal responsibility.
As an example, at the store yesterday I got my foot caught on something and tripped. As I went down I ducked and rolled on my shoulder and went right back up on my feet. Wish I had video of it. I’m 69. Being fit meant I didn’t sprain my wrist or smash my face and need help. Nothing makes you feel in charge of your own life like pumping iron or a good long run.

in countries/places with more economic/social freedom, mental illness went up
Since such countries are also highly correlated with personal and political freedom, I suspect there’s a survivor bias: sh*tty countries have fewer mentally ill people because the mentally ill people don’t survive.
Also much of what passes for “mental illness” today looks suspiciously like the kind of low-grade PTSD reactions observed in people with underdeveloped amygdala. So there could be something to it; the more comfortable your life, the less likely you are to be exposed to moderate levels of stress as a child which desensitize your amygdala.
being physically fit correlated strongly with lack of mental illness and with conservatism. Why?
Likely because both require self-discipline and a sense of personal responsibility. Which way that arrow points is anyone’s guess, although there is plenty of evidence that regular workouts produce adrenaline and dopamine rushes that mitigate mild depression. So there’s likely a feedback loop.

An easy life can also lead to aimlessness, and without any real purpose in life people can get depressed and even crazy. It helps immensely to have real goals, real purposes to live for, and real accomplishments no matter how humble to be proud of.

Yes, I’m retired. Why do you ask?
Okay, what is your purpose in life? Do you only relax, or do you, for instance, continue to do useful things for your extended family, local community, etc?
For example, although I am retired, I work hard for the condo board. And long-term there are some jobs I have promised to do for the extended family.

Other than oddish posts?
I do like being able to take things slow, spend time just doing what I want (which includes oddish posts), and so on.
OTOH, I do enjoy crushing the occasional enemy and such…
See them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women?

I work hard for the condo board.
But does anyone care? People hate those things. Until they’re not there anymore. Of course they still hate them, they just wonder why everything went to shit.
Personally I spent my retirement day at the casino paying reparations to the Indians (feather not dot) and waiting for HOA insurance attorneys to return at least one of my five phone calls to them since last Friday. I’m looking forward to retirement from this retirement.

And for those who missed it, on the subject of advocaat.
Advocaat?? What in God’s name is going on over there?
But it does remind me of comedian Dave Attell’s thoughts on egg nog: I want to get a little buzzed AND I want pancakes.

But does anyone care?
But, of course, people do not volunteer because they want and expect copious public praise; they do it because they see something that needs to be done.

That’s not an olive; it’s a pickled egg.
[ PTSD intensifies. ]

Can’t speak for the various arachnids in Australia, but one of the nastiest ones in Texas is the brown recluse which doesn’t do much in the way of advertising.

Brown recluses, black recluses, white recluses, Asian recluses…