Mental Wealth • Hacker News Board

Re: Mental Wealth

#71

Post by vharuck » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:02 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #48

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> Politicians think that riots are the problem and if they stop the riots with force the problem goes away. But riots are just a symptom of a sick system. No the system and other systemic or social problems are just a excuse. Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with…

>Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with people actively working for years to raise awareness of them.

I also believe rioting is contagious. But that doesn't mean it doesn't require justification. Otherwise, wouldn't we see riots totally disconnected from any justification? But few people, when they see vandalism and don't agree with the cause, won't join in. Not enough to spark a riot.

>Why suddenly congregate into emotional hysteria, especially since other people have been actively addressing these concerns for years, when the problems of complaint are preexisting and were clearly previously known to these congregants?

There have been protests, lawsuits, smaller violent reactions, and other riots for decades. It doesn't seem sudden to me.

Re: Mental Wealth

#72

Post by cousin_it » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:04 PM UTC

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> In the book he describes the ways modern life has disconnected us from a lot of what humans find meaningful, and given that it's not surprising that rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed.

Yeah. See Yvain's excellent review of "Empire of the Summer Moon":

All of the white people who joined Indian tribes loved it and refused to go back to white civilization. All the Indians who joined white civilization hated it and did everything they could to go back to their previous tribal lives.

There was much to like about tribal life. The men had no jobs except to occasionally hunt some buffalo and if they felt courageous to go to war. The women did have jobs like cooking and preparing buffalo, but they still seemed to be getting off easy compared to the white pioneer women or, for that matter, women today. The whole culture was nomadic, basically riding horses wherever they wanted through the vast open plains without any property or buildings or walls. And everyone was amazingly good at what they did; the Comanche men were probably the best archers and horsemen in the history of history, and even women and children had wilderness survival and tracking skills that put even the best white frontiersmen to shame. It sounds like a life of leisure, strong traditions, excellence, and enjoyment of nature, and it doesn't surprise me that people liked it better than the awful white frontier life of backbreaking farming and endless religious sermons.

Whites who met Comanches would almost universally rave about how imposing and noble and healthy and self-collected and alive they seemed; there aren't too many records of what the Comanches thought of white people, but the few there are suggest they basically viewed us as pathetic and stunted and defective.

https://www.gwern.net/docs/history/2012-11-13-yvain-bookrevi...

Re: Mental Wealth

#73

Post by bergstromm466 » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:04 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #48

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> Politicians think that riots are the problem and if they stop the riots with force the problem goes away. But riots are just a symptom of a sick system. No the system and other systemic or social problems are just a excuse. Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with…

> emotional hysteria

Sensitive people like you make me sad. [from your own bio]

To me labelling people who collectively rise up against systemic domination as 'emotional hysteria' is just the epitome of cruelty.

#blacklivesmatter

Re: Mental Wealth

#74

Post by kamarg » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:08 PM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #61

mfcl wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course the riots are just a symptom. And of course a lot of people of in those riots are not there for the cause. Would there be riots right now had Floyd not been killed? Have you even seen a riot started out of nothing? Just for fun? I doesn't change the original point that if a politician's first goal is to stop the riots, it's only to cover a symptom while the real problem is not fixed. And it's a matter of ti…

> Have you even seen a riot started out of nothing? Just for fun? It's a pretty well-known phenomenon. You hold a sports riot when your team wins , not when it loses.

I don't think that's a safe statement to make. See Vancouver in 2011 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Vancouver_Stanley_Cup_rio...).

Re: Mental Wealth

#75

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:09 PM UTC

cousin_it wrote: post #72

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> In the book he describes the ways modern life has disconnected us from a lot of what humans find meaningful, and given that it's not surprising that rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed. Yeah. See Yvain's excellent review of "Empire of the Summer Moon": All of the white people who joined Indian tribes loved it and refused to go back to white civilization. All the Indians who joined white civilization ha…

[deleted]

Re: Mental Wealth

#76

Post by noelwelsh » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:11 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #48

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> Politicians think that riots are the problem and if they stop the riots with force the problem goes away. But riots are just a symptom of a sick system. No the system and other systemic or social problems are just a excuse. Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with…

Trying to find a single explanation for the motivations of a large group of people will lead to overly simplistic explanations.

In the case of the protests I expect people are turning out for at least a few different reasons:

* this is an issue they are concerned about, and now there seems to be sufficient attention on it to actually cause change;

* this is an issue they are concerned about, and they have nothing else to do given the coronavirus lockdown;

* they're bored and it could be fun;

* it could be an opportunity to cause destruction (videos suggest a number of police see the protests in this light).

In terms of protests and riots being a symptom of a sick system, that is absolutely the case. History has many examples of change that was only brought about by the large scale demonstrations (e.g. women's suffrage, civil rights). In a better system this would not be required. Effecting change that is not in the interests of the ruling class is incredibly difficult in most of our democracies.

Re: Mental Wealth

#77

Post by austincheney » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:16 PM UTC

vharuck wrote: post #71

austincheney wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Politicians think that riots are the problem and if they stop the riots with force the problem goes away. But riots are just a symptom of a sick system. No the system and other systemic or social problems are just a excuse. Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with…

>Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with people actively working for years to raise awareness of them. I also believe rioting is contagious. But that doesn't mean it doesn't require justification. Otherwise, wouldn't we see riots totally disconnected from any justif…

In behavioral health speak the inception point is called a trigger. Whether a given trigger is justified is subjective and prejudicial.

Re: Mental Wealth

#78

Post by skrebbel » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:20 PM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #33

I find articles like this one where 100% of the onus for coping with mental health problems is put on the individual quite annoying. There's nothing in the article about getting help from other people, or how to cope with problems that you can't fix easily. It's kind of a toxic attitude because it makes others believe people with mental health issues just aren't trying hard enough and completely ignores individual ci…

> If fixing your mental health was simple

But the article isn't about fixing your mental health, it's about investing in it. Your comment is like getting angry that a blog post that goes "take care of yourself, eat fruit every day!" is "putting 100% of the onus for dealing with obesity on the individual".

Re: Mental Wealth

#79

Post by pjc50 » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:25 PM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #48

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> Politicians think that riots are the problem and if they stop the riots with force the problem goes away. But riots are just a symptom of a sick system. No the system and other systemic or social problems are just a excuse. Riots, at least those in recent events are an example of contagious social behavior. That is evidenced by the fact that the blamed issues have been known problems for longer than two weeks with…

"Why was this large open pool of gasoline not on fire last week? All that happened was someone lit a cigarette"

Re: Mental Wealth

#80

Post by bergstromm466 » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 1:25 PM UTC

cousin_it wrote: post #72

jordwest wrote: post #3

In this article the author covers a few areas to consider in managing mental health: Sleep, Diet, Exercise, Stress Management, Exogenous Compounds (from coffee to melatonin to Prozac, and anything in between) These are certainly important factors, and I think we need to look much more broadly at underlying factors than just these (or just drugs). I've been reading about mental health issues for years with my own ups…

> In the book he describes the ways modern life has disconnected us from a lot of what humans find meaningful, and given that it's not surprising that rates of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed. Yeah. See Yvain's excellent review of "Empire of the Summer Moon": All of the white people who joined Indian tribes loved it and refused to go back to white civilization. All the Indians who joined white civilization ha…

Wow what a life! So beautiful. It makes me yearn for a simpler life. Thank you for sharing this.