Why aren't Young Conservatives depressed?

[Suburbia]

They should be, not young liberals. They're called racist, colonizers,  blamed for stuff they did not know, etc. They should be the ones depressed in this society.

[Joe Kakistocracy]

Ignorance is bliss.

[Del Tachi]

As was said in that-other-thread-just-over-there, having a conservative worldview is correlated with all sorts of cognitive behaviors (i.e., increased religiosity, more moral clarity, etc.) that are demonstrated to improve mental well-being. 

[Hammy]

People who are more in touch with reality tend to be more depressed

[Ferguson97]

Conservatives are less likely to self-report depression, that doesn't meant that they're less likely to be depressed.

[afleitch]

[RFK 2024]

I'll repost this reply from the other thread which I think sums it up perfectly.

When you pay too much attention to the internet, if you get told enough times online that you don't belong by people with a clear agenda, you might just start to believe it, even if it's not true in real life. Definitely a problem with many young liberal people of all stripes in the US.

[Del Tachi]

Conservatives are less likely to self-report depression, that doesn't meant that they're less likely to be depressed.

This street goes both ways, Fergie.  All of the attitudinal studies rely on self-reporting.  If liberals are more likely to self-report depression (even when they may not meet the diagnostic criteria for it), isn't that itself a noteworthy finding and indicative of some kind of behavioral malaise disproportionately affecting liberals?

[Ferguson97]

Conservatives are less likely to self-report depression, that doesn't meant that they're less likely to be depressed.

This street goes both ways, Fergie.  All of the attitudinal studies rely on self-reporting.  If liberals are more likely to self-report depression (even when they may not meet the diagnostic criteria for it), isn't that itself a noteworthy finding and indicative of some kind of behavioral malaise disproportionately affecting liberals?

Why are you framing willingness to self-report depression as a bad thing? Recognizing that you are suffering from depression is the first step to treating it.

[Del Tachi]

Conservatives are less likely to self-report depression, that doesn't meant that they're less likely to be depressed.

This street goes both ways, Fergie.  All of the attitudinal studies rely on self-reporting.  If liberals are more likely to self-report depression (even when they may not meet the diagnostic criteria for it), isn't that itself a noteworthy finding and indicative of some kind of behavioral malaise disproportionately affecting liberals?

Why are you framing willingness to self-report depression as a bad thing? Recognizing that you are suffering from depression is the first step to treating it.

My point is that it's reasonable to assume that a willingness to self-report depression is simultaneously determined with a proclivity for depressive attitudes/behaviors.  Simply being aware of the possibility that you could be depressed may establish all sorts of negative feedback loops and self-sabotaging behavior that lead people to have worse reactions when experiencing adverse feelings or circumstances (i.e., actually being depressed.)   

Conservatives may be better at pre-empting this cycle since they are more likely to already have developed positive coping mechanisms for dealing with adversity thanks to stronger religious beliefs, more robust family connections, a greater sense of empowerment/self-sufficiency, more optimistic dispositions, etc. 

[Ferguson97]

My point is that it's reasonable to assume that a willingness to self-report depression is simultaneously determined with a proclivity for depressive attitudes/behaviors.

Why is that reasonable to assume? 

Simply being aware of the possibility that you could be depressed may establish all sorts of negative feedback loops and self-sabotaging behavior that lead people to have worse reactions when experiencing adverse feelings or circumstances (i.e., actually being depressed.)

This is certainly possible in some cases, but undiagnosed and untreated depression is obviously going to be much more destructive.

Conservatives may be better at pre-empting this cycle since they are more likely to already have developed positive coping mechanisms for dealing with adversity thanks to stronger religious beliefs, more robust family connections, a greater sense of empowerment/self-sufficiency, more optimistic dispositions, etc. 

Ha!

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

I would imagine the demographic of young people who are politically active conservative skews much richer than those who are liberal.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

I would imagine the demographic of young people who are politically active conservative skews much richer than those who are liberal.

I disagree, both are wealthy. Maybe if you count college debt then young libs are poor but generally politically active leftists come from rich households.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

I think many young people of all ideologies are depressed and I don't think it has anything to do with politics.
Unless you're directly affected by politics (like trans people) or are Atlas-user-level terminally online, for most people politics is not a major factor in their mental health.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Ignorance is strength!

[Progressive Pessimist]

That negative energy is expunged through unfocused anger instead.

[100% pro-choice no matter what]

Ignorance is bliss.

e.g. Vosem

[Burke Bro]

The real question is why do young liberals (many of whom come from good, middle class families) complain about there being no hope or opportunity in this country and demand government handouts, all the while being oblivious to how truly awful the rest of the world is and why thousands of people risk their lives trying to cross the border into the US?

[Comrade Luanne Platter]

Conservatives are less likely to self-report depression, that doesn't meant that they're less likely to be depressed.

Exhibit A: Half my family who I'm 95% positive suffer with pretty extreme emotional issues that have caused much turmoil in our family over the last few decades but who also "don't believe" in things like depression, trauma, anxiety, etc since those are just emotions that you should "give to God", for all the sh!t-ton worth of good that's done most of them.

There's also my Grandma who saw her Mom become a bit of a vegetable in the 60's thanks to the tranquilizers they gave you back then to deal with those conditions... That part is at the very least understandable even if her modern opposition to mental health treatment isn't.

So yeah, Conservatives are probably much more likely to be in denial about it even when they are depressed, anxious, etc and that tracks with almost every experience I have of growing up in a family and community of them.

[Ferguson97]

The real question is why do young liberals (many of whom come from good, middle class families) complain about there being no hope or opportunity in this country and demand government handouts, all the while being oblivious to how truly awful the rest of the world is and why thousands of people risk their lives trying to cross the border into the US?

Is your argument because there are countries worse off than America, that nobody living in America has a right to complain about the problems that they are facing? That's stupid.

[Comrade Luanne Platter]

There's still a stigma to being depressed or talking about mental health, that's enforced by other Conservatives who viciously mock people who do -- just look at what happened with Fetterman amongst Conservative pundits, in the Conservative world that there simply isn't amongst more left-leaning people.

[Mr. Smith]

Hard to be depressed when the agenda is largely secure.

[dead0man]

People who are more in touch with reality tend to be more depressed

except the reality is that there has never been a better time to be alive, especially if you are a minority, a woman or a member of the Alphabet people.  Neither young conservatives or progressives see that, it's all doom and gloom all the time, but it's clear progressive young people are way better at scaring the sh**t out of each other than conservative young people.  If people actually believed everything progressives cried about then you couldn't help but be depressed (which explains the statistic), thank the deity of your choice that it's mostly bull spit.

[Comrade Funk]

The real question is why do young liberals (many of whom come from good, middle class families) complain about there being no hope or opportunity in this country and demand government handouts, all the while being oblivious to how truly awful the rest of the world is and why thousands of people risk their lives trying to cross the border into the US?

Is your argument because there are countries worse off than America, that nobody living in America has a right to complain about the problems that they are facing? That's stupid.

Stunned at that post

[Alben Barkley]

Higher IQ is associated with depression and other mental health issues.

As has been said, "ignorance is bliss."

Although there might also be something to the idea that such ignorance extends to conservatives being ignorant to and/or in denial of their own mental health. I know some of my own family is conservative, and are all absolute basket cases, but they are totally in denial about it and refuse to seek help and don't even realize or refuse to admit there is anything wrong with them. They continue in a self-destructive downward spiral as a result.

Simply being aware of the possibility that you could be depressed may establish all sorts of negative feedback loops and self-sabotaging behavior that lead people to have worse reactions when experiencing adverse feelings or circumstances (i.e., actually being depressed.)

This is offensive levels of ignorance itself right here, implying depression is effectively a choice or some kind of simple state of mind which you can pull up your bootstraps and willpower your way right out of. An idea appealing to the conservative mind, perhaps, but which is utterly baseless in reality.