Mental illness (including struggles that don’t meet a specific diagnosis) is a serious public health burden that affects a large proportion of people. This is true within EA as well as in the general population. In EA, as in any community, it's important for us to try to support those who are struggling.
We sometimes see the theory that EA causes unusually bad mental health, but the evidence lightly points toward EA being good or neutral for the wellbeing of most people who engage with it.
Most respondents say EA is neutral or good for their mental health
There have been surveys done specifically about mental health and EA (2019, 2021, 2023), but these didn’t aim to be representative of the EA population. The largest and most representative source is the EA Survey 2022, where most respondents indicated neutral or positive effects of their EA involvement on their [...]
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Outline:
(00:41) Most respondents say EA is neutral or good for their mental health
(02:51) Why might EA be good for wellbeing?
(04:40) Why might it be bad?
(05:25) Correlation and causation
(05:59) Other fields also affect wellbeing
(06:45) EA isnt one-size-fits-all
(07:47) Resources
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First published:
May 29th, 2025
Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/mfQoEaHeJzdH5u8Nc/positive-effects-of-ea-on-mental-health
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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