Gurwinder Bhogal: Does Woke Ideology Make People Sick?
Aug 1, 2023
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Rates of mental illness are surging, especially among young people. Writer Gurwinder Bhogal explores why liberals are more likely than conservatives to report psychological problems. Leftism downplays human agency and magnifies environmental influences. The podcast also discusses pluralistic ignorance, disillusionment with the left, tribalism, long COVID, and the impact of social media on mental health.
Leftism tends to downplay human agency while emphasizing external factors, potentially contributing to psychological problems in liberals.
Social media platforms have facilitated the pathologization of mental and physical illnesses, leading to self-diagnosis and feigning of conditions for validation and clout.
Deep dives
The Influence of Social Media on Pathologization
Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have played a significant role in the pathologization of mental and physical illnesses. People can easily access information and self-diagnose using the unlimited symptom pool available online. The popularity of influencers claiming to have various disorders, such as Tourette's or dissociative identity disorder (DID), has led to a rise in individuals falsely believing they have these conditions. Furthermore, social media has created new forms of insecurity and anxiety in young girls, leading to a cycle of self-doubt and depression. The desire for sympathy, validation, and clout online has incentivized individuals to feign illnesses, which are then celebrated within certain online communities.
The Complexities of Long COVID
Long COVID is a real condition that encompasses a wide range of complications resulting from COVID-19 infection. However, the term itself can be misleading, as it implies a single condition when it actually represents diverse health issues. The symptom pool concept, observed in the evolution of mental illnesses, applies to long COVID as well. People are prone to interpreting their various physical and psychological symptoms as being caused by long COVID, even when they may have no serological evidence of COVID infection. Additionally, social media platforms like TikTok have played a part in amplifying the belief in long COVID, with individuals falsely claiming the condition for attention and clout.
The Impact of Tribalism and Confirmation Bias
The tribal nature of human beings, evolved over thousands of years, contributes to the current spread of pathologization. People often conform to group norms and beliefs, even if they privately disagree, leading to a spiral of silence and the perpetuation of false ideas. Intelligent individuals can be particularly adept at rationalizing absurd beliefs and convincing themselves of falsehoods if it benefits their affiliation with a particular group. Confirmation bias exacerbates this tendency, reinforcing preexisting beliefs and ignoring contradictory information. Moreover, the development of online communities and social media platforms has created echo chambers where ideas and misinformation are reinforced, making it difficult to convince others of alternative perspectives.
The Need for Curiosity and Humility in Pursuit of Truth
Rationality is not solely determined by intelligence but is deeply influenced by one's character, particularly their curiosity and humility. An individual's approach to seeking truth and their willingness to confront reality shapes their rationality. Cultivating these traits can help individuals overcome the natural inclination for self-delusion and embrace critical thinking. In an era of increasing misinformation and pathologization, it is crucial for individuals to recognize the limitations of their own brains and actively strive for truth over conformity or personal belief.
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Rates of mental illness across the Western world are surging, with young people being disproportionately impacted. From an exponential increase in referrals to pediatric gender clinics to substantial upticks in depression and anxiety diagnoses, the younger generation has never been more unhappy.
A common explanation for this phenomenon is the challenges of contemporary living. With a growing tendency towards isolated lifestyles, coupled with spending excessive amounts of time online, youth mental health is put under strain, leading to an array of mood disorders.
However, when writer Gurwinder Bhogal delved deeper into the data, he observed a peculiar trend. Liberals are more likely than conservatives to report psychological problems, and notably, a 2020 Pew survey revealed a staggering 56% of white liberal females reported receiving a mental health diagnosis.
Why is that? Is liberalism making people sick?
Gurwinder argues that this is because central to Leftism is equality and the belief that individuals' successes and failures stem from external factors, rendering them undeserved. Present-day Leftism tends to downplay the significance of human agency while magnifying the influence of environmental circumstances. Consequently, young people are taught to view their challenges as outcomes of societal forces such as late capitalism or systemic racism, and there is now a growing inclination to attribute them to medical explanations.
This has led to what Gurwinder calls a “pathologization pandemic,” in which people, predominantly those on the left of the political spectrum, are increasingly interpreting personal issues and the normal struggles of life as medical disorders. But why are so many people on the left “confusing sadness for sickness?”
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