dismantling the myth that most people think life is amazing

[Darkover]

Hunger levels are rising around the world. As many as 828 million people – or 10 percent of the world's population – go to bed hungry each night

Globally, there are 24 million people with schizophrenia or 1 out of 300 individuals in every country. This amounts to 0.32% of the worldwide population.

What is the evidence on worldwide prevalence of bipolar disorder? Moderate to high quality evidence suggests the lifetime worldwide prevalence of bipolar disorder is around 1% thats 80 million people, and the one-year prevalence is around 0.5%.

How many people have autism? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1% of the world's population has autism spectrum disorder – over 75,000,000 people. That may be a large number, but autism spectrum disorder (ASD) features a wide range of symptoms and levels of severity.

ADHD is estimated to affect around 5% of children thats 400 million and 2.5% of adults worldwide 200 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

What percentage of people have depression? Depression is common. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 280 million people worldwide have depression, including 5% of the world's adults and 5.7% of adults above age 60.

Worldwide: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the world. Roughly 301 million people, an estimated 4% of the global population, have an anxiety disorder . Age group: One survey found that young people are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety than older adults

how many people have an eating disorder worldwide 7.8 percent

As mentioned earlier, OCD affects approximately 1% of the global population. This may seem like a small number, but it actually equates to around 70 million individuals worldwide.

Currently, more than 55 million people have dementia worldwide,

Globally, 39.0 million [33.1–45.7 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2022.

cancer which is 6 percent of the population with 480 million people having it

by my estimates, physical disability is 6 percent of the population which is another 480 million people

It is estimated that 415 million people are living with diabetes in the world, which is estimated to be 1 in 11 of the world's adult population.

According to the World Health Organization, around 40 million people in the world are blind, while another 250 million have some form of visual impairment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are approximately 466 million people worldwide with disabling hearing loss, which is about 6.1% of the world's population.

The number of obese people worldwide has surpassed one billion, according to global analysis. Research published by The Lancet journal shows 879 million adults and 159 million children were obese in 2022 - the most recent year included in the analysis.

Globally around 110 million men and 80 million women have coronary heart disease.

how many people worldwide live in poverty
According to the World Bank, about 9.2% of the world, or 719 million people, live on less than $2.15 a day.

 

[Meteora]

Life is amazing as long as you din't think and feel.

 

[UKscotty]

We can't assume that just because someone has an illness or is poor that they don't enjoy and like life. I have met plenty of disabled people who are happy and thriving.

Not many have an objectively perfect life, indeed many who are rich and powerful CTB. We can never know what headspace someone is in. We all have different levels of mental resilience.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Are you primarily unhappy for all these other people or for yourself? If your life was better, when it has been better in the past, were you so concerned about these other people? Probably not. We're quite a selfish species. Which, in itself should be a reason for us to go but, there we are.

Plus, brutally honestly- do you suppose the people that make real positive differences to the plight of all those suffering are nihilists? I actually doubt it. I suspect many activists and charity workers kind of need a more positive frame of mind to be able to cope and believe that what they're doing makes a difference.

Personally, I agree with you though. I think life is shit for a lot of people. Even relatively privelaged people. That said, I doubt you'll convince those who want children to stop procreating- if that's the goal here? And I don't think we're close to a voluntary mass genocide. I doubt you'd even be able to convince one pro-lifer anymore than they would be able to convince us that our view on life is the right one.

Ultimately- eventually, we're likely to die out as a species anyway so- I'm not sure what we think has all that much bearing on anything. A lot is out of our control. Personally, I'd prefer it if the human race did die out though because, chances are, we'll make a lot of other species extinct along the way. Again though, if everything on this planet is destroyed in the end anyway, it's pretty weird to think about in terms of what actually matters.

Your examples are based on the idea that we ought to have so much empathy for the suffering in life generally that- we all agree to end it. I think we're too selfish to do that. Look at yourself. I'm looking at myself too. What have we actually given up because we know it creates suffering for others? Probably not nearly enough!

Plus- some people who actually are suffering will insist that life is still worthwhile for them. You can't really disagree with that because it's their personal opinion on their life. Just like yours is. Similarly- no one should have the right to tell you or us that we should feel happy with our lives. It's a really complex issue. You can't just go round killing people because you think it would be in their best interest. That would be murder/genocide. I guess you can argue why they're wrong about their rose tinted view of life but I doubt you'll change their minds ultimately.

 

[willitpass]

Many of the disorders you listed do not stop someone from living a happy life. Someone with hearing loss is still very much capable of enjoying themselves and finding life fulfilling. Having something wrong with you doesn't mean you hate existing. Hell, even some people with depression still find meaning in life. Just because you have reached a point where life is no longer worth living and you don't see any joy doesn't mean you can assume that the vast majority of the population feel the same. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on their own life, but constantly trying to convince yourself that everyone else is feeling the same way is pointless.

 

[Tesha]

Are you primarily unhappy for all these other people or for yourself? If your life was better, when it has been better in the past, were you so concerned about these other people? Probably not. We're quite a selfish species. Which, in itself should be a reason for us to go but, there we are.

Plus, brutally honestly- do you suppose the people that make real positive differences to the plight of all those suffering are nihilists? I actually doubt it. I suspect many activists and charity workers kind of need a more positive frame of mind to be able to cope and believe that what they're doing makes a difference.

Personally, I agree with you though. I think life is shit for a lot of people. Even relatively privelaged people. That said, I doubt you'll convince those who want children to stop procreating- if that's the goal here? And I don't think we're close to a voluntary mass genocide. I doubt you'd even be able to convince one pro-lifer anymore than they would be able to convince us that our view on life is the right one.

Ultimately- eventually, we're likely to die out as a species anyway so- I'm not sure what we think has all that much bearing on anything. A lot is out of our control. Personally, I'd prefer it if the human race did die out though because, chances are, we'll make a lot of other species extinct along the way. Again though, if everything on this planet is destroyed in the end anyway, it's pretty weird to think about in terms of what actually matters.

Your examples are based on the idea that we ought to have so much empathy for the suffering in life generally that- we all agree to end it. I think we're too selfish to do that. Look at yourself. I'm looking at myself too. What have we actually given up because we know it creates suffering for others? Probably not nearly enough!

Plus- some people who actually are suffering will insist that life is still worthwhile for them. You can't really disagree with that because it's their personal opinion on their life. Just like yours is. Similarly- no one should have the right to tell you or us that we should feel happy with our lives. It's a really complex issue. You can't just go round killing people because you think it would be in their best interest. That would be murder/genocide. I guess you can argue why they're wrong about their rose tinted view of life but I doubt you'll change their minds ultimately.

Thank you for putting across a non combative, reasoned and well argued opinion on the subject. It's refreshing to see.