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Why is everyone so miserable in the developed world?

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I'm not miserable. I think the question is why is gaf so miserable lately.

People in Africa don't commit suicide? Evidence? Very cheery having half of your kids die before age 10. Ah, the good old days.
 
Everything is pretty much amazing in the developed world. I love it. I would kill myself if I lived in Africa.
 
We have to much excess food. Oh, and don't forget the superflous necessities, such as our gaming consoles, or computer tablets. Dear god, what about specialized sports!? Tennis my man, TENNIS!

This is a horrible OP, and a horrible topic. Seriously, what the fuck lately GAF? Why don't you go to an impovershed third world country and spew that bullshit you like so much over there huh? Better yet, go live there for a year, and so how life treats you.
 
Not much time to consider suicide in Africa when life expectancy is tragically low.


Nix said:
This is a horrible OP, and a horrible topic. Seriously, what the fuck lately GAF? Why don't you go to an impovershed third world country and spew that bullshit you like so much over there huh? Better yet, go live there for a year, and so how life treats you.
Click to expand...
And this. It's blatantly obvious comments like the OP's are made by people who've never stepped out of a developed country.

And that's not a bad thing at all. I feel grateful daily to have gotten out of Tragiczuela and into Canada, and never plan to return. The situation in third world countries (especially the really devastated ones) don't have an ounce to be desired.
 
Nix said:
We have to much excess food. Oh, and don't forget the superflous necessities, such as our gaming consoles, or computer tablets. Dear god, what about specialized sports!? Tennis my man, TENNIS!

This is a horrible OP, and a horrible topic. Seriously, what the fuck lately GAF? Why don't you go to an impovershed third world country and spew that bullshit you like so much over there huh? Better yet, go live there for a year, and so how life treats you.
Click to expand...

the more stuff you have the more you have to worry about that stuff

and so on and so forth
 
Everyone has problems and hurdles to overcome, regardless of what social strata they occupy or what country they're from.
 
imageswhere-white-man-go-wrong.jpg
 
Even when an average person in the developed world suffers (for whatever reason), they're likely better off than someone in the undeveloped world. But, they don't realize this and thus don't appreciate what they have. Thus they strive to get more and more out of life when, instead of needing more things on a constant basis, they'd be doing themselves a favor by fully appreciating each thing that they already have.
 
We see too much of the good life.

With all the celebrity news of people buying private jets and reality stars getting paid to do nothing we constantly feel as if our existence is less than it could/should be. This leads to us not being able to appreciate the small things.

Tragic really.

Social networking is also to blame.
 
OP immediately made me think of this song/music video.

Basically, a lot of people feel like shit because commercials/advertising are tricking them into thinking they have a terrible life when they really don't.
 
teh_pwn said:
Oh. Right, facts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

Stubborn things, facts.
Click to expand...


OP seems to be correct. The first African country to show up on that list is the 42nd country and is relatively developed. After that, it's Zimbabwe...and well, it's Zimbabwe.

OP might have a point. I think people are under a lot of pressure based purely on societal norms in developed countries. That, I think, accounts for the high rates of suicide.

EDIT: I totally missed South Africa
 
Zibrahim said:
OP seems to be correct. The first African country to show up on that list is the 42nd country and is relatively developed. After that, it's Zimbabwe...and well, it's Zimbabwe.

OP might have a point. I think people are under a lot of pressure based purely on societal norms in developed countries. That, I think, accounts for the high rates of suicide.
Click to expand...

So then does this graph reflect the most developed countries?

Self-inflicted_injuries_world_map_-_Death_-_WHO2004.svg
 
I NEED SCISSORS said:
imageswhere-white-man-go-wrong.jpg
Click to expand...

B-b-b-b-but we had the SUPERIOR CULTURE!

I want to travel back in time and be a Native American!


Zibrahim said:
OP seems to be correct. The first African country to show up on that list is the 42nd country and is relatively developed. After that, it's Zimbabwe...and well, it's Zimbabwe.

OP might have a point. I think people are under a lot of pressure based purely on societal norms in developed countries. That, I think, accounts for the high rates of suicide.
Click to expand...

The first African country is #7, after that there is South Africa which is like #10.
 
shadyspace said:
No one commits suicide in Africa. Are we not meant to live this way? Is comfort just a path to dissolution?
Click to expand...

Evidence required for the first claim.

And it is impossible to be happy all the time. Your brain doesn't work that way. Being happy all the time would be a symptom of mania.

People seem to equate the normal state with being miserable.

And happiness likely doesn't come purely from material goods. Happiness is biological in nature, as is sadness. It is all chemicals.
 
shadyspace said:
No one commits suicide in Africa. Are we not meant to live this way? Is comfort just a path to dissolution?
Click to expand...

That's because before anyone can even think of suicide, they die of starvation.
 
I lived in altiplano Peru... People were just as miserable out there, but the people with responsibilities and a purpose were generally content with life, even obscene poverty like I witnessed.
 
teh_pwn said:
So then does this graph reflect the most developed countries?

Self-inflicted_injuries_world_map_-_Death_-_WHO2004.svg
Click to expand...

Looks pretty high in South Korea and Japan though, and those two are developed countries.
 
My wife used to work at a hospital for the mentally ill. In her experience, the vast number of suicides in a given year are not due to regular malaise that strikes everyone, they are due to deep mental illness.

Due to this, sometimes the suicide is designed as a final fuck you to the people left behind or to whoever might find the body. Such as the guy who tried to douse himself with gasoline and then drive the wrong way into oncoming traffic, or the guy who successfully hung himself on a playground swing outside of an elementary school.
 
Life is dukkha (conditional, transient, insubstantial), the necessity for meeting one's needs for survival (and then comfort...) generally serve as a sufficient distraction from pondering the imperfection of life.
 
I've noticed a general trend of complaints and whinyness by people who have GREAT lives, first world problems gimme a fucking break.
 
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