What psychological issues are peaking in society now?

Three societal problems that are problematic and only getting worse

I’ve been thinking about the paradox of psychological suffering in an era of abundance. You would never know problems exist from reading hundreds of data-filled pages on how human life is improving inside tomes by Steven Pinker (The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now) or Gregg Easterbrook (It’s Better Than It Looks). Optimism about society is warranted. Here’s a teaser”

Together, the personal and societal gains are astounding. We should celebrate these achievements. And yet, in other realms, this is a gloomy time in history. Consider two examples and one hypothesis.

First - Inequality

Even author acknowledges a growing gap between those with nearly unlimited disposal income and families unsure if funds are sufficient for affording food and rent. In 1989, a company chief executive officer (CEO) earned 59 times as much compensation as the typical worker beneath them (often a college graduate). By 2021, CEO’s earned 365 times as much.

How big must your house be while nearly 1 out of 5 children in the United States skip breakfast because of household financial strain?

But it’s not just money. Inaccessibility to quality education perpetuates social inequalities. For the fortunate among us, we decide not to live in certain areas because of inadequate school systems. Not everyone is as fortunate.

Every child deserves the fundamental right to educational excellence, free from the constraints of their family’s financial resources - which should not overly determine their future.

Second - Mental Health

Despite growing awareness of mental health problems, especially among younger generations, the amount of psychologically wounded individuals is staggering. The estimated likelihood of warranting the diagnosis of a psychological disorder during a lifetime ranges “from 47.4% in the United States to 12% in Nigeria.” Turn to college campuses and in a study of 3,400 students attending university counseling centers, 72% met criteria for a psychological disorder.

We are reaching a point where it will soon be abnormal to be psychologically healthy.

Third - Bodily Perversion

I wanted to throw a third point of pessimism. An issue that might be rising as a problem yet, receives scant attention. Many might point to disinformation and fake news (check out the great work by Dr. Jay Van Bavel at

The Power of Us

) - but was it worse than in the 1800s when White plaintiffs were the only ones allowed to testify in court cases? How well did truth emerge then? Or there’s the rise of political polarization (see the reporting by

Matt Taibbi

)- but is it worse than killing political opponents in widely publicized duels over a verbal insult?

Here’s what I think is peaking now: Bodily abuse.

“Modern medicine treats the body as a site of perpetual intervention- a thing that can’t be trusted to manage itself. - Jeanette Winterson

We are chronically dissatisfied with our bodies. Americans spend more than 50 billion dollars on vitamins and supplements despite dubious benefit. For weight loss. For sexual performance. For athletic skill . For digestion. For physical strength. For neural inflammation. For hair growth.

Then there is surgical transformation. Consider the over 12 million elective surgeries per year. Eyelid lifts and nose jobs for racial minorities to appear more White. Forehead lifts. Vaginal rejuvenation. High definition liposculpture to create the illusion of a well-earned six-pack. Slicing and reshaping cheek muscles into dimples!

Documentaries lure us into living past 100. Science-appearing books offer strategies that range from extreme caloric restriction to a theory that you can get cancer patients to reverse disease by telling them to live as if its 20 years in the future. That is, the idea that mindset can trump the second law of thermodynamics.¹

Seriously, try to name a time when self-bodily perversion and abuse was worse than it is now. Signs suggest a worsening in the years ahead.

Provocation

In some ways, it has never been a better time to be alive as a human. Still, with prosperity and abundance, new problems emerge. Be wary of group averages, however, as those who are still disadvantaged can get ignored on the margins. And this raises a few pertinent questions:

How much dysfunction is enough in society, or the group you care about, to devote significant time toward refinements?

When is no intervention better than interfering with existing trends? Do not forget the story of Dr. John Hunter, father of modern surgery, who discovered from his research on the battlefield that the best predictor of a solider dying from a gun wound was a well-intentioned physician who tried to remove bullets.

When do we question and battle the status quo? And if so, how?

One Final Question:

What would you include on the list of societal problems and improvements that are peaking? Include it in the comments.

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Read Past Issues Here Including:

1. If a physical process is irreversible (such as aging), entropy or break downs are inevitable.