Latest study confirms an uncomfortable truth about liberals v conservatives

If you've spent any time arguing with liberals online, you already knew something was off. But now academia has finally caught up after spending twelve years, $8,000,000 in grant money, and at least three emergency therapy llamas trying to figure out why conservatives seem less miserable.

A new study published in the journal Political Behavior reportedly found that “mental illness is emerging as its own political identity and is most heavily aligned with leftist political ideology and causes,” especially among younger Americans whose entire personalities consist of ring lights, pronouns, anxiety disorders, and explaining why capitalism caused Mercury to be in retrograde.

Researchers were stunned to discover conservatives tend to score higher in things like personal agency, religiosity, resilience, self-worth, optimism, and other dangerous extremist behaviors once commonly referred to as “functioning adulthood.”

Meanwhile, researchers noted many liberals continue to identify primarily as “neurospicy,” “trauma-informed,” or “currently processing.”

Columbia University's magazine observed in 2023 that "American adults who identify as politically liberal have long reported lower levels of happiness and psychological well-being than conservatives.” Experts initially blamed climate change, microplastics, Fox News, colonialism, and insufficient emotional support crocheting circles before reluctantly concluding that constantly believing civilization is collapsing and the planet is ready to turn into burnt toast, may not be terrific for mental health.

Scholars from the Universities of Florida and Toronto eventually determined conservatives often benefit from having purpose, accountability, community, and faith, which apparently works far better than posting “Normalize crying at work” on TikTok.

Professor Lauren Van De Hey of Utah State University found that “there is an emerging mental health political identity that is most pronounced among younger (Gen Z) and more liberal Americans."

So it appears that Democrats may have finally discovered a voting bloc even more reliable than vegan cat ladies.

According to the study, nearly half of participants identifying as mentally ill said that identity was very or somewhat important to them personally, just edging out astrology signs and preferred pronouns as core personality traits.

Van De Hey also noted, "I find that the political predictors and political consequences for the emerging mental health identity differ from those for physical disability and serious physical illness categorization and identification."

Conservatives interpreted this to mean one side treats anxiety like a medical condition while the other treats it like a Marvel origin story.

The study further found conservatives are less likely to define anxiety and depression as mental illnesses and are less likely to seek treatment. Van De Hey attributed this to a "personal responsibility ethos: they do not seek help when they think they can resolve the issues on their own." 

What a concept.

The left immediately condemned this dangerous philosophy, warning that independent problem-solving could discourage young Americans from developing lucrative lifelong dependencies on emotional support Discord servers.

Observers also noted the striking similarity between the left’s approach to gender politics and its increasingly activist approach to mental health. First Americans were encouraged to build identities around sexuality and gender confusion. Now they're encouraged to build identities around emotional instability.

Critics say the formula is simple: take a struggle, turn it into an identity, transform the identity into a political movement, then declare anyone questioning it a fascist.

Van De Hey warned, "These findings have far-reaching consequences for mental health advocacy, and the role mental health identity will play in the political sphere, especially as Gen Z matures as a cohort."

Political strategists reportedly agreed, noting that a permanently anxious, emotionally fragile electorate is much easier to manipulate than a population busy raising families, going to church, and mowing their lawns without needing a therapist on standby.

At publishing time, several progressive activists announced the article itself had caused “literal harm” and demanded taxpayers fund an emergency recovery retreat featuring drum circles, vegan snacks, and federally subsidized crying tents.

Literally.

Thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

Tweet

U of Florida is ditching all their DEI staff

The University of Florida will be getting rid of their Marxist-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) employees. The school has effectively removed their collective heads from their collective nether regions and saw the light of day: hiring people based on the melanin level of their skin makes as much sense as giving a mouse a tennis racket. 

The important aspect to take into account when hiring is--wait for it--qualifications! 

Wow. What a concept.

According to a memo released on Friday, University of Florida officials confirmed that the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer has shut down permanently and all the useless DEI positions and administrative hires have been dissolved with outside vendors.

Overall, 13 DEI positions were made gone, and 15 administrative positions for faculty were halted.

Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder called the news "massive," and said that "[C]onservatives are finally fighting back. Every red state must follow suit as soon as humanly possible. This is the way.”

The $5 million that was previously allocated to DEI initiatives [e.g., teaching that White men are oppressors and Black people are the oppressed, so give them reparations] will be reallocated into a faculty recruitment fund as the DEI budget was a joke 

Tweet