# What myths do we tell ourselves to keep our sanity **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 14, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520 "2014-08-14T16:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/21 "2014-08-14T22:57:04Z")
A wikipedia article about [depressive realism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/22 "2014-08-14T23:04:39Z")
Underneath it all, I am a good person. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/23 "2014-08-14T23:36:01Z")
It’s Obama’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/24 "2014-08-14T23:50:09Z")
> [@lemur866](#): > > which is why all hunter-gatherers are murderous bastards, who would cut your throat in a second if you ever dare to turn your back on them. > > In fact all poor people, everyone who doesn’t have a comfortable life, is basically a serial killer. > > Right? ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ███████████████ ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/25 "2014-08-14T23:57:44Z")
Whst doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Addictions, mental illness, chronic sicknesses and negative personality changes, among others, are proof of this statements falsehood. Sometimes what doesn’t kill you leaves you broken and scarred, in pain and _better off_ dead. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/26 "2014-08-15T00:18:39Z")
“It’s okay when _I_ do it.” I doubt many people think of it in these exact words – it’s probably more often something like “That’s different, I had a good reason.” It’s easy to come up with justifications for one’s own behavior even when similar behavior from others would be considered bad or wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/27 "2014-08-15T00:22:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Whst doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Oh god, do I hate that myth! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/28 "2014-08-15T00:27:29Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Whst doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. > Addictions, mental illness, chronic sicknesses and negative personality changes, among others, are proof of this statements falsehood. Sometimes what doesn’t kill you leaves you broken and scarred, in pain and _better off_ dead. This. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is often wishful thinking by people who’ve never experienced extreme suffering. ---
**Author:** ![EdwinAmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5fc32e/32.png) [@EdwinAmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwinAmi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/29 "2014-08-15T00:32:08Z")
Two words. Penis panic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis\_panic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_panic) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/30 "2014-08-15T00:44:41Z")
“There’s still plenty of time / I’m not old yet / I’ll still have many future opportunities.” This isn’t so much a myth, as it is a dangerously unfounded assumption. Soon 30 years old becomes 35, 45, 50, and 60 years old. Also, if someone is going to die in a car accident at age 20, then this means that at age 19 their life is already 95% over. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/31 "2014-08-15T01:57:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The fact that we’ve spontaneously organized ourselves into mutually beneficial and reasonably compassionate collectives, especially in the modern western world, says a lot more about us than how we might act in the throes of desperation. [Here’s](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Survivalism#Survivalism_in_practice) how people might act in the throes of desperation. I was expecting a lot more cannibalism. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![EdwinAmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5fc32e/32.png) [@EdwinAmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwinAmi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/32 "2014-08-15T02:09:12Z")
there was a woman who ran a blog where she posted how most of modern leftism is just a collection of defense mechanisms. I used to read her, but she doesn’t post anymore, but her blog is still up [http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2004/08/psychiatry-101-defense-mechanisms.html](http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2004/08/psychiatry-101-defense-mechanisms.html) ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/33 "2014-08-15T05:53:05Z")
Continuous economic growth is possible thanks to cheap energy and an abundance of resources. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/34 "2014-08-15T05:58:35Z")
Karma. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/35 "2014-08-15T07:01:21Z")
There’s a point to all of this. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/36 "2014-08-15T12:55:56Z")
That justice exists. Bad things only happen to bad people. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/37 "2014-08-15T13:41:27Z")
The people on the other side of the political aisle aren’t _really_ as whackjob as they seem and have the best interest of the country at heart, just like me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/38 "2014-08-15T14:29:07Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > The people on the other side of the political aisle aren’t _really_ as whackjob as they seem and have the best interest of the country at heart, just like me. Yeah, we Republicans really need to ditch that comforting lie. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/39 "2014-08-15T14:46:27Z")
Nobody else knows how to do this job as well and this place will go to hell in hand basket once I’m gone. What’s with everybody on the road? Why can no-one drive?! ---
**Author:** ![Edible\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@Edible\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edible_Hat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520/40 "2014-08-16T23:16:24Z")
The most basic is that what we say has a correspondence with reality. Once that link is severed, mental pathology is not far behind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-myths-do-we-tell-ourselves-to-keep-our-sanity/695520.md?page=3)