What myths do we tell ourselves to keep our sanity

[monstro]

A wikipedia article about depressive realism.

[Icarus]

Underneath it all, I am a good person.

[buddha_david]

It’s Obama’s fault.

[Grrr]

@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?

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[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.

[Lamia]

“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.

[ZPG_Zealot]

@Ambivalid

Whst doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

Oh god, do I hate that myth!

[Velocity]

@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.

[EdwinAmi]

Two words. Penis panic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_panic

[Velocity]

“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.

[BrainGlutton]

@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 how people might act in the throes of desperation.

I was expecting a lot more cannibalism.

[EdwinAmi]

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

[ralfy]

Continuous economic growth is possible thanks to cheap energy and an abundance of resources.

[Ambivalid]

Karma.

[NDP]

There’s a point to all of this.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

That justice exists.

Bad things only happen to bad people.

[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.

[astorian]

@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.

[QuickSilver]

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?!

[Edible_Hat]

The most basic is that what we say has a correspondence with reality. Once that link is severed, mental pathology is not far behind.