I often return to this question. Why are we investing so much in the language, incentives, and institutions of mental ill health, and so little in the habits and cultures that build optimism, resilience, confidence, and strength?
The workplace obsession with “psychological safety” is part of this. People certainly need dignity, respect, and good leadership. Yet too often, the phrase is used to lower expectations for courage, candour, robustness, and the capacity to handle challenges well.
Some of today’s mental health conversations are humane and necessary. Some of it also risks medicalising ordinary struggle, rewarding withdrawal, and neglecting the positive disciplines that help people grow stronger. We have become highly articulate about distress and much less serious about resilience, optimism, and robust mental fitness.
And why, in an age of prosperity, does this seem to be growing rather than shrinking? Because prosperity alone does not shape a people. Narrative does. Zeitgeist does. The incentives of media and culture do. We are surrounded by stories of fragility, diagnosis, grievance, and victimhood. Doomslayer, in its own way, is helping cut through that fog of gloom and pessimism.
This morning, I was reading James Grant’s essay The Men Who Bankrolled America and was struck by the way he described two financiers of national purpose: Robert Morris in the American War of Independence and George F. Baker in support of the Union during the Civil War.
What stayed with me was not only their wealth or influence, though the qualities Grant attached to them: bold, resourceful, steady under pressure, and unwilling to give way to despair. Above all, they were marked by confidence in their country’s future.
Those words have stayed with me.
Cool in a crisis. Incapable of despair. An unshakable optimist.
"According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.1 billion people worldwide are living with a mental disorder." So what ? The UN and WHO especially are unreliable , and when it comes to Covid , confirmed liars ! Why should there be any input accepted from them ?
"After a 2-year investigation, a House of Representatives committee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic has released a wide-ranging final report criticizing the actions of several U.S. science agencies and concluding that SARS-CoV-2 did not originate naturally, as many scientists think, but likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.".... a self-interested , catastrophe-promoting organisation USING MOSTLY AMERICAN TAXPAYER'S MONEY , the UN , says otherwise !
"the United Nations—specifically through the World Health Organization (WHO)—has not officially accepted or confirmed that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. "
" WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has consistently stated that no hypothesis is ruled out"......., even though he has a political background heavily rooted in Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a party that historically operated as a Marxist-Leninist, left-wing ethnic nationalist group......also criticized by human rights groups for repression "......but weirdly DEEMED SUITABLE to lead the UN's "show piece" WHO ! How stupid are Western Leaders ?
.
In Australia , the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) " has pressured the national economy, with some reports labelling it a "major public policy failure"; it's wrecking the economy "In Australia, the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing found that 21.5 percent of adults over 25 and over 38 percent of young people aged 16 to 24 met criteria for a mental disorder in the previous 12 months."....."and the fastest growing group is children under 9 years of age with autism or developmental delay ........it grew by 24% in the year leading up to November 2025, with autism now accounting for 41% of all NDIS participants " For better or for worse , parents are now being financially rewarded for producing 'defective children' , no matter how severe or how slight their impairment it seems !
The NDIS is rapidly becoming the "Neurological Disorder Incentive Scheme" !
.
"The NDIS scheme, originally designed for roughly 410,000 people, now supports over 760,000, creating massive budgetary pressure"......and THIS IS IN ADDITION TO the Disability Support Pension (DSP), which was received by around 770,000 people in June 2023, and ANY OTHER PENSIONS they may be "entitled to" !.......rather than the total NDIS participant count !
So.....yes.....diagnosis of a 'disorder' initiates a huge , life-long , chain of expenditure !
"Psychiatric diagnoses differ from most of medicine because they rely on subjective mental phenomena and behavioral symptoms instead of physical symptoms or biomarkers. There is no blood test for autism, no imaging scan that confirms ADHD, and no objective test that differentiates clinical anxiety from ordinary worry. Diagnosis depends on clinical judgment about whether a person’s behavior exceeds a threshold established by committee consensus........."
.....................When diagnosis is subjective, and payment depends on diagnosis, the system will reward expanding the definition of illness......................Incentives drive behaviour.
Psychiatric overdiagnoses would matter less if the diagnosis was merely a label. But in the American [ and Australian ] healthcare system, diagnoses serve as keys that unlock streams of taxpayer dollars .!
"None of this diminishes the reality of autism, ADHD, or anxiety disorders for individuals with significant functional impairment"!..........Yes...........mental illness has to be treated , but it should be viewed in context : "autism prevalence estimates, for instance, rely on surveys such as the Social Responsiveness Scale, which asks parents to rate statements like “Would rather be alone than with others,” “Has difficulty making friends,” and “Is regarded by other children as odd or weird.” These items describe behavioral traits common to social anxiety, introversion, and ordinary shyness and cannot reliably distinguish autism. Yet researchers routinely use high scores on such instruments as proxies for clinical diagnosis in prevalence studies,...."............and........................Quite logically :
"What we now call mental health problems are, in many cases, what our ancestors called the inevitable vicissitudes of life. When survival demanded hard physical labour from dawn to dusk, there was little room for psychoanalysis.
Perhaps only in a world of material abundance, safety, and comfort—where mood swings and relationship conflict represent life’s biggest challenges for many otherwise healthy people—do we begin to treat such adversity not as fate but as a problem to be solved.". Put simply , people are
lacking in "resilience" and are succumbing to trivial issues they SHOULD overcome personally.
.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION : Train less psychologists ! Stifle the excessive supply !
When someone applies for training in that field , redirect them towards something more socially
beneficial [ historically and currently ! ] a trade ! A "sparky" , "brickie" , "chippy" , plumber , concreter , roofer , tiler , mechanic , builder , machinery operators , surveyor , town-planner , architect , draughtsman , cleaner , teacher , nurse ...............you name it ! All well worthwhile and all vital and necessary and rewarding in job satisfaction and mental wellbeing !!
No ! I am NOT being "hard hearted" , unsympathetic or unrealistic !
"We" need to alter our society BACK to where INDIVIDUALS exercise their own "initiative" and develop their own "drive and ambition " and can acquire the skill to build and to control their own life and destiny , which includes achieving their own goals ,wealth , independence and happiness ,
and away from this current misconception that " the world owes ME a living BECAUSE I EXIST !"
.
That perverse attitude seems to dominate our society at present like some bizarre "Hollywood Orwellian Dystopian Fantasy Setting and Story-line" . Some "good manners" and a bit of "self respect" and "respect for others.....and their property " would be a good start !
Trevor, there is a serious point here about incentives. Systems that tie funding to diagnosis will inevitably expand diagnosis. That is worth examining carefully.
Totally agree Victor ! That IS what Adam is pointing out !
I was merely quoting and emphasising the proposition and conclusion
already set out by Adam Omary !
viz. "Psychiatric Overdiagnosis: The Price of Prosperity? "
"Abundance, loose criteria, and perverse healthcare incentives turned
normal struggles into a diagnosable epidemic ".........Adam Omary ........Apr 15
. [ It doesn't NEED TO BE LIKE THIS !! ]
As soon as " a financial opportunity appears" people of each and every inclination
will materialise "out of the woodwork" to take advantage of it ! [ Greta Thunberg ? ]
Even the slightest and flimsiest excuse will be seized-upon as justification for "their selfless service [ How noble ! So virtuous !!!! ] in filling the ghastly , gaping- void of human-need now identified ' regardless of the cost [ to the community ] incurred
and the additional cost of 'loss of opportunity in meeting a real need elsewhere where the money would have been MUCH better spent ' .[ Bjorn Lomborg !! ]
.
The classic case IS Australia's NDIS !
It is only dwarfed and outdone by "Climate Change" idiocy , where a "non-problem"
has been exaggerated and magnified into an "existential threat to Humanity and even the Entire Planet " where it has adversely changed the entire application and understanding of "common sense" , reality and the ENERGY SUPPLY ; away from a RELIABLE , PREDICTABLE and MANAGEABLE reality into the realms of UNRELIABLE fantasy and delusion ! No wonder there is such an increase in MENTAL ILLNESSES !!
$Billions and $Trillions blatantly wasted......and for what ?
The SCORE so far : ....The Planet : Zero ! .............Profiteers : All those $Billions !!!!
This crazy DIVERSION OF ATTENTION and OF FINANCES will have far more adverse consequences for "our Society" than mere health issues alone !
Our entire civilisation has been put in jeopardy by the UN , Narcissistic Scientists and Crooked Politicians and a gullible , trusting , poorly informed VOTING public ! So sad !
Sensible and practical people like Will Shackel , Dr.Adi Paterson , Jasmin Diab , Tony Irwin [ Nuclear for Australia https://www.nuclearforaustralia.com ]
are struggling to EDUCATE and INFORM PEOPLE against a constant "Green Headwind"
The most sensible advocacy is being besmirched and retarded , not by proven science , but by irrational prejudice and blind ideological stupidity ! The sooner Australia adopts and installs Nuclear Power the better ! IT'S TIME WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE REST OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL MODERN WORLD........AND REALITY !
I often return to this question. Why are we investing so much in the language, incentives, and institutions of mental ill health, and so little in the habits and cultures that build optimism, resilience, confidence, and strength?
The workplace obsession with “psychological safety” is part of this. People certainly need dignity, respect, and good leadership. Yet too often, the phrase is used to lower expectations for courage, candour, robustness, and the capacity to handle challenges well.
Some of today’s mental health conversations are humane and necessary. Some of it also risks medicalising ordinary struggle, rewarding withdrawal, and neglecting the positive disciplines that help people grow stronger. We have become highly articulate about distress and much less serious about resilience, optimism, and robust mental fitness.
And why, in an age of prosperity, does this seem to be growing rather than shrinking? Because prosperity alone does not shape a people. Narrative does. Zeitgeist does. The incentives of media and culture do. We are surrounded by stories of fragility, diagnosis, grievance, and victimhood. Doomslayer, in its own way, is helping cut through that fog of gloom and pessimism.
This morning, I was reading James Grant’s essay The Men Who Bankrolled America and was struck by the way he described two financiers of national purpose: Robert Morris in the American War of Independence and George F. Baker in support of the Union during the Civil War.
What stayed with me was not only their wealth or influence, though the qualities Grant attached to them: bold, resourceful, steady under pressure, and unwilling to give way to despair. Above all, they were marked by confidence in their country’s future.
Those words have stayed with me.
Cool in a crisis. Incapable of despair. An unshakable optimist.
https://victorperton.substack.com/p/optimistic-leaders-are-cool-in-a
"According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.1 billion people worldwide are living with a mental disorder." So what ? The UN and WHO especially are unreliable , and when it comes to Covid , confirmed liars ! Why should there be any input accepted from them ?
"After a 2-year investigation, a House of Representatives committee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic has released a wide-ranging final report criticizing the actions of several U.S. science agencies and concluding that SARS-CoV-2 did not originate naturally, as many scientists think, but likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.".... a self-interested , catastrophe-promoting organisation USING MOSTLY AMERICAN TAXPAYER'S MONEY , the UN , says otherwise !
"the United Nations—specifically through the World Health Organization (WHO)—has not officially accepted or confirmed that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. "
" WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has consistently stated that no hypothesis is ruled out"......., even though he has a political background heavily rooted in Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a party that historically operated as a Marxist-Leninist, left-wing ethnic nationalist group......also criticized by human rights groups for repression "......but weirdly DEEMED SUITABLE to lead the UN's "show piece" WHO ! How stupid are Western Leaders ?
.
In Australia , the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) " has pressured the national economy, with some reports labelling it a "major public policy failure"; it's wrecking the economy "In Australia, the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing found that 21.5 percent of adults over 25 and over 38 percent of young people aged 16 to 24 met criteria for a mental disorder in the previous 12 months."....."and the fastest growing group is children under 9 years of age with autism or developmental delay ........it grew by 24% in the year leading up to November 2025, with autism now accounting for 41% of all NDIS participants " For better or for worse , parents are now being financially rewarded for producing 'defective children' , no matter how severe or how slight their impairment it seems !
The NDIS is rapidly becoming the "Neurological Disorder Incentive Scheme" !
.
"The NDIS scheme, originally designed for roughly 410,000 people, now supports over 760,000, creating massive budgetary pressure"......and THIS IS IN ADDITION TO the Disability Support Pension (DSP), which was received by around 770,000 people in June 2023, and ANY OTHER PENSIONS they may be "entitled to" !.......rather than the total NDIS participant count !
So.....yes.....diagnosis of a 'disorder' initiates a huge , life-long , chain of expenditure !
"Psychiatric diagnoses differ from most of medicine because they rely on subjective mental phenomena and behavioral symptoms instead of physical symptoms or biomarkers. There is no blood test for autism, no imaging scan that confirms ADHD, and no objective test that differentiates clinical anxiety from ordinary worry. Diagnosis depends on clinical judgment about whether a person’s behavior exceeds a threshold established by committee consensus........."
.....................When diagnosis is subjective, and payment depends on diagnosis, the system will reward expanding the definition of illness......................Incentives drive behaviour.
Psychiatric overdiagnoses would matter less if the diagnosis was merely a label. But in the American [ and Australian ] healthcare system, diagnoses serve as keys that unlock streams of taxpayer dollars .!
"None of this diminishes the reality of autism, ADHD, or anxiety disorders for individuals with significant functional impairment"!..........Yes...........mental illness has to be treated , but it should be viewed in context : "autism prevalence estimates, for instance, rely on surveys such as the Social Responsiveness Scale, which asks parents to rate statements like “Would rather be alone than with others,” “Has difficulty making friends,” and “Is regarded by other children as odd or weird.” These items describe behavioral traits common to social anxiety, introversion, and ordinary shyness and cannot reliably distinguish autism. Yet researchers routinely use high scores on such instruments as proxies for clinical diagnosis in prevalence studies,...."............and........................Quite logically :
"What we now call mental health problems are, in many cases, what our ancestors called the inevitable vicissitudes of life. When survival demanded hard physical labour from dawn to dusk, there was little room for psychoanalysis.
Perhaps only in a world of material abundance, safety, and comfort—where mood swings and relationship conflict represent life’s biggest challenges for many otherwise healthy people—do we begin to treat such adversity not as fate but as a problem to be solved.". Put simply , people are
lacking in "resilience" and are succumbing to trivial issues they SHOULD overcome personally.
.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION : Train less psychologists ! Stifle the excessive supply !
When someone applies for training in that field , redirect them towards something more socially
beneficial [ historically and currently ! ] a trade ! A "sparky" , "brickie" , "chippy" , plumber , concreter , roofer , tiler , mechanic , builder , machinery operators , surveyor , town-planner , architect , draughtsman , cleaner , teacher , nurse ...............you name it ! All well worthwhile and all vital and necessary and rewarding in job satisfaction and mental wellbeing !!
No ! I am NOT being "hard hearted" , unsympathetic or unrealistic !
"We" need to alter our society BACK to where INDIVIDUALS exercise their own "initiative" and develop their own "drive and ambition " and can acquire the skill to build and to control their own life and destiny , which includes achieving their own goals ,wealth , independence and happiness ,
and away from this current misconception that " the world owes ME a living BECAUSE I EXIST !"
.
That perverse attitude seems to dominate our society at present like some bizarre "Hollywood Orwellian Dystopian Fantasy Setting and Story-line" . Some "good manners" and a bit of "self respect" and "respect for others.....and their property " would be a good start !
.
Trevor, there is a serious point here about incentives. Systems that tie funding to diagnosis will inevitably expand diagnosis. That is worth examining carefully.
Totally agree Victor ! That IS what Adam is pointing out !
I was merely quoting and emphasising the proposition and conclusion
already set out by Adam Omary !
viz. "Psychiatric Overdiagnosis: The Price of Prosperity? "
"Abundance, loose criteria, and perverse healthcare incentives turned
normal struggles into a diagnosable epidemic ".........Adam Omary ........Apr 15
. [ It doesn't NEED TO BE LIKE THIS !! ]
As soon as " a financial opportunity appears" people of each and every inclination
will materialise "out of the woodwork" to take advantage of it ! [ Greta Thunberg ? ]
Even the slightest and flimsiest excuse will be seized-upon as justification for "their selfless service [ How noble ! So virtuous !!!! ] in filling the ghastly , gaping- void of human-need now identified ' regardless of the cost [ to the community ] incurred
and the additional cost of 'loss of opportunity in meeting a real need elsewhere where the money would have been MUCH better spent ' .[ Bjorn Lomborg !! ]
.
The classic case IS Australia's NDIS !
It is only dwarfed and outdone by "Climate Change" idiocy , where a "non-problem"
has been exaggerated and magnified into an "existential threat to Humanity and even the Entire Planet " where it has adversely changed the entire application and understanding of "common sense" , reality and the ENERGY SUPPLY ; away from a RELIABLE , PREDICTABLE and MANAGEABLE reality into the realms of UNRELIABLE fantasy and delusion ! No wonder there is such an increase in MENTAL ILLNESSES !!
$Billions and $Trillions blatantly wasted......and for what ?
The SCORE so far : ....The Planet : Zero ! .............Profiteers : All those $Billions !!!!
This crazy DIVERSION OF ATTENTION and OF FINANCES will have far more adverse consequences for "our Society" than mere health issues alone !
Our entire civilisation has been put in jeopardy by the UN , Narcissistic Scientists and Crooked Politicians and a gullible , trusting , poorly informed VOTING public ! So sad !
Sensible and practical people like Will Shackel , Dr.Adi Paterson , Jasmin Diab , Tony Irwin [ Nuclear for Australia https://www.nuclearforaustralia.com ]
are struggling to EDUCATE and INFORM PEOPLE against a constant "Green Headwind"
The most sensible advocacy is being besmirched and retarded , not by proven science , but by irrational prejudice and blind ideological stupidity ! The sooner Australia adopts and installs Nuclear Power the better ! IT'S TIME WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE REST OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL MODERN WORLD........AND REALITY !