I was listening to a report given by conservative commentator Tim Pool on leftist feminism vs conservative feminism (an interesting topic I'll explore further in another article), and he brought up the fact that those on the Right are generally happy and more mentally stable than leftists.
This isn't just researched, it's demonstrably true. You can just watch a video of a conservative rally vs a leftist rally, and you'll see a stark difference in attitudes, methods, and reactions. Conservatives are far less emotional and peaceful, whereas leftists will scream like banshees and lash out physically.
But interestingly, studies note that while the left reports higher levels of mental illnesses, when it comes to "overall mood," both sides report similar levels of happiness.
The study, published in April 2025, notes that conservatives and leftists approach the idea of mental health differently. For instance, there is a perceived "stigma" around mental health on the conservative side, and as such, conservatives refuse to identify as having any, while the Left will readily do so. That may or may not be true, and in fact, I think the study might miss a big point.
That said, it notes that despite the difference in claims on mental health, "overall mood" is the same:
While conservatives report much higher mental health ratings, asking instead about overall mood eliminated the gap between liberals and conservatives. One explanation is that rather than a genuine mental health divide, conservatives may inflate their mental health ratings when asked, due to stigma surrounding the term. Another possibility is that ideological differences persist for some aspects of mental well-being, but not others.
According to the story, it boils down to cultural outlooks based on ideological stances, and sometimes the influence comes down to what is and isn't politically viable for each:
Conservatives may view mental health as a sign of weakness, indicating their personal inability to manage their lives, despite their worldview’s belief in personal responsibility and control. They may view mental health as something dangerous to society [31, 32]. Indeed, one study finds that a theoretical political candidate diagnosed depression (as opposed to no diagnosis) suffered a significant drop in support from Republicans, but the difference was not significant with Democrats [34]. Or they may merely see the term mental health as something only the left cares about. In the former, conservative stigma surrounding mental health encourages inflated ratings to preserve the image of oneself. In the latter, self-inflating their mental health serves as a means to be dismissive of issues important to the left’s politics. In either case, in describing their own mental health, conservatives might want to reinforce a separation between themselves and those with mental illnesses.
In contrast, liberals and left-leaning groups are not prone to stigmatize mental health in this way [42, 51]. Instead, liberals were more likely to provide a negative assessment of their mental health than of their mood. Liberals may be more likely to provide negative assessments of mental health because of an increasing focus and awareness surrounding mental health issues and the term “mental health” in left-leaning spaces [55]. Left-leaning groups may actually encourage their members to identify with some sort of stigmatized identity, be it ethnic, racial, or a person with a physical or mental disability [45, 46]. Information about mental illnesses is also often spread on left-leaning social media spaces. Articles or clips with titles such as “signs you might have BPD” might prompt liberals to identify with having a mental illness [56]. Both the moral culture of left spaces, and an increasing focus on “mental health” in the media may explain why liberals may be more likely to identify with having a mental illness, or seek out care even when their symptoms are fairly low or moderate [20].
I find this to be an incredibly interesting dynamic, and I think the study is actually right about the cultural aspect of each side's approach to mental health, but I don't think it actually grasps the approach from conservatives in totality.
The reason conservatives don't deal with mental health issues is that, in many cases, the focus isn't warranted. We problem-solve differently.
When a leftist comes up against an issue like mental health, they often attribute it to the environment. How a person was raised, what societal factors led to this state of mind, what economic factors paved the way for the issues to pop up, etc. They point the finger somewhere else. They see their mental health issues as a claim for victimhood and the result of an injustice. As such, everyone is guilty but themselves, and everyone else must change on a societal level to make sure this injustice is brought to a halt.
Conservatives don't think this way.
When we come up against an issue of mental health, we look internally. We ask what weaknesses we have that allow this issue to bother us, then we change the only thing any human has access to changing, and that's ourselves. Through individualistic changes, we change society as a whole. We strengthen the parts of us that are weak and find solutions that further guard us against the issue in the future.
In other words, the left and the right are equally miserable, but we handle our misery differently. Conservatives understand that change isn't something you can force on others, at least in any meaningful way in the long run. It has to be a personal thing. It matches up with our mentality that our fortunes and victories are our own and that we control our own fate.
The left has a "you didn't build that" mentality. They're pushed and pulled by the world, submissive to the issues it puts in them.
Ultimately, I think conservatives are all-around better off because we wrest control of ourselves from outside forces where whereas the left gives into them and demands everyone else change to be just as out-of-control as they are.
