Olive's refusal to get some professional HELP

PREVIOUS QUESTION:

Does it seem to you that people's lives used to be more miserable, and that perhaps made them more miserable to each other?

Gen Y workers get a bad rap in the workplace, with many a geezer complaining that their work ethic is less developed than their sense of entitlement. But is that really fair?

Yes, according to new research that’s yielded actual data to back up that notion.

In a series of studies using surveys that measure psychological entitlement and narcissism, University of New Hampshire management professor Paul Harvey found that Gen Y respondents scored 25 percent higher than respondents ages 40 to 60 and a whopping 50 percent higher than those over 61.

In addition, Gen Y’s were twice as likely to rank in the top 20 percent in their level of entitlement — the “highly entitled range” — as someone between 40 and 60, and four times more likely than a golden-ager.

Harvey’s conclusion? As a group, he says, Gen Yers are characterized by a “very inflated sense of self” that leads to “unrealistic expectations” and, ultimately, “chronic disappointment.”

“Even if they fail miserably at a job, they still think they’re great at it.”


when it comes to work, the two things Gen Yers care most about are a) high salaries, and b) lots of leisure time off the job.

“They want everything,” says Campbell. “They want the time off. They want the big bucks.”

To reach their conclusions, Campbell and co-author Jean Twenge — a professor of psychology at San Diego State and author of “Generation Me,” a book examining discontent among members of Gen Y —

“The findings really support the idea that they’re entitled,” says Campbell.

All this leads to a question:

Where exactly does this tsunami of privilege come from?

Entitlement “gets ingrained in the formative years,” says Harvey. “It stems from the self-esteem movement, telling kids, ‘You’re great, you’re special,’” he says.

Echoing the findings in Twenge’s “Generation Me,” Harvey says the “ultimate irony” of jamming unwarranted notions of self-worth into youngsters like corn down a goose’s throat is that it has the unintended effect of higher rates of depression in Gen Y.

“You see high levels of disappointment,”

Boomers still can't grow up. Guys who once dropped acid are now downing Viagra; women who once eschewed lipstick are now getting liposuction. At the risk of feeding their narcissism, I believe it's time someone stated the simple truth: The Baby Boomers are the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation in American history.

I hate the Boomers.

generations in human history (that we actually care about)?

The Silent Generation 1925 – 1945

Baby Boomers 1946 – 1964

Generation X 1965 – 1980

Millennials 1981 – 1995

A$$ Holes 1996 – 2012

I think all of this is a superficial view. The psychologists draw their conclusions from a single experiment; they're just guessing, making sweeping statements informed by bias. Social "science" is typically problematic this way. A comparison of social contexts is totally absent, rendering the conclusion specious. Really this is nothing more than a version of the old, empty, "kids today" complaint.

I don't think it's fair to pit the conflicts reflected in the story as a generational dichotomy i.e. boomers vs X'ers vs millenials etc. although it really is front and center in the development of the drama. Sadness and meanness translates across generations but our pathological inclination to root out every ounce of ill will, feeling bad, and depression out of every human being made us dissect the problem in a mechanical way. We took it so personally that we declared a war on sadness and called it a disease/problem that needs to be treated because really, "hey, who wants to feel bad and be around people of that kind who really are mean pricks". Society is built that way, to reward jovial, easy going people who are fun to be around (and it's obvious why).

But personally, just my opinion; I think there is justification for every worldview out there so along as it is kept personal and doesn't hurt anyone in a physical way. Happiness or in the drama, "being blindly positive" (because being negative really doesn't help anyone) should not have a monopoly on the spectrum of human emotions but we're acting collectively to really root out sadness like it's the next epidemic (the worldview taken by Olive's son after years of harassment)

With mental illness sometimes help can be a hindrance. It's what I call a three door situation. First you have to acknowledge the door, decide to open it and then, hardest of all...walk through it...