Back to Home11/14/2025, 4:17:26 PM

The American Tradition of Trying to Address Anxiety with Parks

bryanrasmussen
27 points
9 comments

Mood

thoughtful

Sentiment

mixed

Category

culture

Key topics

mental health

national parks

American culture

Debate intensity60/100

The article discusses the American tradition of using parks to alleviate anxiety, with commenters offering diverse perspectives on the issue, from criticizing the medicalization of economic stress to praising the US National Park system.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Moderate engagement

First comment

33m

Peak period

9

Day 1

Avg / period

5.5

Comment distribution11 data points

Based on 11 loaded comments

Key moments

  1. 01Story posted

    11/14/2025, 4:17:26 PM

    4d ago

    Step 01
  2. 02First comment

    11/14/2025, 4:50:14 PM

    33m after posting

    Step 02
  3. 03Peak activity

    9 comments in Day 1

    Hottest window of the conversation

    Step 03
  4. 04Latest activity

    11/17/2025, 6:43:17 PM

    1d ago

    Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (9 comments)
Showing 11 comments
ninininino
4d ago
1 reply
The American phenomenon of labeling the natural consequence of economic stress + overwork + being disconnected from healthy relationships and nature as "anxiety" and treating the symptom with brain scrambler pills while doing nothing about the cause.
foxyv
4d ago
2 replies
This is why I get angry at my doctor whenever they say "Reduce your stress." I'm like "Dude, I can't just quit my job like that." Meanwhile everyone else is telling me to paper over the cracks in the wall with meditation, exercise, and good eating. Turns out that doesn't do much when you are working 60-80 hours a week. Meanwhile, it's getting harder and harder to support your family.
ekropotin
4d ago
4 replies
Assuming you are working in IT, there are plenty zero stress working opportunities available. However, they are not being paid that well. There I’m going with it - there is a choice available, more money vs less stress.
danaris
4d ago
1 reply
...Which actually works out to trading one kind of stress for another. It's a false choice.

This is a systemic problem, and we cannot fix it with individualized solutions. For the vast majority of people, the only way to actually get ahead is to fix the system.

Tax the rich. Shatter the current massive income and wealth inequalities. Institute proper social safety nets. Provide for everyone, not just those deemed "deserving."

foxyv
1d ago
It is 100% this. The system is broken and everyone knows it. But people are convinced that the solution to the problem is somehow worse.
TimorousBestie
4d ago
1 reply
Dunno when you last touched the job market but those “less stress, lower salary” jobs are evaporating in real time.

If Americans weren’t so sinophobic, they’d probably have made 996工作制 standard operating procedure by now.

ekropotin
4d ago
I literally on the job market right now and got few offers from banks. But perhaps it's region-specific and outside of Bay Area the situation is drastically different, idk.
foxyv
1d ago
I have found that, if you are competent, the role will quickly expand to fill your ability to accomplish it.
rascul
4d ago
Less money can mean more stress.
98codes
4d ago
I first started hearing about it 20 years ago, and was able to confirm it for myself earlier this year. In order to truly de-stress, to let go, you need 3 weeks away. Doesn't have to be a 3 week vacation, just 3 weeks of not thinking about work.

If you can do it, I highly recommend it if for no other reason to clearly see just how much stress your work is adding to your life, even if everything seems "fine".

I say that fully acknowledging that very, very few people will get that opportunity, "unlimited" PTO or otherwise.

ekropotin
4d ago
It’s heart breaking to see they are defuning NPs. From my immigrant’s POV, National Park’s system is one of these cool things America did incredibly well. I’m a huge fan of it and visit parks at least 5-6 times in a year.
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ID: 45928321Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:04:56 AM

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