Being a grumpy middle aged man

You are not born cynical. In your teens and early 20's you tend to be idealistic, after which you become progressively more cynical, until the cynicism reaches its zenith around 60. This peak is what we recognise as 'old man grumpiness'. I reached this stage around 55 although my kids argue it was 20 years earlier.

 

This is like a slide rule. When the Tory vote > Labour & Lib you are grumpy.

 

I'd highly recommend reading about Stoicism if you're struggling with anxiety, depression, Covid-19 etc. It's over a thousand years old but is what modern CBT is based on.

It's something you 'practice' rather than CBT, where I guess you take it like a tablet as a 'psychological fix'.

It's been amazing for me in re-framing how I see events, others words and actions as well as my own thoughts. In many ways I've heard its core beliefs in other forms, it's just really well framed and something I could mentally relate to and get my head round.

It's been of massive benefit after about a month of reading and practicing daily.

Highly recommend this book which despite the title is a wonderful mix of Stoicism, history, and bits of modern CBT.

 

Going by that, anyone over 49 years old should NOT be allowed to vote.