Fact Check: Do All Healthy People Have Mystical Experiences?

Published: Dec. 24, 2022, 10:52 a.m.

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/fact-check-do-all-healthy-people

I saw this on Twitter the other day\u2026

\u2026and realized I had the data to fact-check it. On the 2020 SSC Survey, I asked many questions about mental health, plus this one:

For this analysis I defined an artificial category \u201cvery mentally healthy\u201d. Someone qualified as very mentally healthy if they said they had no personal or family history of depression, anxiety, or autism, rated their average mood and life satisfaction as 7/10 or higher, and rated their childhood at least 7/10 on a scale from very bad to very good. Of about 8000 respondents, only about 1000 qualified as \u201cvery mentally healthy\u201d.

Of total respondents, 21% reported having a spiritual experience, plus an additional 18% giving the \u201cunclear\u201d answer.

Of the very mentally healthy, only 17% reported having a spiritual experience, plus 14% giving the \u201cunclear\u201d answer.