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Comment by martopix | Hacker News Reader

> The stigmatization of mental conditions in Europe is sky high, to the point that it's barely possible to be seen as sane if you're just seeing a therapist.

I think this is just not true. I've never seen so many people talk openly about seeing a therapist as in the last few years. I'm almost surprised by how mainstream it has become.

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Not my experience.

You can have someone with cancer openly talk about it, but any psychological issue is treated like it's your own personal fault.

"Europe" is many very different countries.

The US is many different states. If you think California and Kentucky are the same, I invite you to visit.

Having been born in Europe and having lived in 9 different countries across the whole continent - my experiences have been largely similar.

Please bring this same energy every time uses "Europe" in a positive light too.

This applies as well to the US in many cases. I think Europeans frequently underestimate how much of our governmental authority rests with the States. Policies vary considerably across the nation, so any generalizations should be approached carefully.

As a European who moved to California, I agree up to a point.

There are huge differences in this giant country, and foreigners too easily think it's just Manhattan and LA, from watching TV.

But I would say the ~50 countries of Europe is an order of magnitude more diverse than the 50 US states.

Some Americans throw around "in Europe they do X" statements, which usually just mean they observed that in the 1-3 cities they visited.

This is not true today and is the tail end of an absolutely massive societal shift in the english speaking world driven by the now 25-35 age block who broke the stigma.

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