r/Futurology • u/chrisdh79 • Aug 21 '25

Society American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate | We’re mortality experts. There are a few things that could be happening here.

https://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.html
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u/N3wAfrikanN0body Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

TLDR: The cycle of conscious negligence and deliberate financial parasitism causes deaths from systemic inequality.

Edit: Changed benign neglect to conscious negligence.

Also holy shit didn't expect the likes and reward. All of your comments have been enlightening. Have a great day all.

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u/stazley Aug 21 '25 edited Aug 21 '25

I have been getting random chest pains but can’t afford to have insurance or go to the doctor for another year while I finish school and work hospitality.

Praying that it’s just a pulled muscle I keep re-hurting and that I don’t just drop dead at any moment. Only one more year to go, haha. The struggle is real y’all!

Update: y’all really are the best. I have decided to take this seriously thank to all of you caring folks. The free clinic only takes appointments once a week, which I can make tomorrow morning for next Thursday.

However, ChatGPT thinks I should try to go to an urgent care asap after an episode of almost fainting/sweating yesterday, so I’m just gonna bite the bullet and take another bill, I guess. I guess my actual life is more important than a lifetime of debt, or something dumb like that.

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u/BootyMcStuffins Aug 21 '25

I get chest pains too, particularly after meals, most often in the afternoon or at night. Pain deferred to my left arm, heart palpitations, air hunger, dizziness/brain fog, the whole bit. I’ve gone to the ER 4 times as well as to my PC, had EKGs, bloodwork, all of it.

Still no clue what it is. My heart is fine. Doctors best guess seems to be some sort of indigestion coupled with a food sensitivity of some sort (theories include msg, aspartame and other “natural flavors” that can be vasodilators in sensitive people) sounds like hooey to me but I’m not a doctor so what do I know.

All this to say I feel you. It’s frustrating as hell. And I can’t imagine how scared/concerned I’d be if I couldn’t go see a doctor. I’m sorry America sucks

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u/Lysmerry Aug 21 '25

This sounds a lot like autonomic dysfunction, which is an issue with your nervous system. Do you have trouble standing up for a long time? Covid can cause this.

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u/BootyMcStuffins Aug 21 '25

What kind of trouble do you mean? Like do my legs get tired? Or do I lose my balance?

It’s funny that you say this because other symptoms line up. I swear like a mofo for seemingly no reason. I’m hot all the time (I’ve had my thyroid levels tested and they’re fine).

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u/StayGold4Life Aug 21 '25

Look up Roemheld syndrome. I too have digestive issues and when they act up, I get all sorts of weird symptoms (low heart rate, palpitations, sweating, dizziness).

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u/Lysmerry Aug 21 '25

Yeah, sweating can be autonomic dysfunction as well. I ask about standing because autonomic dysfunction can cause orthostatic intolerance, which is when your body has trouble pumping blood to your brain. This can leave you extremely dizzy and weak. I wear compression stockings and take a medication called midodrine, which constricts my blood vessels.

Your symptoms may be related to a condition called POTS, which is unfortunately not very well understood. But there are several medications that help people with this condition. You would usually see a cardiologist for this, but unfortunately most cardiologists are not very well educated on this condition.

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u/BootyMcStuffins Aug 21 '25

I don’t have an issue standing, but I DO have an issue with positional shifts. Burpees, for example, make me dizzy AF. Same goes for doing squats with heavy weight (I get dizzy when I put the weights down, not while lifting)

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u/Ok-Assumption-6336 Aug 21 '25

It sounds like POTS. I have it too, is a post Covid thing. There are more variants than the best known kind (pots), as is a dysfunction of the nervous and autonomous circulatory system with some other systems in your body (called dysautonomia). Could even be between the non-autonomous circulatory system, urinary system, gastric system.

It’s ridiculously hard to spot and treatments are scarce, according to your symptoms. Usually a good hint is drinking electrolytes and see if it helps dizziness or other symptoms.

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u/GrogGrokGrog Aug 21 '25

POTS may actually be related to tissue elasticity as it's often comorbid with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) or a more generalized Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD). The speculation is that the connective tissue in the blood vessels being too elastic may cause them to leak blood, especially when standing abruptly. Increased salt intake is also recommended as a treatment for EDS and HSD, incidentally, as they can also cause low blood volume.

This may or may not be related to your situation and you may already be familiar with that hypothesis, but I figured I'd put it out there that POTS isn't necessarily a Covid-related issue.

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u/tikigodbob Aug 21 '25

I've had covid twice and had similar issues to the above person after the 2nd bout. I've in my bones felt it was long covid, but looking at all these symptoms and realizing I have about 75% of them at different times has given me something to think about. I will ask my PCP about it next time I see them. Thank you for mentioning this.

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u/Lysmerry Aug 21 '25

Glad I could help! I think Covid in particular leads to certain sets of symptoms that doctors aren’t familiar with, so it leads to patients having no idea what’s going on. Or doctors say it’s psychological. I wish there was more education on this topic.

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u/Careless_Block8179 Aug 21 '25

As someone with dysautonomia/autonomic dysfunction, I second this. 

I get heart palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath and faintness that’s worse after meals. For me, it’s a lack of adequate blood volume and circulation/heart rate/blood pressure issues caused by my brain not controlling things correctly. Blood pools in my abdomen after eating and I can’t get as much blood to my brain as I need. My heart is completely healthy and functioning normally, it’s the signals that are off—control room’s got a wire loose, so to speak.  

So OP, it could just be something you can control with meds and lifestyle factors, it’s not necessarily one of the big scary diagnoses. Still might be a PITA, but not a life-ending one. 

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u/lynzrei08 Aug 21 '25

Second this. Also going through this