I honestly think part of it is living in relative luxury. For past generations the threats we’re much more immediate. If you didn’t keep moving forward during the Great Depression death was a very real possibly not just abstract melancholy. We can live in our heads and be complacent while still getting our basic needs met.

It’s gets harder the further back you go. Did you ever read a historical biography and note how many children they lost to illness yet somehow kept going?

It was basically only the second half of the 20th century on (depending on demographic) that a large number of regular people experienced fairly dependable comfort and security.