Physical vs. mental ailments

by  Tyler Cowen in

A loyal MR reader asks:

Physical ailments generally lead to behaviors that offset or improve them, whereas mental ailments often seem to lead to behaviors that make them worse (eg it’s hard to exercise when you’re depressed)

This seems very odd to me; why would this be the case? Are there any physical diseases that lead to reinforcing rather than mitigating behavior? Does this imply that mental illness is a post-evolutionary phenomenon?

Model this, or do you dispute the stylized facts?

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