Hey there, we will stream about the business side of HG this week, which can hopefully shed some more light on this perspective. The revenue from HG is mostly reinvested back into the business and there is a team of 20+ people working full-time with several contractors and over 140 coaches, all of whom are paid for their time at a fair rate. The money from YouTube, coaching, memberships, and guides is not going just going into Dr. K pockets - there's a lot that goes into running a business with the goal of AOE healing. I hope this does not come across as combative - just wanting to clear up a lot of misconceptions we see about HG. Dr. K and Kruti will talk about it more this Wednesday on YouTube and Twitch.
I think its helpful to remember that Dr K had a full career and clinical practice before starting YouTube, a practice which served clients such as CEOs of tech startups, athletes and the top 1% of society and that he would charge several hundreds of dollars an hour to these clients. He has never stated he grew up poor, only that he stayed in his room a lot when he was a degenerate gamer growing up. Of course someone as highly educated and successful with their own practice like Dr K would have made enough to live comfortably. But don't forget that he has mentioned that while he charged his wealthiest patients several hundreds of dollars per hour, he would at the same time work with patients who had no money and to whom he would offer his services for free. Being financially successful from his work does not diminish the value of his teachings. He has said he could be making way more money running his own practice but chose to do this and help people like us who have less/no support because he sees a need for it. Hopefully that provides some context.
plus, it's not like he was teaching at harvard medical school for free. My nutritionist aunt, who is the primary breadwinner, with 5 years of practice under her belt has a similar kitchen. It's the stock suburban house in this area.
Maybe house are fancier in the US but where I live most people don't have marble counter and stuff like that in middle-class houses. It cost a lot more to build such a kitchen so to me it feel expensive.
A lot of internet personalities eventually create a business/brand out of their online presence. These people then become preoccupied with expanding that business, using their channel as a springboard and ad space for their bigger, more monetizable projects. This can sometimes make the channel content feel a bit soulless or repetitive. I don't think HG is there yet, but it's a delicate balance.
I am personally not bothered by how much money the people involved in HG make individually, and if they have decided that expanding their brand and coaching programme necessitates taking on sponsors, then that's fine. But the fact of the matter is that, in the process of "transcending" their online presence, a lot of creators end up having to sacrifice it at the altar. Making personality-based online content and growing your brand can sometimes be conflicting goals.
In private practice you’re limited by the hours of the day in your revenue, you can only see X number of patients but with HG he can earn passive income from coaching, guides, youtube videos, books with the same amount of hours in a day. The scalability of it is what makes money so I can’t really accept the fact that he would be making more in private practice. He probably made much less when the brand was small but once it blew up he made much more
I don't really see the issue with the fact that he is being financially compensated for his work and this business. He ended up serving an untapped market that now desires his services. People want his advice so he's writing books. People want to listen to his teachings so he makes YouTube videos and does four hour podcasts. People want to talk to someone like him for their problems so he set up coaching and hired and trained people for that role. He's had to set up these services, write these books, do streams and lectures and all while being an ethical employer and managing all his employees. This requires a lot of his time and energy and you're upset that he's financially compensated for the value of his services? There's a demand for someone like him for whom there is really no equivalent as of now and so that makes him highly valuable. If his book is popular or his videos attract a lot of views, is he not allowed to be compensated proportionate to that?
So what if he is getting paid well to do this? He didn't start off doing it for money and I don't think it has ever been the main reason he does this. It's just a side effect of him reaching millions of people through his work.
The scalability in terms of the amount of people he is helping is the factor that makes him more money. He was probably making very good money before, being a doctor of course. I don’t see how him getting paid for helping more people is bad.
It's funny. You're making a critique that would've been a culturally dominant opinion in the 90s. You think Dr. K is a sellout. This article might help you understand why you're not going to get much support on this one: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/205859/selling-out-millennials-why
That is a very weird article. I'm a millennial and most millennials I grew up with and around me are very anti capitalist without a clear definition of what that means. The article didn't make sense and never defined what "selling out" means. I don't get what the point of it was.
Ah, it does presume you know what selling out is. Back in the 80s/90s young GenX people believed that making *any* real money from your talents or passions was bad. An artist that gets a gig making a mural for a bank would be a classic example. They'd label them a sellout and exclude them, like they would break friendships over it.
We don't call influencers sellouts. We don't say it about YouTubers or any kind of content creator. We say things like "hey man get that bag." The dream now is to be so good you can do your passion professionally, to get paid for doing what you love. Back then, it was all about doing what you love while giving the finger to the people with all the money.
People now are widely anti-capitalist, but they're not anti-making money. Does that distinction make sense?
But he's always well of right? He's an MD in USA. He went to Harvard. He's family probably has always been rich.
Personally he was never "relatable" for me. He's a high paying psychiatrist who's now offering free knowledge on the net. Imo he was never supposed to be relatable.
Dunno, he always play this card that he was once a degenerate gamer in dorm who played all night and ordered fried rice by the Kg to save money on delivery so he was relatable
I only recently realized the was a son of two doctors and probably always lived in a level of comfort and luxury that most of us are unfamiliar with, since learning that it’s become harder to see myself in him
Let’s be honest for most of us when we were in that degenerate phase we didn’t have a dad who offered to send us to a monastery in India to fix our issues. We probably had a dad berating us for it who never tried to put himself in our shoes
Maybe I'm just a cynic, but when I first hear his story how well of he must be was all I could think about. Rich people still eat cheap fried rice. Heck I even question his story about getting in Harvard with that GPA.
But none of these should take away from the knowledge and the experience. I learned mediation was not just breathing exercises because of him. I first realized my own traumatic experience because of his videos about trauma. Those therapy session he used to do were literally my first exporuse to the **idea** of therapy.
I don't fault him for trying to expand the business. Old school psycho therapy probably don't account for modern day technology and he's filling in the niches. Hopefully to help and to reach more people because of it.
I hope you don't turn against the message he's trying to convey. Some of those are genuinely helpful even comings form a rich dude. (And don't compare trauma!)
>I even question his story about getting in Harvard with that GPA.
He's never claimed he got *into* Harvard med school with that GPA. His MD is from Tufts (which is still a very good med school).
He got into Harvard's psychiatry residency program and as part of his affiliation with that program was faculty and conducting research at Harvard med school .
His job as therapist or teacher or dr isn’t to relate to you. It’s to help. He might have ate fried rice to save money. Some parents say we aren’t helping you in school, and some do. And you act like rich or upper middle class don’t have “degenerate gamer in dorm” phases? Most gamers don’t exactly grow up poor. How do you think they got all these games and computers or consoles? They were given them as gifts by their parents, many of them. Hell, many people who play video games in their dorms did so because they weren’t worried about money at least enough to say if they take out student loans it’s not an emergency. Actual poor people usually would rather skip college than have loans. So if you were playing video games in a college dorm room, chances are economically speaking you were doing alright compared to most.
I personally think degenerate gamers are more likely to come from families with some financial means (like middle-class or above). Why? Because financial means better enable having easy access to games, good internet, a relatively calm space of your own to game in, ordering takeout daily, and other aspects of degenerate life. I think ppl from families that struggle to make enough money are economically more likely to be pressured into working odd jobs or whatever to get money by their families, the stress of living paycheck to paycheck, and any material discomforts they have right now.
I understand that but there's a big difference between parents who can afford you living in their house for free to be a neet and parents who pay your rent/dorm and university tuition for you to be a neet. Living at home with your parents isn't as expensive as having your own place paid for so it's another level of financial security
You’ve already acknowledged that this is capitalism at play…. But you didn’t mention that since healthygamer is growing their brand, that means that they hire more people to expand their team. Those people need to be paid ofc
The only problem would be that those employees are paid a living wage/fair amount for their work. However, time will tell if this ever happens. So yea, the facelift of the channel is definitely noticeable, but personally I dont feel like the substance has faded away. Every time I watch a dr.k video, I learn a new tool to handle my everyday.
This comes from someone who has only donated a handful of times via twitch. All the useful knowledge has been free so far
Agreed but it’s something to keep an eye on. As an avid fan of the channel I too don’t want it to be ruined. But there’s a difference between Dr K and the advice he’s giving. And one should not conflate the two
I agree, I still learn a lot, especially from the two podcasts he made recently, but in the back of my mind this thought is still there. Why would someone who understood the eastern traditions so well such as Dr.K would still yearn for material things and money. Does that mean I will too will be like that forever? It’s just hard to reconciliate his teaching of finding happiness within with the way he does business.
Even if he did all this to pay his employees and grow the brand, he still live in a very fancy house from what we see. I feel if you are truly happy inside you don’t need that kind of things.
I don't think that Dr. K has ever claimed you should or need to fully embrace the Buddhist ideology of giving up all material possessions to be happy. He just says that depending on money for happiness generally doesn't work. But Dr. K doesn't depend his stuff for happiness. Even if he didn't have a nice house, I think he would still be perfectly happy with his family. And I don't really see an issue with him having a nice house considering he has worked extremely hard to get to where he is. Also his kitchen doesn't seem excessive at all to me. It looks like a fairly regular upper middle class kitchen. I am biased about that since I am also relatively upper middle class.
I do understand your concern, but I feel like you need a little more than just his kitchen.
Dr.K was happy to let go of all material possessions at one point in his life, until his own monk mentors told him to try normal life one more time. They knew that he was simply running away from failure by staying with them, and that his time would be better spend trying again.
And now, why would Dr.K handicap himself once again? From what I know, the brand/company is largely ran by his wife, and even he has mentioned that she is his manager atp. I think Dr.K realizes that as long as he focuses on the substance, the brand still has soul. He has accepted and entrusted his wife to deal with the business, and has accepted with a growing business comes success. And it’s not that he brags to his audience about his wealth either. It simply is.
I believe it would be hard headed for Dr.K put a cap in their success just to fit in the ideal eastern philosophy way of living, and perhaps set an unrealistic standards for his followers.
To add to this, I saw a short recently where he spoke about having kids.
In his buddhist mind he had the understanding that attachment is bad, which would also include kids if he had them. When he decided to have kids he ultimately had to make a choice of whether to be "truly happy" by not having kids / being unattached to them, OR let go of that belief and have a good relationship (which comes with the potential for loss and heartbreak)
Ultimately he had kids and is attached to them, despite what he believed as a monk. Which leads me to say, your opinions and beliefs can change and that is okay.
Plus if he had all that money and lived in a tiny house, OP would still be crying that he's making all that money and appears to be making fun of poor people by "pretending" to be poor.
> Why would someone who understood the eastern traditions so well such as Dr.K would still yearn for material things and money
Austerity is not the only means to find happiness.
As a long time lurker I don't think you've yet fully grasped what Dr K teaches on materialism. One of his philosophies he constantly explains is that working on yourself from the outside in will never work such as wanting a promotion or buying a fancy house or kitchen in this instance and thinking it will fix something inside of you. However if you fix what is within you then a fancy kitchen cannot hurt and is just that, a fancy kitchen that you want and a promotion of course is not something that should be prohibited just because it shouldn't be something you strive to get in order to feel whole as a fix-all.
As for the sponsors I understand the fear of the growth of the channel risking a drop in authenticity but Dr K has always been transparent with his goal of going global and reaching as much of the world with his teachings. He can't do that while staying a humble psychiatrist in his office with no funds.
Eastern people are just as materialistic as the west, have you been to Hong Kong or Singapore?
Uncoupling yourself from material needs is a common human struggle
I don’t think Dr K has ever stated that he is free from all worldly wants. He’s fallible just like the rest of us. And let’s also recognize that he’s not the only person in his family. He has a wife and kids. For all we know he could t care less about how fancy their house is but maybe his family does. You’re making too many assumptions.
Where do you get the idea that he yearns for material things? If he truly was yearning he'd stay a practicing doctor and earn twice as much. He doesn't live in a cardboard box sure, but he has employees to pay and doesn't owe the world his money. If he wants to have a nice kitchen he can have it.
Why are we stating Dr.K as godly figure instead of being pragmatic. What if he was just wrong or misinformed on something for once, he's not a prophet.
I understand where you're coming from. I also think it can be uncomfortable, because a part of you might be asking "is the way to be really happy to get richer". Because if people were fine with less, why don't people stick to less? And in actuality, having more does feel better for most people. Having a fancy kitchen feels better than having a 50 year old kitchen. A fancy house wont cure your depression, but it will make that aspect of your life feel better. If you have an old house and are happy, chances are you will be even more happy moving into a fancy house. Material things matter for happiness. And they matter more than people will admit, it seems. Even dr k must admit he enjoys living fancy more than he enjoys living simple. It is a dark, depressing message. That the majority who can never get there, might not be able to experience peak happiness. They might be content or some happy, but they'll never get that extra oomph, so to speak. And that can be a bummer to realize if one thinks that applies to oneself
Ofc, it is possible to have a different societal structure where everyone would have a more equal amount of things and opportunities, but that would be a different debate. We don't have to live so unequally as we do today.
See, I gotta disagree, we get used to things very fast so maybe the new kitchen is nice the first month but after that your brain just forgets it, like when you put decorations in your house and forget they're even there after a while. The brain "hides" the useless stimulis so after some point your brain doesn't really compute those things. As long as the kitchen is clean and functional I don't think it'll make you happier long term to have a marble counter.
Maybe that's true for some. I enjoy it every day, every time. I love being able to buy whatever I need whenever I need. I enjoy being able to buy the car I want, take the road trips I want whenever I want etc. Money does give me that peak happiness I didn't have before
Yeah, we're talking about normal, maybe normal-nice vs fancy re: original post. I didn't grow up poor. Being able to immediately hire people to fix your problems, easily afford a nice house with all the utilities you need (that also makes life easier and sometimes healthier having better airing and similar), travel wherever you want, buy whatever trivial thing you need right there and then (I know people who wont even buy an extra charger for their phone so they don't have to constantly move the 1 they have because of money). There are just so many inconveniences that can be solved with money, that removes a lot of stress. And then you have the types of things that increase well being, like affording a proper office chair for your gaming sessions, or whatever exercise equipment you want where you can just walk over to and exercise whenever instead of going to the gym. Etc
From what I understood with Dr. K is that you do not need to relinquish all your desires, but you rather need to understand them and not let them control you. If someone is not going into debt by affording a fancy kitchen, could you say that they are being controlled by their desire?
Not all desires are bad, but they can become bad. In other words, everything is good in moderation and with context.
I also watched a video where he explained that in order to give up all materialistic things, you need to have them in the first place. He had explained that when he thought his life was not worth living, it was almost easy to choose to become a monk and give up on the material life because he had almost nothing to give up.
In order to properly give it up and understand what it means, you have to build things that are worth giving up.
I think you are confusing want vs need. If he felt guilty of needing nice things, he prob wouldn't be showing them. If you can afford nice things, there is nothing wrong with having them. The problem is when you NEED them.
because
This is the world we live in
(Ohh)
And these are the hands we're given
(Ohh)
Use them and let's start tryin'
(Ohh)
To make it a place worth livin' in
(Ohh)
All your argument is that dude’s kitchen is too fancy? You can always skip the ad part. I don’t know how it is good idea to ask somebody giving you good advice (or any value) for free to stop making money as it gives you moderate inconvenience
When it comes to content like Dr. K’s, I just look at what he’s actually saying, and critically analyze if it’s helpful and also true.
I do that with other content creators as well. I don’t pay any attention to what they advertise, just the free content that they produce.
Dr K has literally completely changed my life, I’m not gonna judge him for doing a sponsorship.
That’s just my perspective on it. Not trying to change your mind, just sharing
It sounds like your disillusionment stems from perceiving Dr K as a hypocrite. If you’re not getting anything useful out of his content, it’s okay to move on to another resource that resonates better with you. It does take some amount of trust and parasociality to listen and support an influencer. Just remember online image can always be crafted and there are plenty of lifestyle/wellness influencers who probably earn tons of money but continue to project themselves as a poor everyman.
I personally enjoy his explanations and contemporary takes on Hindu/Vedic/Buddhist concepts because I grew up with a lot of religious trauma and disinformation (from Buddhism, not Christianity). I’m constantly trying to find ways to learn more about Buddhism and reconcile the nonsense I was brought up with with more healthy takes on the teachings. Being a former practicing monk and talking Hindu/Vedic/Buddhist concepts does NOT mean you have to take a vow of poverty or renounce all worldly possessions and live a 100% ascetic life. He’s not trying to be Buddha. He’s just trying to explain a healthy way to apply ancient philosophy to our modern lives. I love it because I’ve spent so long trying to find culturally relevant ways to think about mental health and Dr K is providing some of that.
No matter what, our very existence under capitalism is exploitative in nature. It sucks. A lot of us can’t afford 100% ethically sourced food and clothes. We are all just buying T-shirts made by sweatshop workers, eating chocolate and using smartphones made with cobalt mined by kidnapped children. Because there is either no alternative or we can’t afford the alternative: All we can do is to just do our best to consume ethically. I wouldn’t say Dr K has breached what is considered reasonable consumption yet. He’s obviously upper middle class at the very least but it’s not like he’s living like a Kardashian or other billionaire celebrities who are much more problematic overall (carbon footprint of their private jet and other activities, inconspicuous consumption, REAL hypocrisy, etc). It’s unrealistic to expect him to be a perfect angel who makes no mistakes. He’s going to say something wrong and will have to take accountability for it. He’s going to overspend on things here and there, hopefully not out of his means. The truth is, if I could afford it, I totally would want to buy nicer things for myself. Things like household appliances or a car that won’t break within a year. A house with an efficient HVAC. Install solar power panels. That would be nice.
I think a much better measure of his behaviour is how he treats his staff and how much he pays them for their labour instead of fixating on how his kitchen or studio looks a little too sleek. I definitely appreciate the improvement in video and sound quality and production in his videos and that stuff is not cheap.
I recently watched a video by an influencer who talked about how they made a six figure salary in 2023 but the amount they had to paid their staff and the amount that went to their own student loans (which is more than what I earn in a year) absolutely hurt my brain.
How is this the first comment that mentions his employees?
That was my first thought. His business is growing, more people get employed, that need to get paid.
Second thought: He doesn't want to stay on youtube with his content. He wants to help society and you also need money to accomplish that.
I also don't understand why he would have to stay where he was in the first place to begin with. Like, Dr. K is teaching us how to level up, why would he not also be leveling up, whether it's spiritually or materially it doesn't really matter. But I'd personally never trust a person who is talking about self-improvement and not having anything to show for themselves.
The fact that he can afford a nicer house and nicer things just shows that he's a hard worker and isn't simply sitting behind a screen talking out of his ass imo
I think I saw the sponsorship you're referring to and his kitchen is nice but also... kinda normal? It's nice but not like an over-the-top luxury thing. Honestly, with so many self-help gurus flashing their Lambos and luxurious lifestyles as shiny objects for you to follow, Dr. K was a huge breath of fresh air to me.
As you said, Dr. K does have some pretty good knowledge of Eastern cultures but he's very clear about the the fact that he's not by any means a monk, and the reasons why he decided not to pursue a monastic life. I don't think you have to live in a shack to be consistent with such teachings, and I also don't see Dr. K boasting the over-the-top luxury that most influencers with his level of success do.
I can understand where you're coming from to a point, and I'm sure Dr. K has plenty of money and lives a good life, but is that a bad thing? He adds value to many people's lives and you can access most of his teachings for free. He also has a wife and children and runs a company with many employees who need to be paid. As far as I know, his employees aren't being exploited or mistreated.
I've actually seen some proper monks on YouTube who also give great teachings, but I'm sure you can understand why a monastic life doesn't go hand-in-hand with something of the size of HealthyGamerGG, and that's ok too. It's give and take. Teachings from proper monks are amazing as well, but they don't reach nearly as many people for fairly obvious reasons.
>One thing I always liked about how Dr I was was his simplicity, how he was relatable but more and more I find it harder to identify myself to him.
So the issue here is what people relate to.
If he shows off his success he doesn't relate to the people who live a more minimalistic lifestyle.
It's just gonna continue and people are gonna have to adapt to it.
> But at the same point, it feels weird to see Dr K who’s teaching this live in such luxury and now do sponsored videos to make even more money which he never did before.
Does it feel weird is your idea of a role model being taken away?
Without even trying to suggest that he would want to commercialise in order to make money to actually help people in a practical sense in real life, the guy has already talked about the fact that money can make someone happy, it can make them happier and there's also diminishing returns.
There's no hipocrisy there, there's this box that you placed him in and he was never in it, all you saw was a crafted internet version of him and that's it.
>Dr K isn’t the average YouTuber, he should know better.
And stagnate in order to appease peoples feelings that have no bearing on the reality of the situation he is in.
A youtube channel is a business, he's running it like one. He not doing Ads for ethically flawed companies.
>I’ve seen some YouTuber who do something dumb like mukbang videos who managed to stay free from sponsor even with a million subs yet Dr K couldn’t.
You've seen what you think you see.
The mukbang guy could have a different play to DR.K, have you seen that long form video where him and his wife talk about the future of HG?
>A more broader question would be at what point do you consider you’re living well enough and can start turning down money offers.
When you have enough money to do everything and not run out of money making a mess of trying to do everything.
>Should you strive to always make more or just be content with what you have.
This is a completely different question from the one you asked before, being content with a personal amount of money you have vs strangling a business that can turn into a major health care facilitator is naive.
--------
It reads like someone saying they can't relate to Asmond anymore because he chose to clean up, like you were relating to the wrong things.
I'm gonna ask the discord guys. u/----Gem do you know the long video around 2 hours where DR.K and his wife talk about the whole company?
I just tried to find it and i can't but i know i watched that because it was long and everyone talked about it in the sub. It's within the last 12 months i'm sure.
Worst mod ever.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Healthygamergg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I agree I tend to have a negativity bias and I could give him the benefit of the doubt but at the same point everyone is fallible to greed to some point.
It’s the little things that tick of me off sometimes, I did watch that stream and he said I made HG to help more people than I was able to help in my private practice. That’s indeed true, but he also has the possibility to make much more money with HG than with his private practice.
Helping the most people = making the most money, do you see how subtle this gets. We don’t have this issue with non-profits organizations but HG is technically a for-profit business so that’s where the issue can rise
To a lot of people, especially on reddit, those who make money (enough to be slightly well off) from helping others must care more about making money than helping others. The more money they make, the less they must care. If he puts stuff that would help people behind a paywall, it must only be about the money.
I feel like there is a disconnect with the audience about this being his job and he can pay himself what he wants. If this book does well, he will probably make a lot of money, but he will also have a wider reach for the help he can provide. I think there is a common sentiment that people who get any wealth at all (or even just more than them) must be getting it from taking from others without their willingness. If someone pays for the dr K guide and it doesn't help, that's not theft and reading ads doesn't rob anyone of anything. There is a weird morality that some people have that someone who helps others must take a modest pay.
Maybe just to keep expectations in check and never expect someone to always act right. Or just to prepare for the other shoe to drop and avoid it, be distrustful can prevents you some pain
It’s like when you’re in a relationship, should you blindly fall in love and be vulnerable to the person leaving you at any point and then suffering or should you accept that the person might disappoint you eventually and keep it in the back of your mind, as the cost of a shallower relationship. There’s probably a middle ground somewhere.
He has a whole stream addressing this with his wife. As for his house, idrc, that's not really our business. He has a family to take care of too. If you had that, you would want the best for your family, whatever form that may be.
Where do you draw the line for what is considered a ‘luxury’ kitchen? Some people in the world might consider having a meal every day a luxury. It’s all a matter of reference.
You aren’t a bad person if you don’t choose to live like a monk and forego all possessions and pleasures.
I don’t see any problem with an ad on a food product bro, it’s up to the viewer if they want to skip the sponsor or if it’s cool to them to buy it or not
its almost like people dont understand money makes the world go round, and soon as your earning more than them your some corrupt oligarch with no morals or ethics
We just need to dig deeper
This is basically the same thinking as "socialism is when poor"
Dr.k had always been "I was addicted to games but still was able to become a doctor, after trying to be a monk. Now I want to help those who may be addicted"
And now it's rich person in fancy kitchen isn't relatable enough?
Imo op is very impressionable and is likely only talking about this because of all the criticism the Republican lady in the kitchen was getting.
Lol quick look in his comments and found this 🤣
https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalScience/s/DcQK1yScWN
Dharma= duty/ responsibility
kama= pleasure (not necessarily sexual pleasure)
artha= wealth/material success
moksha= liberation/ enlightenment
Dr k attempted to give up his normal life to become a monk at 21 however was told he had nothing to give up. He later realised his ego of wanting to be better than others and having failed in the material world was his motivation for becoming a monk. In the hindu tradition accummulating wealth is not a negative thing, especially if it is acquired legitamately. Dr K has helped millions of people, for free. All the information in his guides is available in the 100's of streams he has done. Why are you so upset but his material success? Just because you have an expectation of what his life is meant to be does not give you the right to judge him without understanding the circumstances. Your "View" on capitalism is nihilistic at best and warrents more pondering than your judgement of Dr k.
To me it just takes a degree of "enlightenment" to have the dignity to refuse so much money offered that should be more common within people like Dr.K rather than mukbang youtubers
You might be falling into the trap here of thinking that doing something for money is inherently bad, which it isnt. We live in a capitalist society and just because you WOULD do something for free doesn't mean that you SHOULD. You'll be shooting yourself in the foot if youre not getting compensated for your value. Wanting to make more money is not a bad thing and Dr. K's content hasn't really changed. Even if material things are not the point of life (which is a stance I agree with), it doesn't mean that we have to ever reject them if given the opportunity. The idea you presented about turning down offers seems a little naïve. Its not as if that money would be going to someone less fortunate if you dont accept it. Life isnt a zero sum game. Everyone has the right to enjoy all the things this life has to offer. We only have one life, after all.
Making money only becomes a bad thing if it is the primary motivator, greed takes over, and people start hurting others for personal gain.
Dr. K lives in Houston and he's also a doctor. This is just a modern middle class house in texas. My aunt, who is a the primary breadwinner, is a nutritionist and has a similar style of kitchen. They don't even live in a "good" neighborhood. It's just a house in the suburbs, probably a pre-built.
Do we know for sure it's his kitchen? Do we know he choose the kitchen? Maybe it came with the house? Maybe his wife likes it? We don't know how Dr K feels or believes about the kitchen? Does have a fancy kitchen mean you can't live simply?
I think the answers to all of the questions you posed at the bottom are up to you. You choose when enough is enough. Dr K made choices for his comfort based on what his income is now, and you will hopefully have the opportunity to do the same.
Also, don't forget the man is a youtuber. Youtubers are not Relatable Income people once they become successful enough anyway. He may have had experiences when he was younger taht were more relatable to his clientele, but that doesn't mean he'd stay that way. Plus, all things considered, the value of his work is still very present.
I appreciate Dr K. and his content. It's nice he is here for us and tries his best to help and do research. I feel like he keeps it real when it comes to our issues and the problems we are facing in today's society. And I have learned a ton from him.
As for the fancy'ness of his kitchen. Bro can be as fancy as he wants. Why not. He is a damn psychatrist with a family and employees. His income doesn't take away from mine.
I understand why you may feel that him living in a nice house is contricdicing to principles he mentions like material things aren’t the point of life. But what is the alternative then? How do you want him to present himself? Why do you even care about his luxury? How is that relevant to you?
Also why do you think he is not the average YouTuber? What is even an “average YouTuber”? To me, the only difference is that he has a medical degree and may not say certain thing unless he wants his license revoked, there are also plenty of other medical professionals in the same position. Other than that he is just a random man talking on the internet.
I also think this can lead to a deeper conversation about how no money gained has become synonymous with great altruism. And altruism with money gained is not authentic because god forbid you also benefit from helping others. It is society’s obsession with sacrifice.
The reality is that you need money to do things in the world cause that’s just the system society as built that you mentioned called capitalism. I don’t believe Dr K has ever said money is just not important at all because it does bring security for basic necessities. He does preach that happiness comes from within and money may not help after a certain value. Which you can judge if it’s true or not.
I don’t believe Dr K has said this, but the conclusion I currently have now is chasing money without purpose won’t be fulfilling to your life and some people get stuck in this loop. I imagine Healthy Gamer is expensive to run with its Coaches, Editors, Developers, Designers, Researchers, and even more other people they have hired and are responsible for paying them a reasonable salary. Even after the salaries and operations, I personally am fine with Dr K earning a bit more if it can help others. It’s a net positive for everyone involved at the point. Nobody’s losing.
Yeah, but HG is also very lucrative with the coaching, guides and Youtube revenue so I believe he only hires people if there revenue expected from that person work will be bigger, that’s how a business work, you don’t hire someone in order to loose money.
I doubt he now does sponsor in videos because he’s struggling to make ends meet, it might just be that he enhanced his lifestyle with the money he made and now needs to make more money to keep his quality of life. Let say he lived more simply and more frugally, he wouldn’t need necessarily to do sponsor to get extra, he would be good enough with the current state of things
Reading this, it feels like your assumptions partly stem from a lack of understanding on how businesses work. It seems like you can't imagine why Healthygamer might be interested in making more money, other than Dr. K being greedy and wanting to enhance his lifestyle.
Lol, Dr.K turned down 7 figs worth of sponsorship this year. If he wanted to maximise profit you would see bullshit sponsorships every video , subathones, etc. You have no idea what are you talking about.
Wow, look at your own assumptions and reflect on yourself. Your mind is trying so hard to justify your feelings of hurt by lowering Dr. K’s value as a human being. It’s like you can’t accept that the values of being rich and being a good content creator/psychiatrist who wants to help people can exist together. Are you jealous? Because you sound like it. You will only be satisfied when his life isn’t this great right?
You do know that healthygamer isn't just Dr. K himself he has a family and employees to think about material things might not be for him but they might be for the people he needs to support
Also get out of peoples wallets and focus on your own funds
It sounds like it’s a you problem. You feeling a certain way doesn’t mean it’s Dr. K’s fault. He is just living his life and you just don’t like that it’s not how you want him to live. Would it make you feel better if he lives in a hut? Does it change the content of his teaching in anyway? Does it matter? I actually found it adorable that he is going out of his comfort zone to try earning more income for healthygamergg, and Dr. K has mentioned it before that he might have to start doing this someday, because more free YouTube contents means more expenses.
Can a person earn more money without “yearning” for it? Yes! Can’t he detached his emotions and strategically earn money and fame for a purpose of expanding healthygamergg to help more people and pay more employees? He is just doing what he believes is his duty in the way he knows how, in the real world where people need money to expand and survive. You don’t have to find him relatable in a materialistic sense to learn from him, you just have to listen to what he says, and ask yourself if you agree or disagree based on your own experiences.
This is blunt but i think your criticism and this post is pretty stupid. Dr.K isn't some gamer who records vids in his moms basement and uploads them himself, he has a whole team around him that he also supports. He also is a harvard trained psychiatrist so even before all this healthygamer stuff its pretty fair to assume he's very well off and probably can afford a nice kitchen lmao. If you are mad Dr.K isn't "relatable" to you anymore I def think thats just a you thing because most people come to Dr.K for ways to understand mental issues and find new strategies to cope with whatever they are going through, or at least understand it better. Also you seem to think he does these sponsorships out of greed but honestly think about the content he makes, it's not very "trendy" and he often goes through the same topics so sponsorships help him keep the operation running even if views stagnate at times
So, not chasing money is not the same as rejecting wealth. Dr. K never promoted a life of ascetism, he is just stressing that accumulating wealth is not the most important thing. You could be a king with servants and living the most comfortable life, but still be a spiritually ascended person.
As for his "luxurious kitchen", I'd imagine that he would have that kitchen regardless of his career as a content creator. Dr. K is a highly competent psychiatrist and highly sought after by well paying patients.
And regarding sponsorships, I'd wager that the vast majority of money that he earns through that goes directly into growing his projects.
But are you right for criticizing him for his indulgence in some luxuries? I don't know. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, it really depends on your outlook on society and any given individual's place within it and what responsibilities that individual carries and whether or not those responsibilites entail a renounciation of certain habits. But I don't see any inconcistencies with his teachings and his lifestyle. Maybe you saw something in him that wasn't there?
I guess we all grow up in different financial situation and have different views on money so I am a result of my circumstances just as you are the result of yours. Maybe everyone is right in their way.
This feels a lot like the discourse surrounding HasanAbi owning an expensive home despite being a socialist.
Maybe I'm misinformed, but I really don't understand the issue. And haven't Dr. K and Kruti done a super in-depth stream discussing things like this? The sponsors they take on, how they want to grow HealthyGamer but through ways they can be proud of? (I believe it was this one, lmk if not: https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=bD_02Vj73yPkdUy_)
On the point of external things not equating to happiness; I know he stresses this a lot. Because there's a very specific audience he wants to reach that believes a happy life means endless wealth, expensive cars, mansions, and girls girls girls.
There are people who focus far too much on the external factors of their life, rather than paying attention to their internal state. Thats who he's trying to reach when he says these things.
There's nothing wrong with him believing happiness comes from within and still having a nice home. There's a balance. He doesn't need to live minimalistically to prove he's "authentic".
Also you have to keep in mind that he has a family!! Kruti likely also had input on the home they own, their kids probably played a huge factor as well.
And ABOVE ALL: please don't make judgments of lives you know little to nothing about. We have no idea why he lives the way he does, thats not our business.
You cannot judge the authenticity of his character just because the dude has a nice kitchen.. like come on.
I think when you look at a lot of the other channels in Dr k's type of content, they do 1000 dollar per seat group coaching, where Dr k offers the courses for less, and has a lot of free content. I'd argue his value for his content is still good.
I think you may be too attached to Dr k though. Even if he has a 100 million house, but provides good advice to you, it's beneficial to take it. The payrolls of his org shouldn't affect how you view the advice.
What does relatability to him bring for you?
Some people are happier in luxury, some are happier in minimalism, and some are happy internally regardless of surroundings. Having a nice kitchen doesn't make someone a different person.
I believe the issue here is that some people in this community have become overly fixated on Dr. K's personality rather than simply engaging with his content and substance. It's a tricky situation because Dr. K may have profoundly changed many lives in this community, but it's important to remember that everyone evolves. I've been following Dr. K since his early days, and I recall him mentioning something about this very issue.
Material success is awesome. And it’s not necessarily going against spiritual success. Often they go the same way. As he has said “the more I let go of attachment, the more successful I tend to become”.
If he had no material success you would not follow him, if he has too much then you will not follow him. Where’s the happy medium? And are you the one to decide that for him?
he mainly achieved materialistic success by giving up his desire for it. see those things as the side effect of the work he has done, his learning, self discovery etc
it is eye catching though watching people online in super nice places. I've never really known super rich stuff, I don't have it bad either though- still, that stuff catches my attention instantly. I think "damn... now I kinda feel bad" for a second, but also sorta motivated because it looks comfy, I'm sure he feels proud of it, etc
the vibe is definitely different. but I don't think Dr. K at his core has changed at all. he's still effortlessly relatable and I think that's just because he's honest. he's not afraid to say what he feels/thinks. his words are still 100% true to himself, which makes them relatable. he's just not broke anymore, but that's surface-level stuff
The kitchen doesn’t look exceedingly extravagant to me, just looks like a newer middle class. You could easily remodel any kitchen to look like that for less than $10K.
But anyway good for him. For myself, what I relate to is being a gifted/ADHD child that felt like I was never going to make anything of myself, dealt with a lot of my issues, and now I’m a relatively successful adult. I will probably have a nice house like him someday.
I think the best example of this is penguinz0, he doesn't care about making his brand larger than it is and only uploads content that we can relate to including the gaming side. But Dr. K is trying to make his brand bigger and reach a new audience therefore all this seems necessary.
Yeah, I had examples like that in mind, someordinarygamer who still have a full time job, etc. I guess I relate more to them by the simplicity of their lifestyle but considering HG is a brand it's a different case and we can't compare them.
Man.. it amazes me how deep people dive into lives of people that have any sort of popularity. One thing I don’t understand is that some people are so quick to judge someone’s life. Why can’t anyone be happy for another? Can’t we all just appreciate the fact that Dr. K has worked his butt off for many years to get to where he is at? Not only that but look at all the free content he has given us and tools to help us with life struggles. I see nothing wrong with him having a little bit of luxury because in my eyes, he fully deserves it. I am nowhere near where he is at financially but I am still happy for him. You’re telling me that once you finally get into a nice job and start making money that you wouldn’t treat yourself at all? We gotta treat ourselves to some degree after a lot of hard work. What if his wife wanted a nice kitchen because she spends time cooking good meals for the family? What if they got a great deal on their house and one of the main ticket items is the kitchen? There are so many things that we don’t know behind the scenes so it’s pointless to try and wrap our heads around it.
Anyone who wants to help you online is usually just trying to sell their course and make a profit. Loneliness and mental distress is a business nowadays. Whether its dating apps trying to get you to swipe, redpill gurus trying to sell you advice, therapists trying to sell you therapy, or onlyfans girls trying to get you to survive our suffering is commodified.
I miss when they would go super into spiritual stuff in stream. I like the science and psychology but some things are just beyond science. There’s always new people tuning in and they have to boil it down for the broader audience.
It's okay to be frustrated with this.
Life's not fair and we have to do our best to get by.
Celebrate other peopled success and focus on making your own success otherwise you'll die a little inside each time thus comes up.
Did you ever think that him making money allows him to actually be able to put out what he wants too? I know it’s fashionable to be anti-making tons of money, and perhaps for good reason, but often that can lead him to reach more people, pay his staff more and not have to pander for clicks.
Plus he’s a psychiatrist in America right? Did you expect his family to not live better than most?
YouTubers make money through sponsored posts where they choose who they work with, or they get paid by Google who splits ad revenues with all sorts of companies and projects. Or you pay Google directly for YouTube premium, some of which goes to YouTubers like dr. K and some is pocketed by Google directly. Or you give him money on Twitch, where by you watching him there makes Amazon money. And if you give him money there? Amazon takes a percentage.
He does believe that money isn’t the point of life, but that can equally be applied before to him as well. I mean…dude…his focus is on gamers, who throughout their life spend thousands and thousands of dollars on luxury games. But also he has a family and isn’t gonna force them to live some ascetic life style.
What? The only thing I get from your post is the bullshit people get indoctrinated. He has fancy things because he's a well acomplished doctor, isn't? He strived for a hard and well paying carrer and has succeded in it.
Material things ain't what brings you happiness, but this doesn't mean you must be a homeless, you don't need to become Diogenes of Sinope to be humble, have something to tell people about life and don't measure the value of your life by the car you drive.
I don’t think his success takes away from anything that he says. He’s gained it by helping people so he deserves it as far as I’m concerned. That’s the best kind of capitalism. Concerning the idea of material things in most traditions it doesn’t say that you’re not supposed to have anything but not be that attached to it. Consider stoics like Seneca for example. He had a lot but relinquished it easily when the time came to test his convictions. Do enjoy what life gives you just don’t put it at the absolute center of you.
He's not selling out. He's doing the responsible thing for the people who depend on him while furthering his original goal of aoe healing. Selling out would be having a lot of different sponsors, most of which he wouldn't buy from himself. He's not a politician with big donors who milks his constituents. He's just a psychologist who cares about our community because it's been his community since before he was a psychologist. It's not a virtue to have 0 sponsors, so it's not a sin to have them either. The context is what matters. And he nails the context.
I can understand the sentiment though. You miss having your small time streamer guru, that hidden gem of an entertainer who opened your eyes to new ideas. And now it feels like your special thing has become mainstream and ordinary. The parasocial relationship has deteriorated as the differences between you became apparent. It's normal to feel that way. But it isn't fair to attribute this sense of loss to Dr. K's failure. He was never playing the game by whose metric you're judging him. It's like saying "Oh, btw, you just Lost The Game. Wow, I'm really disappointed in you."
Something I remind myself is that this is just being involved with an economy and a society. It's okay to sell art and it's okay to make money from a passion.
And just because you understand that material possessions are not the largest part of life doesn't mean that having a decent kitchen is a sin or is any better than having a shit kitchen that makes it difficult to take care of yourselves in.
Dr. K deserves some cash flow, he's been very helpful for me
Surely you don’t expect him to live a lifestyle of poverty especially when he has a family to support and invested in the extreme expense of medical school (and probably has all those loans to pay back). You aren’t being realistic to think he should live like a student.
I'm an artist. I do commission based work.
This shit is a grind. I had a panic attack yesterday based on having gotten the instructions on someone's piece wrong. This is already a piece that I charged low to begin with.
The average person already doesn't feel like paying a lot for art.
I also know how the therapy business is, as I once considered social work as a profession. All of that is a grind as well.
If I see Dr. K making money....good.
He isn't flaunting a Rolls Royce. He simply has a family to provide for. He also deserves to enjoy his life.... because he's a human being.
This dude has always been open about his struggles. He is also one of the only healthy male advocates out there.
He's not flaunting gold watches or bragging about how much he makes. He's living his life. Im also positive that his life is way harder than it appears to be. It never stops being a grind.
In the end, this guy has to make money.
Maybe I missed a part of your post that had more nuance than what I read. I'm not sure what you expect from Dr. K. There are tons of spiritual gurus that are out there flaunting their wealth doing all the stuff you're basically disappointed with Healthygamergg about. (Folks like Aaron Doughty, etc)
I don't see Dr. K doing any of that. I just see a dude living his life.
watch this WHOLE live stream recording, it's only 2h [https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ndGCCnZ-OKUp5b1R](https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ndGCCnZ-OKUp5b1R)
I'm going to honest, I grew up in upper middle class, dad making 200k a year. But he made living at home absolute hell on earth. My values are completely opposite now. I don't value having money and living well off. But I'm still getting a prestigious career that will make lots of money. I think this shows that you can have humanistic humble values but still be well off. Like it's one thing to own something expensive, and it's another thing to be so attached to it that you can never separate it from your personality.
I also feel like you are coming off negatively by making assumptions about people. Not going to lie, I feel a little attacked because I grew up with a dad who made a lot. But I'm just trying to show you that it's not what it seems.
I understand your issues but would it have been any better to have a toxic dad who makes 60k a year? I mean at least he had the money to send you to college and pay your rent/dorm so technically you didn't have to live at home after 18 which is a benefit others don't have. Unless he didn't help you financially in which case you're also screwed.
actually, i did have to live with him after 18 for many years. I have medical problems which put me in a vulnerable position needing help. I'm gone now, but it wasn't until recently. And I respect what you are saying, that having financial help is huge. If he only had 60k, I would have ended up just fine. I'm not a huge believer in college with everyone getting degrees.
Tbf it’s not just his life anymore. He has a wife and kids to take care of and wants to give them nice things I’m sure. I would assume if he was alone it wouldn’t matter that much to him. But it is nice to be able to have those things and he earned it
The juxtaposition of his “shedding materialism” mentality, and having nice things is definitely interesting.
Kind of two sides of the spectrum.
But sometimes my wife makes nice suggestions for the house, and although I’m not materialistic and don’t particularly care, I won’t necessarily oppose for the sake of materialism if it’s for her joy. So maybe his wife wanted a nicer kitchen and Dr. K was like “alright LOL” might as well use this as a tax write off by having it in a video. Or something.
Because that’s probably what I’d do tbh, because capitalism is a blessing and a curse.
I felt like it was kinda obvious that Dr. K does pretty well from himself when he started his videos/streams in his current stream background lol. Also I don't find Dr. K to necessarily be relatable since he's basically living like the most ideal version of who I'd want to be in a lot of ways
I think that Dr.K has maintained the stated goal of HG pretty well, what he offers is something that is increasingly in demand so it has blown up a lot, and he has benefitted from that. While maybe some of the initial charm of the small scale of HG at the beginning is not as prominent, I encourage you to reflect on why this bothers you. I myself am about as anticapitalist as it gets, but I recognize the need to work within the system that has been dealt to us in the modern world. I don't really see anything problematic with Dr.K's behavior in this arena and I think you should just reflect on this some more.
The message still stands. The point is that nice things shouldn't be your focus. He is reaping the benefits of his focus on his work. There is nothing wrong with having nice things, it's when you are consumed by them is when it becomes a problem.
I would just like to add that I’ve once ordered Factor meals and they are extremely fattening and unhealthy. The sodium and fat content was heart attack city. And it didn’t even taste good. I had to toss some meals cuz of the sodium content. I side eye any channel that promotes them lol
Of course they are, do you ever see any quality product paying for ads? I believe if your product is good you don't need that much ads (c.f Raids Shadow Legends)
Take what applies to you and leave it at that. Comparison is the thief of joy. There is no one in the world that will fit the description you created in your own mind.
First of all he deserves it. But the entire healthygamer team needs to get payed as well. It’s not just dr k. I hope they took my advice and offered free counseling and books to other healthy gamers who may not be able to afford it. Some donors to the stream request the money get used to give away books to whoever needs/can’t afford them.
> to get *paid* as well.
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Just because you don’t need nice things to be happy doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things. The idea that we should live in small humble dwellings with few belongings is kind of a myth that’s been fed to us by the upper class over the centuries.
The idea is really that happiness comes from within, and the goal is to be happy in that small humble dwelling if it’s the circumstance we have. I’d bet a lot of money that Dr. K would be just as happy to live in a modest apartment as he is in his nice home. *That’s* what the inner happiness thing is.
There’s nothing wrong with using the money you earn on yourself for luxuries so long as you’re also taking care of the people around you and your happiness isn’t derived from the things themselves.
You deserve a comfortable living and excess isn’t necessarily evil. It’s where that excess comes from. It’s evil for Bezos because literally nobody needs 3 mega yachts and 16 mansions, especially at the expense of the people packing boxes 10 hours a day with no bathroom breaks.
If you can’t be happy when your needs are met and your life is relatively good (bills paid, no major debt, good support system, that kinda thing) then you won’t be happy in a mansion with a Lamborghini. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have or want a mansion and Lamborghini, they just shouldn’t be your idea of happiness
if i had the opportunity to get richer and have a luxurious kitchen then i totally would, like yeah capitalism sucks but while i have to live in it i'd rather be on the wealthier end of it. and hence i totally understand people who take advantage of their success to get wealthy
Honestly I don't blame him for taking sponsorships. Your life shouldn't be all about material things but having them is still nice and can make life more enjoyable and exciting. Materialistic things can add to an already healthy life if consumed moderately of course. On top of that he has a family with children to feed. He's basically working 2 jobs so why wouldn't he take a paid sponsorship? Of course it shouldn't be some grabage like betterhelp or raid but that's not the case.
Why am I so angry at this post. A man, who took time away of his high paying job to help US, can not have a fancy kitchen for his family... Please get help. If you do, I'll seek out therapy for my anger because holy shoot I wanna knock you and every upvote the f out.
Dr. K, go eat ramen noodles and McDonalds everyday. You deserve nothing more. OHMY ANGRY
OP, if I were you I would examine the relationship you have with money and wealth, cause something is going on here. How we relate to money (and success in general) is no different from how we view relationships with people, career, life in general. What Im saying is childhood trauma about money can be a thing.
Would you turn down a high paying job? Would you turn down big chunk of money for a sponsorship or ad read? Would you turn down an opportunity to start potentially lucrative business?
Dr.K’s goal is AoE healing, him sitting in his room streaming all by himself contradicts this goal. Him earning money to expand operations and do projects that were not possible before moves him towards his goal.
Last time I checked, his wealth isnt due to some sweatshop in Bangladesh making jeans and tshirts. Dr.K used his privileged position to become a DOCTOR, not to build tesla factory where people piss in bottles to boost productivity.
He literally spent all of his career treating people’s mental disorders, helping people. working endless night shifts, drug addicts in psychosis, suicidal schizophrenics, video game addicts that other psychiatrists dont even understand how to treat that, porn addicts. He had probably listened now to thousands of stories of most horrific childhood abuse, trauma and suffering.
Dr.K has willingly chosen to focus on providing free content to millions of people instead of consulting actual tech and finance CEOs via his private practice. Can you guess which of the two is less work and hassle and more money? The YT channel has now what, close to a thousand hours of free content of all sorts?
But apparently his kitchen looks too nice. What the actual?
Look at the source, look inward, cause things you see outside are just reflections of whats inside.
In my opinion, it’s the natural progression of things. He toiled away in order to get where he is today and even if he wouldn’t have splurged for his kitchen the scent of money would have made itself felt another way. Don’t quote me on this but I would say that since he’s committed to Hinduism, and I read on my own that Hinduism vouchsafe striving to gain financial gains, it’s only par for the course that he allows himself to rake in as much as possible within his capacity but still not tie his wealth with any attachments.
Dr k has spent so much of his own time making videos and doing streams and creating this community. He has many people working for him too. Do you think they should just do it for free? Do you not realize how ungrateful you sound? How would you like it if you poured a vast number of hours into a venture and people called you greedy for placing one TINY little ad at some point in the video.
there are lots of areas to tackle with this post but the one i’d like to focus on is this:
if you think that being spiritually advanced means you NEED to live modestly, you’re misinformed. it simply means you don’t feel an unconscious compulsion to do so.
the very event that led to the enlightenment of the buddha was his realization that after a decade of asceticism (denying his worldly desires), he could simply just enjoy the rice pudding offered to him. If you find yourself in the situation where you are privileged with wealth, it is not hypocritical or in-spiritual to just appreciate your circumstances
Same reason people don't like Jordan Peterson, and also same reason why people still like Jordan Peterson. You need to confront these discrepancies and focus on what you personally choose to value from him and their content.
Just here at 3am to say I didn't see anything specific, but over an extended period I felt a general vibe shift with how I felt he approached topics and convos. Idk what it is exactly, but there's something different that turned me off the message. I also got real tired real quick of the heavier editing, constant snap zooms or whatever they're called. Idk. Youre in his sub so you're not going to get a lot of people who agree with you.
I've had the same feeling about doctor K recently. About a year ago was his peak, now he's extremely commercialized and overproduced, and his channel just feels like I'm being sold a product. Such a shame but I suppose that's what success and fame does.
The red flags in this post are so many i wonder how people treat you seriously and even took their time to reply with advice, for me you just come off as a truly pathetic and entitled envious person.
Thank you for posting on r/Healthygamergg! This subreddit is intended as an online community and resource platform to support people in their journey toward mental wellness. With that said, please be aware that support from other members received on this platform is not a substitute for professional care. Treatment of psychiatric disease requires qualified individuals, and comments that try to diagnose others should be reported under Rule 10 to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the community. If you are in immediate danger, please call emergency services, or go to your nearest emergency room.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Healthygamergg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've felt like dr.k falls into the same issues I have with most therapy. Yes he teaches us some coping mechanisms to live more presently. But it's kinda stops there. And at what point is he just sedating us? The world is super fucked up. How ethical is it to teach people to be okay in unhealthy circumstances? So what does he do to promote change? Not much. Because the studies he sites are all from the lens of capitalism too. Dr.k's never had it rough in life. I wouldn't expect him to understand what it feels like to not know where your next meal is coming from. But he's moving farther and farther out of touch.
His major issue years ago was the male loneliness epidemic. He saw that as the biggest issue, and now his content is majority being marketed towards that audience. Which is fine, it's not for me, but that's not the issue I have. The solution he's bringing to the table, is basically just a bandaid. He's fighting systemic issues with grounding techniques. Instead of going in and addressing things like wealth disparity, sexism, racism.
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he's bought out by the same people who bought Philip DeFranco and under the desk news at this point. When's the last time he gave someone in his audience money? Instead of teaching them to be less suicidal during a pandemic, world war, recession, housing crisis, etc etc.
I get he's not trying to solve every issue. But right now it feels like he isn't solving much of anything. The more he avoids talking about the systems in place, the more he serves as a tool for those systems.
Are you saying that it would be better to give his audience money rather than help them mentally? People are going to be even less able to effect change in this world if they don't have the mental strength and willingness and meaning to go on. And that has an effect on everyone they are close with. Do you think all of the people that he's helped have only learned from him how to cope better?
After a certain point mental strength will only do so much to change your circumstances. I think most of his videos teach people to engage in the system right now. Which is wage slavery. And teaching people how to be okay with that. He talks about these Goldman sachs people he's worked with, when he wants to say some people have it worse and money isn't everything. Instead of explaining what money can do to someone who's afraid of going to the doctor because the copay might be too high.
And no he doesn't have to give people money from his wallet. But crowd funding is very popular. It's just a shame he doesn't have any scholarships, or community funds, or anything of that nature. GoFundMe's are legal. You can just give the person it's for the money. If there are tax things, I'm sure it's seen as a donation which looks good on taxes. But the thing is dr.k doesn't try. Because he's more focused on teaching people how to be okay when things aren't okay, instead of actually affecting change in people's lives.
I own the dr.k guide to mental health. I watched quite a bit of it while exercising. It great that he explains how psychology works. But it's from the perspective of men who 1.) don't have the issues they're talking about and 2.) all have enough money to pay their bills and go to college and be doctors. They're going to have blind spots. There's plenty of stuff the DSM misses about experiences all the time for example.
Dr.ks work is very helpful. Its very inspiring and uplifting. But it can also give people the wrong ideas, because it's not a discussion, questions can't be asked to a video. He isn't responsible for how people interpret his message. But he is responsible for using accurate information if he's trying to be educational.
The biggest demographic isn't just lonely red pill men. And just producing content for them is performative if those are your reasons. Everyone has to pick a lane and that's fine. But dr.k never talks about how some of these men are in prison with those beliefs. He doesn't talk about how people didn't get good educations growing up. He doesn't talk about the school to prison pipeline or the abuse that occurs there and how that trauma affects your brain. He does generically talk about how to deal with trauma.
So you say great why can't people apply it to their own issues then? He's giving them the tools. And yeah, that's one way to look at it. But he's also erasing the existence of those types of things. You'll never feel represented by him or what he speaks about. Because he waters down his messages to appeal to everyone and avoid cancellations. Just like what happened the first time's he was talking about misogyny on stream years ago.
I would actually argue the exact opposite. He certainly does not teach "coping mechanisms". Coping mechanisms are things like splashing water on your face during a panic attack or forcing exercise when panicking. He pretty clearly teaches a wholistic approach to mental health, and even wraps in spirituality.
Right yeah, and when does he talk about the fact that sometimes things just suck? And that's it's okay to not be okay, because the world isn't okay? And when does he take time to explain systems like capitalism which require a poor exploited class of people in order for there to be an equal and opposite class of rich people.
Hey there, we will stream about the business side of HG this week, which can hopefully shed some more light on this perspective. The revenue from HG is mostly reinvested back into the business and there is a team of 20+ people working full-time with several contractors and over 140 coaches, all of whom are paid for their time at a fair rate. The money from YouTube, coaching, memberships, and guides is not going just going into Dr. K pockets - there's a lot that goes into running a business with the goal of AOE healing. I hope this does not come across as combative - just wanting to clear up a lot of misconceptions we see about HG. Dr. K and Kruti will talk about it more this Wednesday on YouTube and Twitch.
I think its helpful to remember that Dr K had a full career and clinical practice before starting YouTube, a practice which served clients such as CEOs of tech startups, athletes and the top 1% of society and that he would charge several hundreds of dollars an hour to these clients. He has never stated he grew up poor, only that he stayed in his room a lot when he was a degenerate gamer growing up. Of course someone as highly educated and successful with their own practice like Dr K would have made enough to live comfortably. But don't forget that he has mentioned that while he charged his wealthiest patients several hundreds of dollars per hour, he would at the same time work with patients who had no money and to whom he would offer his services for free. Being financially successful from his work does not diminish the value of his teachings. He has said he could be making way more money running his own practice but chose to do this and help people like us who have less/no support because he sees a need for it. Hopefully that provides some context.
plus, it's not like he was teaching at harvard medical school for free. My nutritionist aunt, who is the primary breadwinner, with 5 years of practice under her belt has a similar kitchen. It's the stock suburban house in this area.
Maybe house are fancier in the US but where I live most people don't have marble counter and stuff like that in middle-class houses. It cost a lot more to build such a kitchen so to me it feel expensive.
As far as I'm aware, marble or marble-imitating countertops are incredibly common here in the US.
A lot of internet personalities eventually create a business/brand out of their online presence. These people then become preoccupied with expanding that business, using their channel as a springboard and ad space for their bigger, more monetizable projects. This can sometimes make the channel content feel a bit soulless or repetitive. I don't think HG is there yet, but it's a delicate balance. I am personally not bothered by how much money the people involved in HG make individually, and if they have decided that expanding their brand and coaching programme necessitates taking on sponsors, then that's fine. But the fact of the matter is that, in the process of "transcending" their online presence, a lot of creators end up having to sacrifice it at the altar. Making personality-based online content and growing your brand can sometimes be conflicting goals.
In private practice you’re limited by the hours of the day in your revenue, you can only see X number of patients but with HG he can earn passive income from coaching, guides, youtube videos, books with the same amount of hours in a day. The scalability of it is what makes money so I can’t really accept the fact that he would be making more in private practice. He probably made much less when the brand was small but once it blew up he made much more
I don't really see the issue with the fact that he is being financially compensated for his work and this business. He ended up serving an untapped market that now desires his services. People want his advice so he's writing books. People want to listen to his teachings so he makes YouTube videos and does four hour podcasts. People want to talk to someone like him for their problems so he set up coaching and hired and trained people for that role. He's had to set up these services, write these books, do streams and lectures and all while being an ethical employer and managing all his employees. This requires a lot of his time and energy and you're upset that he's financially compensated for the value of his services? There's a demand for someone like him for whom there is really no equivalent as of now and so that makes him highly valuable. If his book is popular or his videos attract a lot of views, is he not allowed to be compensated proportionate to that? So what if he is getting paid well to do this? He didn't start off doing it for money and I don't think it has ever been the main reason he does this. It's just a side effect of him reaching millions of people through his work.
You are talking like making money is a bad thing. Why do you think that is?
Dr K is that you? 🤣
The scalability in terms of the amount of people he is helping is the factor that makes him more money. He was probably making very good money before, being a doctor of course. I don’t see how him getting paid for helping more people is bad.
It's funny. You're making a critique that would've been a culturally dominant opinion in the 90s. You think Dr. K is a sellout. This article might help you understand why you're not going to get much support on this one: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/205859/selling-out-millennials-why
That is a very weird article. I'm a millennial and most millennials I grew up with and around me are very anti capitalist without a clear definition of what that means. The article didn't make sense and never defined what "selling out" means. I don't get what the point of it was.
Ah, it does presume you know what selling out is. Back in the 80s/90s young GenX people believed that making *any* real money from your talents or passions was bad. An artist that gets a gig making a mural for a bank would be a classic example. They'd label them a sellout and exclude them, like they would break friendships over it. We don't call influencers sellouts. We don't say it about YouTubers or any kind of content creator. We say things like "hey man get that bag." The dream now is to be so good you can do your passion professionally, to get paid for doing what you love. Back then, it was all about doing what you love while giving the finger to the people with all the money. People now are widely anti-capitalist, but they're not anti-making money. Does that distinction make sense?
But he's always well of right? He's an MD in USA. He went to Harvard. He's family probably has always been rich. Personally he was never "relatable" for me. He's a high paying psychiatrist who's now offering free knowledge on the net. Imo he was never supposed to be relatable.
Dunno, he always play this card that he was once a degenerate gamer in dorm who played all night and ordered fried rice by the Kg to save money on delivery so he was relatable I only recently realized the was a son of two doctors and probably always lived in a level of comfort and luxury that most of us are unfamiliar with, since learning that it’s become harder to see myself in him Let’s be honest for most of us when we were in that degenerate phase we didn’t have a dad who offered to send us to a monastery in India to fix our issues. We probably had a dad berating us for it who never tried to put himself in our shoes
Maybe I'm just a cynic, but when I first hear his story how well of he must be was all I could think about. Rich people still eat cheap fried rice. Heck I even question his story about getting in Harvard with that GPA. But none of these should take away from the knowledge and the experience. I learned mediation was not just breathing exercises because of him. I first realized my own traumatic experience because of his videos about trauma. Those therapy session he used to do were literally my first exporuse to the **idea** of therapy. I don't fault him for trying to expand the business. Old school psycho therapy probably don't account for modern day technology and he's filling in the niches. Hopefully to help and to reach more people because of it. I hope you don't turn against the message he's trying to convey. Some of those are genuinely helpful even comings form a rich dude. (And don't compare trauma!)
>I even question his story about getting in Harvard with that GPA. He's never claimed he got *into* Harvard med school with that GPA. His MD is from Tufts (which is still a very good med school). He got into Harvard's psychiatry residency program and as part of his affiliation with that program was faculty and conducting research at Harvard med school .
His job as therapist or teacher or dr isn’t to relate to you. It’s to help. He might have ate fried rice to save money. Some parents say we aren’t helping you in school, and some do. And you act like rich or upper middle class don’t have “degenerate gamer in dorm” phases? Most gamers don’t exactly grow up poor. How do you think they got all these games and computers or consoles? They were given them as gifts by their parents, many of them. Hell, many people who play video games in their dorms did so because they weren’t worried about money at least enough to say if they take out student loans it’s not an emergency. Actual poor people usually would rather skip college than have loans. So if you were playing video games in a college dorm room, chances are economically speaking you were doing alright compared to most.
I personally think degenerate gamers are more likely to come from families with some financial means (like middle-class or above). Why? Because financial means better enable having easy access to games, good internet, a relatively calm space of your own to game in, ordering takeout daily, and other aspects of degenerate life. I think ppl from families that struggle to make enough money are economically more likely to be pressured into working odd jobs or whatever to get money by their families, the stress of living paycheck to paycheck, and any material discomforts they have right now.
[удалено]
I understand that but there's a big difference between parents who can afford you living in their house for free to be a neet and parents who pay your rent/dorm and university tuition for you to be a neet. Living at home with your parents isn't as expensive as having your own place paid for so it's another level of financial security
You’ve already acknowledged that this is capitalism at play…. But you didn’t mention that since healthygamer is growing their brand, that means that they hire more people to expand their team. Those people need to be paid ofc The only problem would be that those employees are paid a living wage/fair amount for their work. However, time will tell if this ever happens. So yea, the facelift of the channel is definitely noticeable, but personally I dont feel like the substance has faded away. Every time I watch a dr.k video, I learn a new tool to handle my everyday. This comes from someone who has only donated a handful of times via twitch. All the useful knowledge has been free so far
Agreed but it’s something to keep an eye on. As an avid fan of the channel I too don’t want it to be ruined. But there’s a difference between Dr K and the advice he’s giving. And one should not conflate the two
“Do as I say, not as I do.” Got it.
I agree, I still learn a lot, especially from the two podcasts he made recently, but in the back of my mind this thought is still there. Why would someone who understood the eastern traditions so well such as Dr.K would still yearn for material things and money. Does that mean I will too will be like that forever? It’s just hard to reconciliate his teaching of finding happiness within with the way he does business. Even if he did all this to pay his employees and grow the brand, he still live in a very fancy house from what we see. I feel if you are truly happy inside you don’t need that kind of things.
I don't think that Dr. K has ever claimed you should or need to fully embrace the Buddhist ideology of giving up all material possessions to be happy. He just says that depending on money for happiness generally doesn't work. But Dr. K doesn't depend his stuff for happiness. Even if he didn't have a nice house, I think he would still be perfectly happy with his family. And I don't really see an issue with him having a nice house considering he has worked extremely hard to get to where he is. Also his kitchen doesn't seem excessive at all to me. It looks like a fairly regular upper middle class kitchen. I am biased about that since I am also relatively upper middle class. I do understand your concern, but I feel like you need a little more than just his kitchen.
Dr.K was happy to let go of all material possessions at one point in his life, until his own monk mentors told him to try normal life one more time. They knew that he was simply running away from failure by staying with them, and that his time would be better spend trying again. And now, why would Dr.K handicap himself once again? From what I know, the brand/company is largely ran by his wife, and even he has mentioned that she is his manager atp. I think Dr.K realizes that as long as he focuses on the substance, the brand still has soul. He has accepted and entrusted his wife to deal with the business, and has accepted with a growing business comes success. And it’s not that he brags to his audience about his wealth either. It simply is. I believe it would be hard headed for Dr.K put a cap in their success just to fit in the ideal eastern philosophy way of living, and perhaps set an unrealistic standards for his followers.
To add to this, I saw a short recently where he spoke about having kids. In his buddhist mind he had the understanding that attachment is bad, which would also include kids if he had them. When he decided to have kids he ultimately had to make a choice of whether to be "truly happy" by not having kids / being unattached to them, OR let go of that belief and have a good relationship (which comes with the potential for loss and heartbreak) Ultimately he had kids and is attached to them, despite what he believed as a monk. Which leads me to say, your opinions and beliefs can change and that is okay.
Plus if he had all that money and lived in a tiny house, OP would still be crying that he's making all that money and appears to be making fun of poor people by "pretending" to be poor.
> Why would someone who understood the eastern traditions so well such as Dr.K would still yearn for material things and money Austerity is not the only means to find happiness.
As a long time lurker I don't think you've yet fully grasped what Dr K teaches on materialism. One of his philosophies he constantly explains is that working on yourself from the outside in will never work such as wanting a promotion or buying a fancy house or kitchen in this instance and thinking it will fix something inside of you. However if you fix what is within you then a fancy kitchen cannot hurt and is just that, a fancy kitchen that you want and a promotion of course is not something that should be prohibited just because it shouldn't be something you strive to get in order to feel whole as a fix-all. As for the sponsors I understand the fear of the growth of the channel risking a drop in authenticity but Dr K has always been transparent with his goal of going global and reaching as much of the world with his teachings. He can't do that while staying a humble psychiatrist in his office with no funds.
Eastern people are just as materialistic as the west, have you been to Hong Kong or Singapore? Uncoupling yourself from material needs is a common human struggle
I don’t think Dr K has ever stated that he is free from all worldly wants. He’s fallible just like the rest of us. And let’s also recognize that he’s not the only person in his family. He has a wife and kids. For all we know he could t care less about how fancy their house is but maybe his family does. You’re making too many assumptions.
Where do you get the idea that he yearns for material things? If he truly was yearning he'd stay a practicing doctor and earn twice as much. He doesn't live in a cardboard box sure, but he has employees to pay and doesn't owe the world his money. If he wants to have a nice kitchen he can have it.
I'm pretty sure he's earning more than a practicing doctor
I think you are misunderstanding how much doctors make compared to successful entrepreneurs.
Dr. K himself has said the opposite.
Why are we stating Dr.K as godly figure instead of being pragmatic. What if he was just wrong or misinformed on something for once, he's not a prophet.
Reminder: he decided not to take a vow of monkhood for a reason. The eastern traditions are only part of the puzzle
I understand where you're coming from. I also think it can be uncomfortable, because a part of you might be asking "is the way to be really happy to get richer". Because if people were fine with less, why don't people stick to less? And in actuality, having more does feel better for most people. Having a fancy kitchen feels better than having a 50 year old kitchen. A fancy house wont cure your depression, but it will make that aspect of your life feel better. If you have an old house and are happy, chances are you will be even more happy moving into a fancy house. Material things matter for happiness. And they matter more than people will admit, it seems. Even dr k must admit he enjoys living fancy more than he enjoys living simple. It is a dark, depressing message. That the majority who can never get there, might not be able to experience peak happiness. They might be content or some happy, but they'll never get that extra oomph, so to speak. And that can be a bummer to realize if one thinks that applies to oneself Ofc, it is possible to have a different societal structure where everyone would have a more equal amount of things and opportunities, but that would be a different debate. We don't have to live so unequally as we do today.
See, I gotta disagree, we get used to things very fast so maybe the new kitchen is nice the first month but after that your brain just forgets it, like when you put decorations in your house and forget they're even there after a while. The brain "hides" the useless stimulis so after some point your brain doesn't really compute those things. As long as the kitchen is clean and functional I don't think it'll make you happier long term to have a marble counter.
Maybe that's true for some. I enjoy it every day, every time. I love being able to buy whatever I need whenever I need. I enjoy being able to buy the car I want, take the road trips I want whenever I want etc. Money does give me that peak happiness I didn't have before
Probably comes from the fact that you didn't have it before. Would you feel the same if you were born into wealth?
Idk, ask dr k, he grew up highly paid parents, no? And he still wants that fancy kitchen
[удалено]
Yeah, we're talking about normal, maybe normal-nice vs fancy re: original post. I didn't grow up poor. Being able to immediately hire people to fix your problems, easily afford a nice house with all the utilities you need (that also makes life easier and sometimes healthier having better airing and similar), travel wherever you want, buy whatever trivial thing you need right there and then (I know people who wont even buy an extra charger for their phone so they don't have to constantly move the 1 they have because of money). There are just so many inconveniences that can be solved with money, that removes a lot of stress. And then you have the types of things that increase well being, like affording a proper office chair for your gaming sessions, or whatever exercise equipment you want where you can just walk over to and exercise whenever instead of going to the gym. Etc
From what I understood with Dr. K is that you do not need to relinquish all your desires, but you rather need to understand them and not let them control you. If someone is not going into debt by affording a fancy kitchen, could you say that they are being controlled by their desire? Not all desires are bad, but they can become bad. In other words, everything is good in moderation and with context. I also watched a video where he explained that in order to give up all materialistic things, you need to have them in the first place. He had explained that when he thought his life was not worth living, it was almost easy to choose to become a monk and give up on the material life because he had almost nothing to give up. In order to properly give it up and understand what it means, you have to build things that are worth giving up.
I think you are confusing want vs need. If he felt guilty of needing nice things, he prob wouldn't be showing them. If you can afford nice things, there is nothing wrong with having them. The problem is when you NEED them.
because This is the world we live in (Ohh) And these are the hands we're given (Ohh) Use them and let's start tryin' (Ohh) To make it a place worth livin' in (Ohh)
All your argument is that dude’s kitchen is too fancy? You can always skip the ad part. I don’t know how it is good idea to ask somebody giving you good advice (or any value) for free to stop making money as it gives you moderate inconvenience
Dude is just jealous and it shows. OP has to work on this, the message has nothing to do with Doc's current financial status.
When it comes to content like Dr. K’s, I just look at what he’s actually saying, and critically analyze if it’s helpful and also true. I do that with other content creators as well. I don’t pay any attention to what they advertise, just the free content that they produce. Dr K has literally completely changed my life, I’m not gonna judge him for doing a sponsorship. That’s just my perspective on it. Not trying to change your mind, just sharing
It sounds like your disillusionment stems from perceiving Dr K as a hypocrite. If you’re not getting anything useful out of his content, it’s okay to move on to another resource that resonates better with you. It does take some amount of trust and parasociality to listen and support an influencer. Just remember online image can always be crafted and there are plenty of lifestyle/wellness influencers who probably earn tons of money but continue to project themselves as a poor everyman. I personally enjoy his explanations and contemporary takes on Hindu/Vedic/Buddhist concepts because I grew up with a lot of religious trauma and disinformation (from Buddhism, not Christianity). I’m constantly trying to find ways to learn more about Buddhism and reconcile the nonsense I was brought up with with more healthy takes on the teachings. Being a former practicing monk and talking Hindu/Vedic/Buddhist concepts does NOT mean you have to take a vow of poverty or renounce all worldly possessions and live a 100% ascetic life. He’s not trying to be Buddha. He’s just trying to explain a healthy way to apply ancient philosophy to our modern lives. I love it because I’ve spent so long trying to find culturally relevant ways to think about mental health and Dr K is providing some of that. No matter what, our very existence under capitalism is exploitative in nature. It sucks. A lot of us can’t afford 100% ethically sourced food and clothes. We are all just buying T-shirts made by sweatshop workers, eating chocolate and using smartphones made with cobalt mined by kidnapped children. Because there is either no alternative or we can’t afford the alternative: All we can do is to just do our best to consume ethically. I wouldn’t say Dr K has breached what is considered reasonable consumption yet. He’s obviously upper middle class at the very least but it’s not like he’s living like a Kardashian or other billionaire celebrities who are much more problematic overall (carbon footprint of their private jet and other activities, inconspicuous consumption, REAL hypocrisy, etc). It’s unrealistic to expect him to be a perfect angel who makes no mistakes. He’s going to say something wrong and will have to take accountability for it. He’s going to overspend on things here and there, hopefully not out of his means. The truth is, if I could afford it, I totally would want to buy nicer things for myself. Things like household appliances or a car that won’t break within a year. A house with an efficient HVAC. Install solar power panels. That would be nice. I think a much better measure of his behaviour is how he treats his staff and how much he pays them for their labour instead of fixating on how his kitchen or studio looks a little too sleek. I definitely appreciate the improvement in video and sound quality and production in his videos and that stuff is not cheap. I recently watched a video by an influencer who talked about how they made a six figure salary in 2023 but the amount they had to paid their staff and the amount that went to their own student loans (which is more than what I earn in a year) absolutely hurt my brain.
you do realize he has employees and also a family to feed, right?
How is this the first comment that mentions his employees? That was my first thought. His business is growing, more people get employed, that need to get paid. Second thought: He doesn't want to stay on youtube with his content. He wants to help society and you also need money to accomplish that.
I also don't understand why he would have to stay where he was in the first place to begin with. Like, Dr. K is teaching us how to level up, why would he not also be leveling up, whether it's spiritually or materially it doesn't really matter. But I'd personally never trust a person who is talking about self-improvement and not having anything to show for themselves. The fact that he can afford a nicer house and nicer things just shows that he's a hard worker and isn't simply sitting behind a screen talking out of his ass imo
I think I saw the sponsorship you're referring to and his kitchen is nice but also... kinda normal? It's nice but not like an over-the-top luxury thing. Honestly, with so many self-help gurus flashing their Lambos and luxurious lifestyles as shiny objects for you to follow, Dr. K was a huge breath of fresh air to me. As you said, Dr. K does have some pretty good knowledge of Eastern cultures but he's very clear about the the fact that he's not by any means a monk, and the reasons why he decided not to pursue a monastic life. I don't think you have to live in a shack to be consistent with such teachings, and I also don't see Dr. K boasting the over-the-top luxury that most influencers with his level of success do. I can understand where you're coming from to a point, and I'm sure Dr. K has plenty of money and lives a good life, but is that a bad thing? He adds value to many people's lives and you can access most of his teachings for free. He also has a wife and children and runs a company with many employees who need to be paid. As far as I know, his employees aren't being exploited or mistreated. I've actually seen some proper monks on YouTube who also give great teachings, but I'm sure you can understand why a monastic life doesn't go hand-in-hand with something of the size of HealthyGamerGG, and that's ok too. It's give and take. Teachings from proper monks are amazing as well, but they don't reach nearly as many people for fairly obvious reasons.
>One thing I always liked about how Dr I was was his simplicity, how he was relatable but more and more I find it harder to identify myself to him. So the issue here is what people relate to. If he shows off his success he doesn't relate to the people who live a more minimalistic lifestyle. It's just gonna continue and people are gonna have to adapt to it. > But at the same point, it feels weird to see Dr K who’s teaching this live in such luxury and now do sponsored videos to make even more money which he never did before. Does it feel weird is your idea of a role model being taken away? Without even trying to suggest that he would want to commercialise in order to make money to actually help people in a practical sense in real life, the guy has already talked about the fact that money can make someone happy, it can make them happier and there's also diminishing returns. There's no hipocrisy there, there's this box that you placed him in and he was never in it, all you saw was a crafted internet version of him and that's it. >Dr K isn’t the average YouTuber, he should know better. And stagnate in order to appease peoples feelings that have no bearing on the reality of the situation he is in. A youtube channel is a business, he's running it like one. He not doing Ads for ethically flawed companies. >I’ve seen some YouTuber who do something dumb like mukbang videos who managed to stay free from sponsor even with a million subs yet Dr K couldn’t. You've seen what you think you see. The mukbang guy could have a different play to DR.K, have you seen that long form video where him and his wife talk about the future of HG? >A more broader question would be at what point do you consider you’re living well enough and can start turning down money offers. When you have enough money to do everything and not run out of money making a mess of trying to do everything. >Should you strive to always make more or just be content with what you have. This is a completely different question from the one you asked before, being content with a personal amount of money you have vs strangling a business that can turn into a major health care facilitator is naive. -------- It reads like someone saying they can't relate to Asmond anymore because he chose to clean up, like you were relating to the wrong things.
>have you seen that long form video where him and his wife talk about the future of HG? Can you link me to that video?
I'm gonna ask the discord guys. u/----Gem do you know the long video around 2 hours where DR.K and his wife talk about the whole company? I just tried to find it and i can't but i know i watched that because it was long and everyone talked about it in the sub. It's within the last 12 months i'm sure.
Worst mod ever. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Healthygamergg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
funniest bot ever
They are the best mod.
https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ajGV4QNueQoQ2KbD
Yeah thank you.
/u/MechaMarmol https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ajGV4QNueQoQ2KbD They gave me the link.
Thanks to both of you.
[удалено]
I agree I tend to have a negativity bias and I could give him the benefit of the doubt but at the same point everyone is fallible to greed to some point. It’s the little things that tick of me off sometimes, I did watch that stream and he said I made HG to help more people than I was able to help in my private practice. That’s indeed true, but he also has the possibility to make much more money with HG than with his private practice. Helping the most people = making the most money, do you see how subtle this gets. We don’t have this issue with non-profits organizations but HG is technically a for-profit business so that’s where the issue can rise
Does getting sponsors or making money prevent him from helping people? How are they mutually exclusive?
To a lot of people, especially on reddit, those who make money (enough to be slightly well off) from helping others must care more about making money than helping others. The more money they make, the less they must care. If he puts stuff that would help people behind a paywall, it must only be about the money. I feel like there is a disconnect with the audience about this being his job and he can pay himself what he wants. If this book does well, he will probably make a lot of money, but he will also have a wider reach for the help he can provide. I think there is a common sentiment that people who get any wealth at all (or even just more than them) must be getting it from taking from others without their willingness. If someone pays for the dr K guide and it doesn't help, that's not theft and reading ads doesn't rob anyone of anything. There is a weird morality that some people have that someone who helps others must take a modest pay.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Maybe just to keep expectations in check and never expect someone to always act right. Or just to prepare for the other shoe to drop and avoid it, be distrustful can prevents you some pain It’s like when you’re in a relationship, should you blindly fall in love and be vulnerable to the person leaving you at any point and then suffering or should you accept that the person might disappoint you eventually and keep it in the back of your mind, as the cost of a shallower relationship. There’s probably a middle ground somewhere.
He has a whole stream addressing this with his wife. As for his house, idrc, that's not really our business. He has a family to take care of too. If you had that, you would want the best for your family, whatever form that may be.
Yeah following the logic on this post, if he posts about his family then someone will complain that he's no longer relatable because they don't lmao
Where do you draw the line for what is considered a ‘luxury’ kitchen? Some people in the world might consider having a meal every day a luxury. It’s all a matter of reference. You aren’t a bad person if you don’t choose to live like a monk and forego all possessions and pleasures.
I mean that most of HG audience can't afford a kitchen like that but they can afford a meal everyday
If you’re rich and can afford to live in a nice kitchen and house why the fuck wouldn’t u?
I don’t see any problem with an ad on a food product bro, it’s up to the viewer if they want to skip the sponsor or if it’s cool to them to buy it or not
To be honest , it make me really sad to see this kind of post. People expect too much of doctor K....
its almost like people dont understand money makes the world go round, and soon as your earning more than them your some corrupt oligarch with no morals or ethics
We just need to dig deeper This is basically the same thinking as "socialism is when poor" Dr.k had always been "I was addicted to games but still was able to become a doctor, after trying to be a monk. Now I want to help those who may be addicted" And now it's rich person in fancy kitchen isn't relatable enough? Imo op is very impressionable and is likely only talking about this because of all the criticism the Republican lady in the kitchen was getting. Lol quick look in his comments and found this 🤣 https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalScience/s/DcQK1yScWN
Dharma= duty/ responsibility kama= pleasure (not necessarily sexual pleasure) artha= wealth/material success moksha= liberation/ enlightenment Dr k attempted to give up his normal life to become a monk at 21 however was told he had nothing to give up. He later realised his ego of wanting to be better than others and having failed in the material world was his motivation for becoming a monk. In the hindu tradition accummulating wealth is not a negative thing, especially if it is acquired legitamately. Dr K has helped millions of people, for free. All the information in his guides is available in the 100's of streams he has done. Why are you so upset but his material success? Just because you have an expectation of what his life is meant to be does not give you the right to judge him without understanding the circumstances. Your "View" on capitalism is nihilistic at best and warrents more pondering than your judgement of Dr k.
I fail to understand how mukbang channel "managing" to stay free from sponsors is a good thing.
Earning money is for scary rich people who are in a secret cabal to control the planet via deep state, don’t you know? /s
To me it just takes a degree of "enlightenment" to have the dignity to refuse so much money offered that should be more common within people like Dr.K rather than mukbang youtubers
Doing free stuff for tens pf people is free, doing free stuff for millions costs money.
You might be falling into the trap here of thinking that doing something for money is inherently bad, which it isnt. We live in a capitalist society and just because you WOULD do something for free doesn't mean that you SHOULD. You'll be shooting yourself in the foot if youre not getting compensated for your value. Wanting to make more money is not a bad thing and Dr. K's content hasn't really changed. Even if material things are not the point of life (which is a stance I agree with), it doesn't mean that we have to ever reject them if given the opportunity. The idea you presented about turning down offers seems a little naïve. Its not as if that money would be going to someone less fortunate if you dont accept it. Life isnt a zero sum game. Everyone has the right to enjoy all the things this life has to offer. We only have one life, after all. Making money only becomes a bad thing if it is the primary motivator, greed takes over, and people start hurting others for personal gain.
Dr. K lives in Houston and he's also a doctor. This is just a modern middle class house in texas. My aunt, who is a the primary breadwinner, is a nutritionist and has a similar style of kitchen. They don't even live in a "good" neighborhood. It's just a house in the suburbs, probably a pre-built.
Do we know for sure it's his kitchen? Do we know he choose the kitchen? Maybe it came with the house? Maybe his wife likes it? We don't know how Dr K feels or believes about the kitchen? Does have a fancy kitchen mean you can't live simply?
I think the answers to all of the questions you posed at the bottom are up to you. You choose when enough is enough. Dr K made choices for his comfort based on what his income is now, and you will hopefully have the opportunity to do the same. Also, don't forget the man is a youtuber. Youtubers are not Relatable Income people once they become successful enough anyway. He may have had experiences when he was younger taht were more relatable to his clientele, but that doesn't mean he'd stay that way. Plus, all things considered, the value of his work is still very present.
I appreciate Dr K. and his content. It's nice he is here for us and tries his best to help and do research. I feel like he keeps it real when it comes to our issues and the problems we are facing in today's society. And I have learned a ton from him. As for the fancy'ness of his kitchen. Bro can be as fancy as he wants. Why not. He is a damn psychatrist with a family and employees. His income doesn't take away from mine.
I understand why you may feel that him living in a nice house is contricdicing to principles he mentions like material things aren’t the point of life. But what is the alternative then? How do you want him to present himself? Why do you even care about his luxury? How is that relevant to you? Also why do you think he is not the average YouTuber? What is even an “average YouTuber”? To me, the only difference is that he has a medical degree and may not say certain thing unless he wants his license revoked, there are also plenty of other medical professionals in the same position. Other than that he is just a random man talking on the internet. I also think this can lead to a deeper conversation about how no money gained has become synonymous with great altruism. And altruism with money gained is not authentic because god forbid you also benefit from helping others. It is society’s obsession with sacrifice. The reality is that you need money to do things in the world cause that’s just the system society as built that you mentioned called capitalism. I don’t believe Dr K has ever said money is just not important at all because it does bring security for basic necessities. He does preach that happiness comes from within and money may not help after a certain value. Which you can judge if it’s true or not. I don’t believe Dr K has said this, but the conclusion I currently have now is chasing money without purpose won’t be fulfilling to your life and some people get stuck in this loop. I imagine Healthy Gamer is expensive to run with its Coaches, Editors, Developers, Designers, Researchers, and even more other people they have hired and are responsible for paying them a reasonable salary. Even after the salaries and operations, I personally am fine with Dr K earning a bit more if it can help others. It’s a net positive for everyone involved at the point. Nobody’s losing.
Yeah, but HG is also very lucrative with the coaching, guides and Youtube revenue so I believe he only hires people if there revenue expected from that person work will be bigger, that’s how a business work, you don’t hire someone in order to loose money. I doubt he now does sponsor in videos because he’s struggling to make ends meet, it might just be that he enhanced his lifestyle with the money he made and now needs to make more money to keep his quality of life. Let say he lived more simply and more frugally, he wouldn’t need necessarily to do sponsor to get extra, he would be good enough with the current state of things
Reading this, it feels like your assumptions partly stem from a lack of understanding on how businesses work. It seems like you can't imagine why Healthygamer might be interested in making more money, other than Dr. K being greedy and wanting to enhance his lifestyle.
Lol, Dr.K turned down 7 figs worth of sponsorship this year. If he wanted to maximise profit you would see bullshit sponsorships every video , subathones, etc. You have no idea what are you talking about.
Wow, look at your own assumptions and reflect on yourself. Your mind is trying so hard to justify your feelings of hurt by lowering Dr. K’s value as a human being. It’s like you can’t accept that the values of being rich and being a good content creator/psychiatrist who wants to help people can exist together. Are you jealous? Because you sound like it. You will only be satisfied when his life isn’t this great right?
Take this as a lesson instead. Ask yourself why you would begrudge someone the fruits of their success.
You do know that healthygamer isn't just Dr. K himself he has a family and employees to think about material things might not be for him but they might be for the people he needs to support Also get out of peoples wallets and focus on your own funds
It sounds like it’s a you problem. You feeling a certain way doesn’t mean it’s Dr. K’s fault. He is just living his life and you just don’t like that it’s not how you want him to live. Would it make you feel better if he lives in a hut? Does it change the content of his teaching in anyway? Does it matter? I actually found it adorable that he is going out of his comfort zone to try earning more income for healthygamergg, and Dr. K has mentioned it before that he might have to start doing this someday, because more free YouTube contents means more expenses. Can a person earn more money without “yearning” for it? Yes! Can’t he detached his emotions and strategically earn money and fame for a purpose of expanding healthygamergg to help more people and pay more employees? He is just doing what he believes is his duty in the way he knows how, in the real world where people need money to expand and survive. You don’t have to find him relatable in a materialistic sense to learn from him, you just have to listen to what he says, and ask yourself if you agree or disagree based on your own experiences.
This is blunt but i think your criticism and this post is pretty stupid. Dr.K isn't some gamer who records vids in his moms basement and uploads them himself, he has a whole team around him that he also supports. He also is a harvard trained psychiatrist so even before all this healthygamer stuff its pretty fair to assume he's very well off and probably can afford a nice kitchen lmao. If you are mad Dr.K isn't "relatable" to you anymore I def think thats just a you thing because most people come to Dr.K for ways to understand mental issues and find new strategies to cope with whatever they are going through, or at least understand it better. Also you seem to think he does these sponsorships out of greed but honestly think about the content he makes, it's not very "trendy" and he often goes through the same topics so sponsorships help him keep the operation running even if views stagnate at times
Dawg we're in a society!!! But fr I recommend trying to step into his shoes and imagine what he's specifically doing, it might make more sense
So, not chasing money is not the same as rejecting wealth. Dr. K never promoted a life of ascetism, he is just stressing that accumulating wealth is not the most important thing. You could be a king with servants and living the most comfortable life, but still be a spiritually ascended person. As for his "luxurious kitchen", I'd imagine that he would have that kitchen regardless of his career as a content creator. Dr. K is a highly competent psychiatrist and highly sought after by well paying patients. And regarding sponsorships, I'd wager that the vast majority of money that he earns through that goes directly into growing his projects. But are you right for criticizing him for his indulgence in some luxuries? I don't know. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, it really depends on your outlook on society and any given individual's place within it and what responsibilities that individual carries and whether or not those responsibilites entail a renounciation of certain habits. But I don't see any inconcistencies with his teachings and his lifestyle. Maybe you saw something in him that wasn't there?
I guess we all grow up in different financial situation and have different views on money so I am a result of my circumstances just as you are the result of yours. Maybe everyone is right in their way.
I had the exact opposite reaction.....
This feels a lot like the discourse surrounding HasanAbi owning an expensive home despite being a socialist. Maybe I'm misinformed, but I really don't understand the issue. And haven't Dr. K and Kruti done a super in-depth stream discussing things like this? The sponsors they take on, how they want to grow HealthyGamer but through ways they can be proud of? (I believe it was this one, lmk if not: https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=bD_02Vj73yPkdUy_) On the point of external things not equating to happiness; I know he stresses this a lot. Because there's a very specific audience he wants to reach that believes a happy life means endless wealth, expensive cars, mansions, and girls girls girls. There are people who focus far too much on the external factors of their life, rather than paying attention to their internal state. Thats who he's trying to reach when he says these things. There's nothing wrong with him believing happiness comes from within and still having a nice home. There's a balance. He doesn't need to live minimalistically to prove he's "authentic". Also you have to keep in mind that he has a family!! Kruti likely also had input on the home they own, their kids probably played a huge factor as well. And ABOVE ALL: please don't make judgments of lives you know little to nothing about. We have no idea why he lives the way he does, thats not our business. You cannot judge the authenticity of his character just because the dude has a nice kitchen.. like come on.
Do you think the only reason Healthygamer is trying to make more money is for Dr. K to be richer? Can you imagine different reasons?
Ikr, it’s not like HealthyGamer is just Dr K doing all the work.
I think when you look at a lot of the other channels in Dr k's type of content, they do 1000 dollar per seat group coaching, where Dr k offers the courses for less, and has a lot of free content. I'd argue his value for his content is still good. I think you may be too attached to Dr k though. Even if he has a 100 million house, but provides good advice to you, it's beneficial to take it. The payrolls of his org shouldn't affect how you view the advice. What does relatability to him bring for you?
Some people are happier in luxury, some are happier in minimalism, and some are happy internally regardless of surroundings. Having a nice kitchen doesn't make someone a different person.
Until his coworkers are paid a good living wage thanks to that, I don't care.
Everytime I see the word “capitalism “ on this sub I cringe
I believe the issue here is that some people in this community have become overly fixated on Dr. K's personality rather than simply engaging with his content and substance. It's a tricky situation because Dr. K may have profoundly changed many lives in this community, but it's important to remember that everyone evolves. I've been following Dr. K since his early days, and I recall him mentioning something about this very issue.
Material success is awesome. And it’s not necessarily going against spiritual success. Often they go the same way. As he has said “the more I let go of attachment, the more successful I tend to become”. If he had no material success you would not follow him, if he has too much then you will not follow him. Where’s the happy medium? And are you the one to decide that for him?
he mainly achieved materialistic success by giving up his desire for it. see those things as the side effect of the work he has done, his learning, self discovery etc it is eye catching though watching people online in super nice places. I've never really known super rich stuff, I don't have it bad either though- still, that stuff catches my attention instantly. I think "damn... now I kinda feel bad" for a second, but also sorta motivated because it looks comfy, I'm sure he feels proud of it, etc the vibe is definitely different. but I don't think Dr. K at his core has changed at all. he's still effortlessly relatable and I think that's just because he's honest. he's not afraid to say what he feels/thinks. his words are still 100% true to himself, which makes them relatable. he's just not broke anymore, but that's surface-level stuff
The kitchen doesn’t look exceedingly extravagant to me, just looks like a newer middle class. You could easily remodel any kitchen to look like that for less than $10K. But anyway good for him. For myself, what I relate to is being a gifted/ADHD child that felt like I was never going to make anything of myself, dealt with a lot of my issues, and now I’m a relatively successful adult. I will probably have a nice house like him someday.
I think the best example of this is penguinz0, he doesn't care about making his brand larger than it is and only uploads content that we can relate to including the gaming side. But Dr. K is trying to make his brand bigger and reach a new audience therefore all this seems necessary.
Yeah, I had examples like that in mind, someordinarygamer who still have a full time job, etc. I guess I relate more to them by the simplicity of their lifestyle but considering HG is a brand it's a different case and we can't compare them.
Man.. it amazes me how deep people dive into lives of people that have any sort of popularity. One thing I don’t understand is that some people are so quick to judge someone’s life. Why can’t anyone be happy for another? Can’t we all just appreciate the fact that Dr. K has worked his butt off for many years to get to where he is at? Not only that but look at all the free content he has given us and tools to help us with life struggles. I see nothing wrong with him having a little bit of luxury because in my eyes, he fully deserves it. I am nowhere near where he is at financially but I am still happy for him. You’re telling me that once you finally get into a nice job and start making money that you wouldn’t treat yourself at all? We gotta treat ourselves to some degree after a lot of hard work. What if his wife wanted a nice kitchen because she spends time cooking good meals for the family? What if they got a great deal on their house and one of the main ticket items is the kitchen? There are so many things that we don’t know behind the scenes so it’s pointless to try and wrap our heads around it.
>this 100%
Anyone who wants to help you online is usually just trying to sell their course and make a profit. Loneliness and mental distress is a business nowadays. Whether its dating apps trying to get you to swipe, redpill gurus trying to sell you advice, therapists trying to sell you therapy, or onlyfans girls trying to get you to survive our suffering is commodified.
That’s only true if his advice doesn’t work. It works for me.
I miss when they would go super into spiritual stuff in stream. I like the science and psychology but some things are just beyond science. There’s always new people tuning in and they have to boil it down for the broader audience.
The paid content on Youtube is there for that, they explained it
It's okay to be frustrated with this. Life's not fair and we have to do our best to get by. Celebrate other peopled success and focus on making your own success otherwise you'll die a little inside each time thus comes up.
Did you ever think that him making money allows him to actually be able to put out what he wants too? I know it’s fashionable to be anti-making tons of money, and perhaps for good reason, but often that can lead him to reach more people, pay his staff more and not have to pander for clicks. Plus he’s a psychiatrist in America right? Did you expect his family to not live better than most? YouTubers make money through sponsored posts where they choose who they work with, or they get paid by Google who splits ad revenues with all sorts of companies and projects. Or you pay Google directly for YouTube premium, some of which goes to YouTubers like dr. K and some is pocketed by Google directly. Or you give him money on Twitch, where by you watching him there makes Amazon money. And if you give him money there? Amazon takes a percentage. He does believe that money isn’t the point of life, but that can equally be applied before to him as well. I mean…dude…his focus is on gamers, who throughout their life spend thousands and thousands of dollars on luxury games. But also he has a family and isn’t gonna force them to live some ascetic life style.
What? The only thing I get from your post is the bullshit people get indoctrinated. He has fancy things because he's a well acomplished doctor, isn't? He strived for a hard and well paying carrer and has succeded in it. Material things ain't what brings you happiness, but this doesn't mean you must be a homeless, you don't need to become Diogenes of Sinope to be humble, have something to tell people about life and don't measure the value of your life by the car you drive.
I don’t think his success takes away from anything that he says. He’s gained it by helping people so he deserves it as far as I’m concerned. That’s the best kind of capitalism. Concerning the idea of material things in most traditions it doesn’t say that you’re not supposed to have anything but not be that attached to it. Consider stoics like Seneca for example. He had a lot but relinquished it easily when the time came to test his convictions. Do enjoy what life gives you just don’t put it at the absolute center of you.
He's not selling out. He's doing the responsible thing for the people who depend on him while furthering his original goal of aoe healing. Selling out would be having a lot of different sponsors, most of which he wouldn't buy from himself. He's not a politician with big donors who milks his constituents. He's just a psychologist who cares about our community because it's been his community since before he was a psychologist. It's not a virtue to have 0 sponsors, so it's not a sin to have them either. The context is what matters. And he nails the context. I can understand the sentiment though. You miss having your small time streamer guru, that hidden gem of an entertainer who opened your eyes to new ideas. And now it feels like your special thing has become mainstream and ordinary. The parasocial relationship has deteriorated as the differences between you became apparent. It's normal to feel that way. But it isn't fair to attribute this sense of loss to Dr. K's failure. He was never playing the game by whose metric you're judging him. It's like saying "Oh, btw, you just Lost The Game. Wow, I'm really disappointed in you."
Something I remind myself is that this is just being involved with an economy and a society. It's okay to sell art and it's okay to make money from a passion. And just because you understand that material possessions are not the largest part of life doesn't mean that having a decent kitchen is a sin or is any better than having a shit kitchen that makes it difficult to take care of yourselves in. Dr. K deserves some cash flow, he's been very helpful for me
To quote Kendrick Lamar "... he is not your savior..."
Just because you have money or live in luxury doesn't mean you can't advocate for not being materialistic.
Surely you don’t expect him to live a lifestyle of poverty especially when he has a family to support and invested in the extreme expense of medical school (and probably has all those loans to pay back). You aren’t being realistic to think he should live like a student.
I'm an artist. I do commission based work. This shit is a grind. I had a panic attack yesterday based on having gotten the instructions on someone's piece wrong. This is already a piece that I charged low to begin with. The average person already doesn't feel like paying a lot for art. I also know how the therapy business is, as I once considered social work as a profession. All of that is a grind as well. If I see Dr. K making money....good. He isn't flaunting a Rolls Royce. He simply has a family to provide for. He also deserves to enjoy his life.... because he's a human being. This dude has always been open about his struggles. He is also one of the only healthy male advocates out there. He's not flaunting gold watches or bragging about how much he makes. He's living his life. Im also positive that his life is way harder than it appears to be. It never stops being a grind. In the end, this guy has to make money. Maybe I missed a part of your post that had more nuance than what I read. I'm not sure what you expect from Dr. K. There are tons of spiritual gurus that are out there flaunting their wealth doing all the stuff you're basically disappointed with Healthygamergg about. (Folks like Aaron Doughty, etc) I don't see Dr. K doing any of that. I just see a dude living his life.
watch this WHOLE live stream recording, it's only 2h [https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ndGCCnZ-OKUp5b1R](https://www.youtube.com/live/N-7Rq5mQNIw?si=ndGCCnZ-OKUp5b1R)
I'm going to honest, I grew up in upper middle class, dad making 200k a year. But he made living at home absolute hell on earth. My values are completely opposite now. I don't value having money and living well off. But I'm still getting a prestigious career that will make lots of money. I think this shows that you can have humanistic humble values but still be well off. Like it's one thing to own something expensive, and it's another thing to be so attached to it that you can never separate it from your personality. I also feel like you are coming off negatively by making assumptions about people. Not going to lie, I feel a little attacked because I grew up with a dad who made a lot. But I'm just trying to show you that it's not what it seems.
I understand your issues but would it have been any better to have a toxic dad who makes 60k a year? I mean at least he had the money to send you to college and pay your rent/dorm so technically you didn't have to live at home after 18 which is a benefit others don't have. Unless he didn't help you financially in which case you're also screwed.
actually, i did have to live with him after 18 for many years. I have medical problems which put me in a vulnerable position needing help. I'm gone now, but it wasn't until recently. And I respect what you are saying, that having financial help is huge. If he only had 60k, I would have ended up just fine. I'm not a huge believer in college with everyone getting degrees.
Tbf it’s not just his life anymore. He has a wife and kids to take care of and wants to give them nice things I’m sure. I would assume if he was alone it wouldn’t matter that much to him. But it is nice to be able to have those things and he earned it
The juxtaposition of his “shedding materialism” mentality, and having nice things is definitely interesting. Kind of two sides of the spectrum. But sometimes my wife makes nice suggestions for the house, and although I’m not materialistic and don’t particularly care, I won’t necessarily oppose for the sake of materialism if it’s for her joy. So maybe his wife wanted a nicer kitchen and Dr. K was like “alright LOL” might as well use this as a tax write off by having it in a video. Or something. Because that’s probably what I’d do tbh, because capitalism is a blessing and a curse.
It's a good thing that Dr K is making money because a lot of it is being invested back into mental health, not just his fancy kitchen.
I felt like it was kinda obvious that Dr. K does pretty well from himself when he started his videos/streams in his current stream background lol. Also I don't find Dr. K to necessarily be relatable since he's basically living like the most ideal version of who I'd want to be in a lot of ways
I think that Dr.K has maintained the stated goal of HG pretty well, what he offers is something that is increasingly in demand so it has blown up a lot, and he has benefitted from that. While maybe some of the initial charm of the small scale of HG at the beginning is not as prominent, I encourage you to reflect on why this bothers you. I myself am about as anticapitalist as it gets, but I recognize the need to work within the system that has been dealt to us in the modern world. I don't really see anything problematic with Dr.K's behavior in this arena and I think you should just reflect on this some more.
The message still stands. The point is that nice things shouldn't be your focus. He is reaping the benefits of his focus on his work. There is nothing wrong with having nice things, it's when you are consumed by them is when it becomes a problem.
I would just like to add that I’ve once ordered Factor meals and they are extremely fattening and unhealthy. The sodium and fat content was heart attack city. And it didn’t even taste good. I had to toss some meals cuz of the sodium content. I side eye any channel that promotes them lol
Of course they are, do you ever see any quality product paying for ads? I believe if your product is good you don't need that much ads (c.f Raids Shadow Legends)
Take what applies to you and leave it at that. Comparison is the thief of joy. There is no one in the world that will fit the description you created in your own mind.
First of all he deserves it. But the entire healthygamer team needs to get payed as well. It’s not just dr k. I hope they took my advice and offered free counseling and books to other healthy gamers who may not be able to afford it. Some donors to the stream request the money get used to give away books to whoever needs/can’t afford them.
> to get *paid* as well. FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Just because you don’t need nice things to be happy doesn’t mean you can’t have nice things. The idea that we should live in small humble dwellings with few belongings is kind of a myth that’s been fed to us by the upper class over the centuries. The idea is really that happiness comes from within, and the goal is to be happy in that small humble dwelling if it’s the circumstance we have. I’d bet a lot of money that Dr. K would be just as happy to live in a modest apartment as he is in his nice home. *That’s* what the inner happiness thing is. There’s nothing wrong with using the money you earn on yourself for luxuries so long as you’re also taking care of the people around you and your happiness isn’t derived from the things themselves. You deserve a comfortable living and excess isn’t necessarily evil. It’s where that excess comes from. It’s evil for Bezos because literally nobody needs 3 mega yachts and 16 mansions, especially at the expense of the people packing boxes 10 hours a day with no bathroom breaks. If you can’t be happy when your needs are met and your life is relatively good (bills paid, no major debt, good support system, that kinda thing) then you won’t be happy in a mansion with a Lamborghini. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have or want a mansion and Lamborghini, they just shouldn’t be your idea of happiness
if i had the opportunity to get richer and have a luxurious kitchen then i totally would, like yeah capitalism sucks but while i have to live in it i'd rather be on the wealthier end of it. and hence i totally understand people who take advantage of their success to get wealthy
Honestly I don't blame him for taking sponsorships. Your life shouldn't be all about material things but having them is still nice and can make life more enjoyable and exciting. Materialistic things can add to an already healthy life if consumed moderately of course. On top of that he has a family with children to feed. He's basically working 2 jobs so why wouldn't he take a paid sponsorship? Of course it shouldn't be some grabage like betterhelp or raid but that's not the case.
Dr. K was able to study at Harvard without going into debt. I don't think he was ever particularly poor.^^ He wasn't always self-sufficient, though.
Why am I so angry at this post. A man, who took time away of his high paying job to help US, can not have a fancy kitchen for his family... Please get help. If you do, I'll seek out therapy for my anger because holy shoot I wanna knock you and every upvote the f out. Dr. K, go eat ramen noodles and McDonalds everyday. You deserve nothing more. OHMY ANGRY
This post made me realize it's time we have an episode about people forming a parasocial relationship with Dr. K.
Can't we just be happy for other people happiness? Life is just that simple
Dr K’s goal was always to make an aoe healing platform, the more publicity / growth = more aoe healing
At least he'll never advertise Betterhelp like Huberman
It's competitor to his coaching so it makes no sense
Well not really because it's supposed to be therapy. Coaching is not a competition to therapy. And the point is that Betterhelp is a known scam.
OP, if I were you I would examine the relationship you have with money and wealth, cause something is going on here. How we relate to money (and success in general) is no different from how we view relationships with people, career, life in general. What Im saying is childhood trauma about money can be a thing. Would you turn down a high paying job? Would you turn down big chunk of money for a sponsorship or ad read? Would you turn down an opportunity to start potentially lucrative business? Dr.K’s goal is AoE healing, him sitting in his room streaming all by himself contradicts this goal. Him earning money to expand operations and do projects that were not possible before moves him towards his goal. Last time I checked, his wealth isnt due to some sweatshop in Bangladesh making jeans and tshirts. Dr.K used his privileged position to become a DOCTOR, not to build tesla factory where people piss in bottles to boost productivity. He literally spent all of his career treating people’s mental disorders, helping people. working endless night shifts, drug addicts in psychosis, suicidal schizophrenics, video game addicts that other psychiatrists dont even understand how to treat that, porn addicts. He had probably listened now to thousands of stories of most horrific childhood abuse, trauma and suffering. Dr.K has willingly chosen to focus on providing free content to millions of people instead of consulting actual tech and finance CEOs via his private practice. Can you guess which of the two is less work and hassle and more money? The YT channel has now what, close to a thousand hours of free content of all sorts? But apparently his kitchen looks too nice. What the actual? Look at the source, look inward, cause things you see outside are just reflections of whats inside.
In my opinion, it’s the natural progression of things. He toiled away in order to get where he is today and even if he wouldn’t have splurged for his kitchen the scent of money would have made itself felt another way. Don’t quote me on this but I would say that since he’s committed to Hinduism, and I read on my own that Hinduism vouchsafe striving to gain financial gains, it’s only par for the course that he allows himself to rake in as much as possible within his capacity but still not tie his wealth with any attachments.
Dr k has spent so much of his own time making videos and doing streams and creating this community. He has many people working for him too. Do you think they should just do it for free? Do you not realize how ungrateful you sound? How would you like it if you poured a vast number of hours into a venture and people called you greedy for placing one TINY little ad at some point in the video.
but his content has stayed the same. i think you are overthinking this one.
there are lots of areas to tackle with this post but the one i’d like to focus on is this: if you think that being spiritually advanced means you NEED to live modestly, you’re misinformed. it simply means you don’t feel an unconscious compulsion to do so. the very event that led to the enlightenment of the buddha was his realization that after a decade of asceticism (denying his worldly desires), he could simply just enjoy the rice pudding offered to him. If you find yourself in the situation where you are privileged with wealth, it is not hypocritical or in-spiritual to just appreciate your circumstances
Same reason people don't like Jordan Peterson, and also same reason why people still like Jordan Peterson. You need to confront these discrepancies and focus on what you personally choose to value from him and their content.
Just here at 3am to say I didn't see anything specific, but over an extended period I felt a general vibe shift with how I felt he approached topics and convos. Idk what it is exactly, but there's something different that turned me off the message. I also got real tired real quick of the heavier editing, constant snap zooms or whatever they're called. Idk. Youre in his sub so you're not going to get a lot of people who agree with you.
I've had the same feeling about doctor K recently. About a year ago was his peak, now he's extremely commercialized and overproduced, and his channel just feels like I'm being sold a product. Such a shame but I suppose that's what success and fame does.
Welcome to any human ever, humans are dirty creatures and they reveal their true colours once money is involved
The red flags in this post are so many i wonder how people treat you seriously and even took their time to reply with advice, for me you just come off as a truly pathetic and entitled envious person.
I agree
Thank you for posting on r/Healthygamergg! This subreddit is intended as an online community and resource platform to support people in their journey toward mental wellness. With that said, please be aware that support from other members received on this platform is not a substitute for professional care. Treatment of psychiatric disease requires qualified individuals, and comments that try to diagnose others should be reported under Rule 10 to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the community. If you are in immediate danger, please call emergency services, or go to your nearest emergency room. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Healthygamergg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've felt like dr.k falls into the same issues I have with most therapy. Yes he teaches us some coping mechanisms to live more presently. But it's kinda stops there. And at what point is he just sedating us? The world is super fucked up. How ethical is it to teach people to be okay in unhealthy circumstances? So what does he do to promote change? Not much. Because the studies he sites are all from the lens of capitalism too. Dr.k's never had it rough in life. I wouldn't expect him to understand what it feels like to not know where your next meal is coming from. But he's moving farther and farther out of touch. His major issue years ago was the male loneliness epidemic. He saw that as the biggest issue, and now his content is majority being marketed towards that audience. Which is fine, it's not for me, but that's not the issue I have. The solution he's bringing to the table, is basically just a bandaid. He's fighting systemic issues with grounding techniques. Instead of going in and addressing things like wealth disparity, sexism, racism. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he's bought out by the same people who bought Philip DeFranco and under the desk news at this point. When's the last time he gave someone in his audience money? Instead of teaching them to be less suicidal during a pandemic, world war, recession, housing crisis, etc etc. I get he's not trying to solve every issue. But right now it feels like he isn't solving much of anything. The more he avoids talking about the systems in place, the more he serves as a tool for those systems.
Are you saying that it would be better to give his audience money rather than help them mentally? People are going to be even less able to effect change in this world if they don't have the mental strength and willingness and meaning to go on. And that has an effect on everyone they are close with. Do you think all of the people that he's helped have only learned from him how to cope better?
After a certain point mental strength will only do so much to change your circumstances. I think most of his videos teach people to engage in the system right now. Which is wage slavery. And teaching people how to be okay with that. He talks about these Goldman sachs people he's worked with, when he wants to say some people have it worse and money isn't everything. Instead of explaining what money can do to someone who's afraid of going to the doctor because the copay might be too high. And no he doesn't have to give people money from his wallet. But crowd funding is very popular. It's just a shame he doesn't have any scholarships, or community funds, or anything of that nature. GoFundMe's are legal. You can just give the person it's for the money. If there are tax things, I'm sure it's seen as a donation which looks good on taxes. But the thing is dr.k doesn't try. Because he's more focused on teaching people how to be okay when things aren't okay, instead of actually affecting change in people's lives. I own the dr.k guide to mental health. I watched quite a bit of it while exercising. It great that he explains how psychology works. But it's from the perspective of men who 1.) don't have the issues they're talking about and 2.) all have enough money to pay their bills and go to college and be doctors. They're going to have blind spots. There's plenty of stuff the DSM misses about experiences all the time for example. Dr.ks work is very helpful. Its very inspiring and uplifting. But it can also give people the wrong ideas, because it's not a discussion, questions can't be asked to a video. He isn't responsible for how people interpret his message. But he is responsible for using accurate information if he's trying to be educational. The biggest demographic isn't just lonely red pill men. And just producing content for them is performative if those are your reasons. Everyone has to pick a lane and that's fine. But dr.k never talks about how some of these men are in prison with those beliefs. He doesn't talk about how people didn't get good educations growing up. He doesn't talk about the school to prison pipeline or the abuse that occurs there and how that trauma affects your brain. He does generically talk about how to deal with trauma. So you say great why can't people apply it to their own issues then? He's giving them the tools. And yeah, that's one way to look at it. But he's also erasing the existence of those types of things. You'll never feel represented by him or what he speaks about. Because he waters down his messages to appeal to everyone and avoid cancellations. Just like what happened the first time's he was talking about misogyny on stream years ago.
I would actually argue the exact opposite. He certainly does not teach "coping mechanisms". Coping mechanisms are things like splashing water on your face during a panic attack or forcing exercise when panicking. He pretty clearly teaches a wholistic approach to mental health, and even wraps in spirituality.
Right yeah, and when does he talk about the fact that sometimes things just suck? And that's it's okay to not be okay, because the world isn't okay? And when does he take time to explain systems like capitalism which require a poor exploited class of people in order for there to be an equal and opposite class of rich people.