> I’ll argue that even a short life in a mental hellscape of unreflected living is worse than physical death

Sounds like mental hellscape of too much reflection( and early death).

Happiest ppl i know just go with flow and dont worry too much. My own parents are on two extreme ends. My dad worried all his life about all sorts of stuff, was healthnut did yoga for 50 plus years every single day, ran 5k 4 times a week, did hard gardening all that stuff. My mom on other hand just let life happen to her and enjoy whats happening along the way. Guess which one died an early death from cancer and who is alive playing with grandchildren.

The common theory is men die younger because they have more stressful lives. I imagine some stress is optional, though for too many people most stressors is outside their control.

men die younger because they have worse lifestyle choices on average.