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Interesting correlation from Lee Siegel. And interesting statistics, too.
Why Is America So Depressed?
It’s no coincidence that our politics and our mental health have declined so rapidly, at the same time.
It cannot be a simple coincidence that the two have declined in tandem. The American Psychiatric Association reported that from 2016 to 2017, the proportion of adults who described themselves as more anxious than the previous year was 36 percent. In 2017, more than 17 million American adults had at least one major depressive episode, as did three million adolescents ages 12 to 17. Forty million adults now suffer from an anxiety disorder — nearly 20 percent of the adult population. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/o...sultPosition=1
Many suffer from loneliness, money stress, and burnout in the workplace. People are constantly pressured to compete and succeed.
More people seek professional counseling due to awareness and availability, but many struggle to admit their depression to others, especially at workplace due to possible stigma.
Depression is related to long working hours, stagnant wages, alcohol and drug abuse.
Many people don't have acquaintances, friends, close friends, or best friends and are dependent on social media and virtual friendships which can contribute to depression and low self-esteem. They seek advice from internet strangers rather than from professionals.
Many people from a young age aren't really being allowed to be exposed to the idea that they can survive stress and learn the ability to feel resilient and be resilient to everyday stressors.
Generally, a lot of people feel depressed because they don't perform well in life. They can't deal with rejections and criticism, don't know how to compromise, how to value what they already have and are always looking for something new - the green grass somewhere else. Then get disappointed when they don't get what they want or feel entitled to.
Depression is also linked to the increased time spent on social media and electronic communication, along with a decrease in sleep and rising social anxiety. Also, media constantly bombarding with negativities is promoting feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
There are two types of depression: genetically determined and situational.
No reason to think the gene pool has changed, so genetic depression is probably a constant.
Situational depression occurs whenever we don't live up to our own expectations....It's our collective expectations that have changed. We're constantly seeing ads about how we should be built, how we should do make-up, what car to drive, what can of soda will have us dancing en mass in the streets...Pretty hard to live up to it, ergo.. more situational depression....
Also, we're now entering a phase of socio-economic/ standard of living stability. for our first two centuries, things were basically getting better for each new generation. Now there's no reasonable expectation that the kids should have it better than the parents, but somehow we still do expect it and fewer people achieve it.
There are two types of depression: genetically determined and situational.
I am not a medical professional, but in every case of suicide that I have personally encountered there was a genetic back-story. In one case, a young person's mother committed suicide and her father died of an illness: this person was so afraid of dying from an illness that she committed suicide; despite being on watch, she found a moment alone and hung herself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elnina
Many people from a young age aren't really being allowed to be exposed to the idea that they can survive stress and learn the ability to feel resilient and be resilient to everyday stressors.
I purposely stress the hell out of my children everyday so that, when real stress from the real world really comes, they will not only survive stress, but thrive in it, and I tell them that to their faces in the starkest terms.
My grandmother must have had some kind natural stress repellent built into to her psyche, nothing really bothered her to the extent of upsetting her equilibrium and emotional independence, and she lived to 95. She was also moderate in everything that she did.
We all just love statistics, and we can manipulate them and speculate all we want.
While no denying situational suicides, there is no logic to the assertion that the situation in the United States today is more stressful than many, many, many situations over the past 10,000 years for which we have no statistics.
Every generation in its place loves to whine and complain about anything and everything.
But, in comparison to the vast majority of the past, we live in aGolden Age.
In fact, utter boredom because of the relative ease of life could be a major cause of stress and contributor to situational suicides.
This depression and suicide among younger people has been going on for a while. Could be social media and the isolation from reality. However, I think a lot of it goes back to parenting. At some point permissive parenting came into style. It seemed that kids were never told NO. They got spoiled by getting their way too much.
We also hear about these participation badges. That's so they won't feel bad about losing. Well, you mean they need a prize every time they lose? What happens if they don't get a prize when they lose? They get depressed? They kill themselves? Only by losing or struggling do people ever learn to cope. Think of what some of our grandparents and great grandparents had to endure--it made them stronger. They HAD to learn to cope.
I know my grandparents coped by celebrating every little thing. "Let's have a party, lol." And they'd bring out some tea and cupcakes. Not a real party but they learned to make things fun instead of just wallowing in pity. The way people are treated when they lose a loved one is a good example of coping. People bring them food, offer to do things for them, send them cards, help them to cope. One woman I know painted a beautiful picture of her husband's mother after he died--her way of coping.
Even silly things like a big blizzard coming--you can moan and groan and complain or you can say HOORAY! Snow day! Break out the hot cocoa, get the fire going in the fireplace.
The people I know in their twenties who are not coping are mysteries to me. One had a great job but his best friend committed suicide. (couldn't cope.) So then this one simply quit his job and never looked for work again.
My sister took him in and helped him find a job. But he has no ambition and now is saying he doesn't like the job after two years and is going to quit. He won't even get his driver's license. Sad that his friend killed himself but it's been years now and he doesn't care about anything.
Too many kids never learned how to cope. Yes, there is too much pressure in this country, not enough time off from work, pressure over money and achievement, but that can't account for all of it. Who was it whhttps://nscds.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/it-doesnt-matter-whether-you-win-or-lose-its-how-you-play-the-game/o said, “It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” sports writer, circa 1908.
It's nice to win but winning isn't everything. Maybe you lost but maybe you also learned something, or you experienced great teamwork, maybe you found that you can still survive even after losing.
I think 2 of the biggest factors are tech and disappointment. Technology has lead to an instant gratification society. When people don't get that instant or expected gratification they can't handle it. People interpret disappointment as the end of the world when it's not. Age old saying that emphasizes it's not how well one did but how they react after failure or a negative event. Too many can't react to or handle negativity.
For me, the biggest reason I've been depressed is staying single and loneliness. This has been a big deal for me for much of the past 5 years or so.
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