I'm Depressed.. A look at the "declining" mental health of America

[KevinM]

During the last couple of years we have realized a larger amount of cases in which people are diagnosed with depression or one of its derived forms. They're have been multiple studies on this including a rather large report titled Well-Being Over Time In Britain and the USA by David G Blanchflower written in 2000 which began to look at this trend. Although not necessary I'm including the link in case you want an interesting look at some of the lengthier descriptions of the declining mental health of the countries and possible reasons for it.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~blnchflr/papers/Wellbeingnew.pdf

This trend is further discussed in an article called Depression is on the Rise in the United States

The statistics show the depression in the United States continues to surpass its all-time highs, we have had increases in diagnosed depression nearly every year for two decades in a row now and there is no end in site. In fact one study showed a 12% of the American population is taking Prozac.

This might be good for retailers as consumers spend money to keep themselves happy and lose some of their inhibitions to charge up a storm and shop until they drop. Unfortunately this causes more debt on credit cards and more depression later and becomes a vicious cycle. Why are people so depressed in such a great nation as this?

I believe depression is on the rise as people are feeling helpless. Some believe it is due to the socialist agenda or political agenda that promotes weakness without rewarding winners and strength. Whereas one could debate either side of such a claim there is some harsh criticism from the far-right on this issue. One lady we met stated;

http://ezinearticles.com/?Depression-is-on-the-Rise-in-the-United-States-Of-America&id=469433

However after showing this at the end of the article the author mentions the fact that he thinks a lot of these might be more people of weak fortitude turning to drugs such as prozac to make them happy.

People need to develop strength of character and self-confidence, not take drugs is my thinking on the matter. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

So my question is this:

Are the rising Depression rates truly a more depressed nation and if so why is that? And if not, why are the people of America as a whole turning to drugs such as Prozac now?

 

[Jazzy Jinx]

Well, I'm not really actively involved in current events but even I notice the obvious depressing factors in present-day America. The most obvious one being the war on terrorism and our mediocre performance towards handling this situation. With such mediocre performance, it's hard to believe that our family members participating in the war are being lead with the right tactics in mind.

For those who do not have family members participating in the war, there are several other factors. Increasing poverty rates as a result of the war and Katrina (which is another category for depression in America).

Then there are drugs and alcohol as a constant factor of worry for children becoming exposed to them and/or parents that abuse them themselves and treat their children irresponsibly.

Racism is still a factor in American society. You have to take into consideration that the civil rights movement occured only fifty years ago and racism and discrimination are not over by a long shot. It's not always the case with African Americans but immigrants as well. And since America is recognized as a nation with a large diversity of immigration, the total population's depression is increased by the immigrants' depression of struggling in a new country.

Like I said before though, I have no clue what is going on with current events specifically, but this is just my educated guess as to a few reasons depression rates could be increasing.

As for turning to drugs to deal with depression, I highly don't approve. I don't even approve of distribution of drugs to people with ADD. I was diagnosed with ADD as a child but my mom disapproved use of taking the pill perscribed for me. And I'm glad she did because given you truly want to do something, you can overcome the condition (not fully but well enough).

I pay attention in class because I actually care what my grade is and I even show interest in the subject I'm learning. I still have ADD and I'm likely to ignore what you're saying in a conversation at certain intervals if I'm not interested and I've even spaced out randomly before but people using ADD as an excuse for failure in school performance really pisses me off because I have it too and I'm able to achieve high marks regardless.

It's the sheer lack of interest that they consistently fail and they are just using ADD as an excuse for their laziness. It depresses me that students don't want to learn simply because a subject might seem boring or useless to them when they fail to realize that school plays an intergral part in furthering education, separating us from less developed nations, and succeeding in life.

I've also been depressed before but again, I have never taken any pills to give myself "artificial hapiness". My grandpa has taken them though, and he told me himself that he barely remembers my mom (the source of his depression) so as far as I can see, they do nothing more than screw up your mind and make you think things are better than they really are or make you forget your problems, which will only increase them when you find out that you DO have problems.

I was able to become overly optimistic ever since I gave up on feeling sorry for myself. I basically tell myself that other people have it a lot worse and I shouldn't feel sorry for msyelf. Instead of dwelling on your problems, complaining, or crying, move on. Being depressed solves nothing and just adds much uneeded stress. Just move on.

Well that was just my two cents...

 

[snex]

i think a lot of these cases are exploiting people to make doctors and drug companies rich.

dont get me wrong, i dont support any hippy "alternative" crap, but it seems like anybody who walks into a psychologists office gets diagnosed with depression and put on some drug or other. the DSM IV requires diagnoses of depression to have symptoms of interfering with somebody's daily life for at least a few months. the people being put on these drugs simply do not have this symptom.

 

[Digital Watches]

i think a lot of these cases are exploiting people to make doctors and drug companies rich.

dont get me wrong, i dont support any hippy "alternative" crap, but it seems like anybody who walks into a psychologists office gets diagnosed with depression and put on some drug or other. the DSM IV requires diagnoses of depression to have symptoms of interfering with somebody's daily life for at least a few months. the people being put on these drugs simply do not have this symptom.

And don't forget about ADD. I read a statistic recently that said something like 90% of 10-year-old males in the United States are diagnosed with ADD (I'll try to find it). I smell bull****. It may not be on the level of psychiatrists necessarily, though. Just look at parents these days. Something has made them into nigh-consummate hypochondriacs when it comes to their kids.

 

[KevinM]

I agree Snex you can't be dependent on drugs anymore. I didn't want to include in the first post in case i seemed hypocritical or biased but i was diagnosed with manic depression when i was 16, and i used to take buspirone for it. However i stopped taking it for two reasons, one i was emotionally dampened and i didn't feel like being completely destroyed mentally by a drug that i can't control. And two my heart was bad so i couldn't take it anymore. But honestly besides the occasional anxiety attack or the really bad manic episode I'm fine and live my life without it. Medicine needs to be better regulated.

 

[Sandy]

After a friend of mine was diagnosed, I would I think have to encourage her to seek treatment, to stay with the treatment, and to feel that she could talk to me or talk to someone else, that sometimes when you really feel rotten you want to talk about it, and I think I would encourage her to do that, and I would also let her know that depression is not like a cold. You don’t have it for four days and then it goes away.

If someone had just come to me and said they had been diagnosed with depression, I would really want them to know that there is a way out, that they can be helped, they can get better, that they should avail themselves to all of the options of treatment including therapy, get plenty of exercise, eat well, surround themselves by supportive people, and keep on keeping on

 

[cF=)]

My mother was diagnosed with chronic depression, because she lacks serotonin. For people who don't know what I'm talking about, read this quote I took from Wikipedia:

In the central nervous system, serotonin is believed to play an important role in the regulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, vomiting, sexuality, and appetite. Low levels of serotonin may be associated with several disorders, namely increase in aggressive and angry behaviors, clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Depression isn't always solved by eating well and doing exercice. I would clearly recommend someone diagnosed with depression/mental disorders to at least look at more than one psychologist/doctor before taking pills, but sometime you don't have much of a choice.

 

[Dark.Pch]

I have depression, and had it for 7 years, Im on meds for it now.Most people who have it want to get rid of it, and with the way things are going on in the world today, Its more common of an effect. There are many things out there that calm to help vid of pereson. But my opinon on this is that all those things like prozac help the person. Have a clear state of mind, become happy or more calm about life and etc. I belive the true cure for it is the person itself.

Depression is very common now. And depression can really destroy a person mentally. And make them feel so hopeless that they will do things thats not good for them, get angry at someone when day have done nothing wrong, lose interest in the things they loved to do, wont shower, sleep much, want to be along, is quiet and much more. And of course no one wants to be like this at all. So they will seek of any type of meds or w/e there is out there to try and save themselfs. If the person is strong enough, they can destroy it themselfs. Why do I take them, why to I feel like they are working? well too me ( I maybe wrong but its just me) They give me a lil boost of a good feeling, more happy, joyful. And once that happens, thats when I take over from there and I do more active things, get back to my art work and other things I love to do that I lost interest in.

There are some facts that state that things like prozac dont do anything to you at all, as well as other meds. That its all in your mind when you take them. You think its the meds that are helping you, when its really just you doing it to yourself. Im not to sure if this is true. Its just something I read about a while back.

To me its like drugs, why do people take them, or why do people get high? Cause they beleive it will make them feel good, and a way to escape the hardship of life. And at times they do feel good, all happy and laughing, joking. But is it harming them, is it really destroying them lil by lil? I dont really know the answer to that. Nor with the meds I have, is it really helping my depression? Is it making me fell good? Making me happy? My friends think its all in my head. But if so, why do I have depression in the first place? and why is it that I feel less depressed when I take the meds, is it cause its working, or is it cause they say it works so when I take them Im already thinking that its gonna make me less depressed. cause since im already thinking about it, of course that what gonna be on my mind when I take them. But I have no clue.

I believe that my cure for my depression was to get a girlfriend who cared for me and someone I can share my problems with and will be there for you. I got one three weeks ago and I feel more happier than when I never had one. And I never had a Girlfriend before, so I never knew the feeling of having someone by my side all the time.Now I do and it feels great.

My Friend had depression for 3 months, and after that, he got rid of it on his own with no meds or anything of the sort. He just hanged with people he cared about alot and etc. Also its not certain that meds can get rid of it for you. To be its like a boost if you cant find one, the rest is all on you.

People look for the fastest thing to get rid of it when they have it, and of course that would be meds. Depression sucks and it can destroy you if its really strong, so people dont know what to do so they go to the docs and ask for things like prozac to help them. But By thinking of other ways to deal with it, it may be way better than some meds a doc can give out. and as a bonus to that, there will not be any side affects except to become happy and maybe you can finally destroy depression at last.

 

[Blackadder]

I must admit, I have heard a lot of this depression talk, and frankly, it scares me. Many people seem to be getting depressed, and I think it's because of humanities unhealthy lifestyles.
We eat too much, take drugs, act irrationally to things, go to war, block of other people, ect, ect.
I think the this wave of depressed people was bound to happen, though we can prevent it if we try.
I must say, I myself get depressed often, though I have labeled that to ragging hormones.

i think a lot of these cases are exploiting people to make doctors and drug companies rich.

dont get me wrong, i dont support any hippy "alternative" crap, but it seems like anybody who walks into a psychologists office gets diagnosed with depression and put on some drug or other. the DSM IV requires diagnoses of depression to have symptoms of interfering with somebody's daily life for at least a few months. the people being put on these drugs simply do not have this symptom.

Mabye everyone that leaves the docs. Session was depressed, thus they got said pills to help?
I doubt you'd go to a depression clinic for help if you didn't feel a little down a lot of the time.

 

[blazedaces]

Mabye everyone that leaves the docs. Session was depressed, thus they got said pills to help?
I doubt you'd go to a depression clinic for help if you didn't feel a little down a lot of the time.

There's a difference. In general doctors prescribe drugs to their patients. Why is this you might ask.

Well, think of it this way: If a certain psychologist keeps referring patients over to a psychiatrist (psychiatrists have Ph. D.'s so they can prescribe medicine) and the psychiatrist keeps sending them away saying "no, you're honestly not depressed and it would not help you to take drugs for it" how much longer will patients be sent her way?

People want to see a clear, simple, instantaneous solution to their problem. They would often rather receive a placebo then hear the truth.

-blazed

 

[Digital Watches]

There's a difference. In general doctors prescribe drugs to their patients. Why is this you might ask.

Well, think of it this way: If a certain psychologist keeps referring patients over to a psychiatrist (psychiatrists have Ph. D.'s so they can prescribe medicine) and the psychiatrist keeps sending them away saying "no, you're honestly not depressed and it would not help you to take drugs for it" how much longer will patients be sent her way?

People want to see a clear, simple, instantaneous solution to their problem. They would often rather receive a placebo then hear the truth.

-blazed

Placebo? Oh, I think we'd be better off if everyone were getting placebos.

 

[applejack]

After having watched Super Size Me ( a documentary in which a guy eats McDonalds food for every meal for thirty days) I remember him saying that after he had eaten the food, he felt great, but shortly afterwards he would feel very bad. I have little knowledge in pyschiatry or the affects of nutrition on the mind, but many people eat fast food many times a week, is it possible this could contribute to the increase in depression?

I think of depression as a cause for how one feels, not as an effect from something like Katrina.
As cF=) said emotion is controlled by chemicals in the brain, and the absence of chemicals can cause depression (or other behaviors). In situations where depression causes behavior and isn't effected by outside events, I think medication should be used, to restore balance in the brain.

 

[KevinM]

Depression at this point has lost all its meaning, people that used to say they were depressed usually meant something about their sustained mental health, perhaps something horribly wrong was going wrong within their life and stress has built up to the point where their mindset does not let them continue.

However now people seem to use it for a variety of reasons. For attention, for a way out and just a way to blame your problems on thing. I'm sick of it really, it's become a serious problem in which depression isn't taken as seriously and all that people look for is the drug to "fix" their problems.. if they have any needing medical attention in the first place