why do you think depression is so common today?

Answer 1

because the concept of 'tough love' is dead and passe, and instead of being told to deal with their problems, or teaching them how to deal with them, they're just being told they're depressed.

don't get me wrong, true clinical depression is very real and out of the hands of the person who has it.

I just do not believe on any level that all these people nowadays are truly clinically depressed. It's overdiagnosed for a lot of people because they just need an excuse.

Answer 2

Life got to complicated, to much competition, and not enough down time. I'm probably showing my age, but I remember on Sundays everything was closed and family's got to be families. Now you can't even enjoy a weekend because family schedules are so hectic. Jobs today are twice the work, minus the pay and less benefits. Everyone is trying to keep up with the Jones, if you get a new car, we are getting a better one, if you put a pool in, we are putting in a bigger one.
It's a sad society, people cannot keep up and get depressed. I see it all the time. Our kids are going to have a rude awaking when they hit the real world and have to support themselves, I predict more suicide's in about 15-20 years when our kids get married and can't pay off their school loans, or afford a home, marriage and kids.
The medical world is already over medicating everyone who can't cope with some kind of anti-depressant. Whats going to happen to all these people when they stop taking their meds?
That is what I see, I'm 45,married, with two healthy highschoolers. I pray my kids will have a easy life, but I can just see the future worse for them as the world evolves.

Answer 3

I think depression is so common today being the fact of our upbringing and whats around us. And how we view certain instincts. Some react to problems differently this is where our opinions differ. Take it from me.....someone whose been depressed for the past two years. No matter the situation some are more sensitive than others. Depression comes in every form. However we just take care of it in our own way. Depression is something that should not be lightly handled for the fear of what it could lead to. Depression results from our daily lives and what's around us............being that it is common today. I say the most depressed people in this world today is teenagers. A time in life where the difficulties just began and it's hard for us to handle.

Answer 4

Expectations are so high - people expect to grow up and 'be' the career that they choose..to meet someone who is perfect for them, to live comfortably and happily ever after.

All this ofcourse is unobtainable.. happiness is like any other emotion. It is transient. If I am angry, I am angry for a moment, if I am sad I am sad for a moment..same with happiness.

Death, disease, stress, conflict is an inevitable part of being human so episodes of difficulty are normal in our lives. Added to that, the notion that people should be fulfilled completely in their relationships, jobs etc is also unrealistic.

Another additional factor is that in today's consumer society, many of our 'needs' are actually 'wants'.. so clever marketing and comparing ourselves (unfavourably) to the perfect images or lifestyles portrayed in the likes of the media mean that dissatisfaction is the norm..

The way to get round being depressed, at least in my own case is to accept the good and the bad in life in the same hand. Everybody has difficult times and most have their own tale to tell too. To be unmaterialistic and to look beyond the simple definition of sucess/happiness being derived from affluence/relationship/career is another thing I have found useful.

Also the times which I have been severely depressed (many moons ago) I shunned the use of anti-depressants which I think helps stave off further bouts too..I look back and know that I got me through. Had I relied on the chemicals to supress an emotion that was natural and needed to be felt/worked through then I would not have learned how to cope in the next quagmire I faced.

Kind of like - emotions are like a muscle and the more you use them the stronger they can become (but weaker under the strain sometimes too - hence depression)

On an aside here's a wee quote I like Re this subject -

Laugh and the world laughs with you
Weep and you weep alone
For the sad old earth
Must borrow its mirth
But has trouble enough of its own

Great Q

Answer 5

I think it's down to modern living - Life these days seems to be all about work, status and posessions.Everything is rushed, we survive on unhealthy diets of convenience foods and are made to feel guilty for under acheiving.
When I get stressed I think about what life might have been like in the stone age. Life must have been simple then. Roles were clear cut: the man went out to kill the food while woman stayed back at the cave and looked after the children. No pressures about work, money and politics, people just lived for the day and survived on natural instinct.

Answer 6

several reasons. The world is over populated. The shrinks charge way too much money for treatment. The news is so depressing. It is so hard to lead a successful life with inflation costs. The rapid spread of stupidity in people. I could go on for days but i dont have the time to deal with is beacause its just depressing to think about.

Answer 7

I tend to think that depression is caused by many peoples expectations of life and their own reality of it. Some of us cope better than others as depression is a chemical imbalance and some are more susceptible than others and how you view the world and interpret it can have a great bearing on how life affects you. Our society holds up many ideals such as the pursuit of wealth, physical beauty, ideal relationships, ideal job etc. Many of us pursue goals that we think will make us happy and are let down by either not achieving them or finding that the achievement has not made us any happier.

Answer 8

some peoples answers on here are so completely wrong! and im ashamed to admit that they were the same as my opinions, until i ended up with depression during the summer.

there seem to be several people who think that depression is to do with people not appreciating what they have, and just being greedy. maybe this is true for some people, but it certainly wasnt true for me. ive spent time in africa working in empoverished villages, so ive learnt to appreciate what i have, but that hasnt stopped me from suffering from depression.

i think depression is as common as it has always been; the difference is that it is now more easily diagnosed and treated. people always have and always will struggle with depression, but at least now its getting the recognition it deserves.

Answer 9

With so much pollution in the air (the news/teachers/parents AND ozone pollution) it could cause your brains chemical to completely change. Sometimes depression is genetic, and people who dwell on the thought of having depression seems to make it worse. sometimes people live there life putting their heart into everything they do, when someone/thing breaks your heart it's hard to get back up. teenagers these days seem to think they are falling in love alot.

Answer 10

its not common.. its a bandwagon everyone jumps on..
ask yourself.. what do most people have to be depressed about.. have they somewhere to live? do they have food?
people should get a grip and realise just what they have.
yes if people genuinely suffer from depression its a hellish condition and i sympathise however these days its almost as common as so called "allergies"