Why is depression common nowadays?

Answer 1

The diagnoses of depression has increased in the last 20 years for several reasons.

First we are getting better at recognizing the signs of depression.

Second the social stigma against getting treatment has decreased a little.

Third we understand the problem more and we understand how often depression is a component of major problems. Anyone who is diagnosed with at serious disease has to deal with depression.

Fourth it is getting harder and harder to live. 50 years ago a married couple could live quite well with a family, a car, and a good size family. They could also afford to put their children through college. Now days it takes both parents working to afford the house and the family and if you don't start saving for your child's college education at birth you will be only able to afford Junior College. The Consumer Price Index is not a correct measure of how effective our money is today when compared to how effective it was years ago. Frankly, the value of the dollar compared to only 10 years ago is declining and the decline is worse when compared to 20-50 years ago. The two main culprits of that are energy prices and the high price of health care. Health Care costs have skyrockected and it is up to Mr. and Mrs. Average Citizen to make up the difference. 30-40 years ago a family could afford to send a child to college without having to sell their house. Today the cost is so huge that often the teenager can't afford to leave home until after they graduate. If they do leave home then the high cost of living beats them into the ground. Without college they can't get a decent job so they fall into a cycle of barely making it, which increases their depression.

Fifth the pace of our society has increased. Most jobs once offered two weeks of vacation a year, now it is half that. Europeans enjoy a month. Even when people are on vacation their cell phones and the Internet with email makes sure the office is only a phone call away. Also Americans are working harder and harder. A 40 hour week has grown into a 50 hour week, and many bosses expect this as a minimum, with no additional compensation. The pressure of life has simply gotten too huge for many people to handle.

Answer 2

It seems depression is more common, but I don't know if it really is worse than ever.

But, personally, I feel people are 1) exposed to much more information through the news and the Internet, and 2) marketing firms and news organizations are MUCH better at the psychology of getting in peoples' heads. Just 20 years ago, it took days for limited information to get to newspapers and the news, but nowadays, every single incident can be reported from millions of reporters to hundreds-of-millions in minutes or seconds. Plus, with so little of a delay, there's no way to make corrections. Pretty depressing.

Answer 3

I hate when people compare the existence of problems now and the existence of problems in the past, and inflate the current situations. Depression has never really been an uncommon thing, just like sexuality in the youth, just like bad politics, just like blood, gore, drugs, violence. There have been ups and downs, but we are not at the Apocalypse. We're really not doing that bad right now (besides gas prices.) I think partially, the reason things recently seem so bad is because many many years ago (that you never went through to really, truly compare with to what you go through today), pretty much only those of decent social class knew how to write (and document the things we read today.)

Answer 4

Depression has ALWAYS been with us. We just hear about it more now- because so many things we didn't used to talk about are more accepted & out in the open. And for the most part, that's probably a good thing. We're more likely to deal with the problems that are staring us in the face- than the ones we keep hidden under the bed.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, for one, it seems that if someone is just going through a tough time, they're labeled as "depressed" and medicated even though that doesn't seem to be what's really wrong. Depression can be an easy excuse for some people.

However, for those who are indeed depressed, there are a lot of factors. It seems that people are expected to accomplish so much by this age or that and if they don't achieve what they think they should by a certain time, they can see themselves as having failed.

There are so many outside pressures for a person to look, feel, act, and think in specific (impossible) molds set forth by peers, magazines, movies, television, etc. and it's no wonder that depression can begin at a young age and continue on into adulthood when a person doesn't feel as though they're worth as much as these pre-conceived images of what's "right" or "wrong."

In short (sorry), it seems that self-worth has become something that a person no longer feels able to determine on his or her own, so people look to others for THEIR opinions, (and that act in itself can make a person feel helpless and out of control of themselves) and if those opinions are shallow, it makes a person feel even worse.

Wow, congrats to anyone who actually read all of that lol!

Answer 6

provide gabby the criteria. those are different substantial factors precisely. "the dude" hit the nail on the top, very succinctly, yet those were reliable examples. the materialism that has now develop into this type of center element of our society, which resulted from the technological advances of the business revolution on. that's the reason we are unhappy. next time you're unhappy or feeling unfulfilled, that's the reason. next time someone you adore is clinically determined with a actual or psychological ailment, this may very in all probability be the reason. we are killing ourselves. that's unhappy, because we've a lot ability. lets love one yet another a lot. and we do, in a way. we purely pretend now to not and save each and every thing interior. we favor extra which ability. it is going to take time and far, a lot discomfort and suffering for the business-technological gadget to break down for us to stay extra like we are meant to stay and in a way that'll make us happier. yet this HAS to take position a even as, and it is going to. even though it is going to likely be very painful. although the quicker the further useful

Answer 7

It appears more common because people are less ashamed to talk about it and seek professional help to recover from reactive depression (being depressed because of stressful circumstances) and to manage mental illnesses which result in chronic depression (a constsant or cycling pattern of depression caused by chemical imbalace in the brain)

Since this is the category for special education, referring to school children who have special educational needs, you may want ot post more detailed or in depth followup questions about mental health issues in the Health category.

If you think you are depressed, please take responsibility to seek professional help. Getting help is a positive and strong move - not a sign of weakness, so whenever you suffer gather your courage and get help - you are worth it!

Answer 8

Mass Media.

Look at how many stories of misdeeds are reported in the news compared to those of kind acts. Then, there is advertising. Advertising the perfect body, readers want that body, readers fail to attain that body, readers go into depression. It happens.

Answer 9

It is because that we are living in a fast and very crucial life so no one care about our feelings, attachments and no relations everybody is running behind of money so when we turned back we felt that something we lost really lost something that we can't regenerate it this is one of the main thing for depression so to quit from this stage you have to do these things be happy always do excise proper time do yoga and contact with your family and Friends always ........be cool always......

Answer 10

I think maybe there's a lot of reasons:
- not as much physical activity
- not as much spiritual connection (people once had a strong
-family tie in the church)
-overcrowding and overpopulation leads to stress
-pressure to succeed in careers
-George Bush

And I think a lot of it isn't depression, but doctors who overprescribe meds for people who don't want to be told to get over themselves, pull up their big girl panties and get on with it!