How common is it, today, for people to feel depressed, and why?

Answer 1

Hello,

(ANS) As far as my understanding goes depression is an extremely common condition and a very large number of people experience depression or something approaching what might be termed a depressive state.

**Depression is a condition or state of being, it can vary from at the most mild end feeling just "flat or feeling down" to at the most sever end of the spectrum to feeling that life is so meaningless that the person cannot see the point in carrying on living i.e. suicidal feelings.

**Depending upon your point of view, the medical profession tend to medicalise depression & treat it as an illness with drugs such as anti depressants. Others would not see depression in those terms i.e. not as an illness more a state of being that is best treated with talking therapies.

Its said that 1 in 4 people do experience a mental illness or sever emotional difficulties at some point in there lives.

**WHY? because we live in such a strange culture, a capitolistic economy which is driven by money over human beings fundamental deep needs. Our society is highly stressed, the pace of change relentless, we are cash rich & time poor, we have so little time for each other. We have so little time for good quality human contact that many people feel very uncared for.

**Its more & more common to hear that people feel a realy deep sense of disempowerment in the face of these pressures. One response is to feel depressed which I can really sympathise with myself. I do thing we live in a cazy weird world sometimes, depression could be seen as a retreat from this imbalanced culture.

Those that dont end up feeling depressed perhaps deal with the pressures of life in other ways such as drinking or drugs or clubbing,etc.

IR

Answer 2

One in four people at some time in their lives suffer some kind of mental illness (including depression, anxiety, etc) So its common. There isnt always a reason for depression to happen, when there is a reason, the depression is usually quicker to go because its normal to get depressed after a trauma, and time will heal it.
Clinical Depression is nothing to do with what you have or havent got, you get it even if you have a wonderful life. Its caused by a chemical imbalance and medication/therapy can help you learn to live with it, or can alleviate it long term.

Answer 3

very common - there are too many people trying to convince us that whatever we have, however we look or whatever we do isnt good enough & whoever we are we've got some sort of problem or we've been hard done by. - pressures of living in a 'must have' society.

Answer 4

Common. they don't know when they are well off.

Answer 5

...can't be bothered to answer, so just "p*ss off, all of ya!!