A Gallup Poll reports that clinical and current depression have both hit all-time highs here in America (https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx). Honk if you’re surprised.
Some 29% of our adults are depressed, up ten points from 2017, including over one-third of the women in the survey.
But ain’t just us. Globally, almost 40% of adults are depressed.
Hmm… “We’re all gonna die!” because of Climbit Change, income inequality, systemic racism, lack of diversity and inclusion, new pandemics, old pandemics–have I missed any? And are we postulating any difference between actual “depression” and just being bummed out because the nooze sucks all the time?
Plus they locked us up and made us wear these stupid masks for two years, destroying thousands of small businesses, managed to get a monkey into the White House, dissolved our border, made us look like punchless palookas in Afghanistan, use the schools to get our children all in for Transgender–
Why should anybody be depressed?
This is what you get when you hand the country over to Democrats. It happens every time. We must be slow learners.
Interestingly enough, these figures are based on two questions: “Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have depression?” and “Do you currently have or are you currently being treated for depression?” Neither of these questions addresses an underlying question, i.e., are medical professionals (and pharmacological companies) too quick to diagnose depression? This is especially important to determine now that most insurance-mandated “wellness” checks include questions framed in such a way as to assume depression where it may not exist.
For example, I keep being asked questions such as “Do you ever feel sad?” and “Do you often feel tired?” My answers are along the lines of, “When sad things happen, I feel sad. If I didn’t feel sad about sad things, I’d be a sociopath” and “When I’ve been working hard, or when I’ve been up half the night with a sick cat, I feel tired. That’s normal.” And I usually add that on the whole, I’m content. But I do that because I know that if I said I’m sometimes sad or tired, I’d be written up as depressed — but if I said I’m never sad or tired, I (rightfully) wouldn’t be believed and I’d be written up as being in denial about my depression.
So on the whole, I’d take the Gallup figures with a large helping of salt.
Well said–yes, those are factors in this equation.
My mom-in-law grew up during the the Great Depression but she and her brothers and sisters didn’t know it even going on. Today the Internet and 24/7 news cycle keeps us aware of how bad things are.
Phoebe gets the gold star and thewhiterabbit2016 gets the silver star for their answers.
There is such a thing as depression, as in a real illness, but I believe it’s diagnosed far too casually.
Like Phoebe said, you’re supposed to be sad when sad things happen.
There is a tendency to forget that, it’s natural to be sad when sad things happen. You used to hear terms such as “reactive depression” and “endogenous depression”, but these days, it seems that a lot of depression is assumed to be somatic; endogenous.
I tend to think that both factors are at work, but I also believe that the starting point is to look for causes, such as divorce, death of a loved one, or cognitive dissonance in one’s life. Such events can put on lot of stress on the mind, and tire the brain.
Someday the Smartest People In The World will discover that “happiness” is the one problem than can really cure.
I know a bit about depression. Here is part of a book I am working on. And yes, the events in this, I went through, and am stilling dealing with the aftermath.
This is Your Captain Speaking
“Nearly everyone is anxious before and during their first time on an airplane. My first experience took place after I booked a five-day trip to Hawaii with my daughter and son. Rachel had the window seat and I was sandwiched between them. As we taxied down the runway for takeoff, my fearless daughter said.
“Look, dad!” while pointing out the window.
“I don’t want to see anything,” I stated as I stared straight ahead, while my hands squeezed the armrests mercilessly for about 15 minutes. I wasn’t too fond of heights, and now, I was at the summit of all heights. It took an hour before I worked up enough courage to look out the window. During our descent, getting closer to the ground with each passing second, I repeated over and over … if we crash now, we are closer to the ground, and maybe we will survive … the sound of the landing gear extending and locking in place, was reassuring, the jolt when the tires hit the tarmac, so comforting, but when I looked out the window, why did we seem to be going so much faster after we touched down … were we taking off again?
I wonder, how many have thought about and considered this. An airplane is a collection of non-flying parts, made by mistake-prone people, by companies that were the lowest bidders in the price “war” to produce the cheapest parts. Nevertheless, this may be of comfort, the pilot wants to live as badly as you do. But then again, how are things going with his personal life, is there any turmoil he might be dealing with? With that question in mind, consider this.
It was a long, wearisome, and trying year before my divorce became final. After 19 years, a once certain path and future had crumbled, a great unknown and void now replaced it. The words once spoken … “Until death do us part” no longer mattered, held no promise for tomorrow, and could never again be relied upon from the bride who vowed to keep them on that hallowed day so many years before. Because of the stress and pressure, it took a huge toll on my mind. I was working at a manufacturing plant where I operated and set up many different kinds of machines. On one particular day, I was working on an engine lathe, about to start a simple job I had done many times before. However, I literally couldn’t do it. A fog seemed to settle into my mind, and try as I might, how to proceed would not become clear. I just stood in front of that machine as it awaited my input, so many speeds to choose from, so many levers, and handles, and wheels, what were they for? I was frozen in place, just staring, thinking, What do I do with this piece of equipment reposing in front of me?
How glad I was, not to be an airline pilot during that time. Just envision me as your pilot during that spell of turmoil in my mind. A few minutes into your flight, you hear an announcement.
“Good morning, this is Captain Mic … hael Rie … mer,… Our co-pilots will be … hmmm … must be those two guys who tried to get my attention as we taxied down the runway during takeoff. No problem. We will be cruising at a speed of … ah … about … I don’t know, but going very very fast while flying at an altitude of … really really high, just above the clouds … our arrival time will be … when we touch down at our destination … Destination, well now, let’s see, today we are flying to Tokyo, Japan, or was it somewhere else … thank you for flying … with … on, well, on our airline.”
It would be at times like that, instead of a life preserver under the seat, a parachute would have been a better choice of amenities, so you could bail out before the pilot crashed the plane. The next time you fly, hope and pray the pilot is not going through a divorce.”
I can’t add to this. Very candid!
Wow it seems the elites want us to be demoralized so they can push their agenda