Building on this, I think a big part of the problem (in western cultures at least) is that we are all told from childhood that we are ‘special’. I remember being about 10 years old and honestly thinking that I might be the smartest person in the world. And when I was in high school, thinking that I would become president. I have done reasonably OK in my career, but to be honest, I have not been able to climb up the corporate ladder, to earn any massive salary, or to distinguish myself in any way. In a word, I am ‘average’. There’s nothing wrong with being average, but when your upbringing and society around you tell you that if you are not above average then you are below average, you get depressed.
Very relevant to me now as I am trying to come to terms with the reality that I will never advance beyond the dreaded middle management…
Wrong.
I grew up in an era when children were in no doubt that we were anything but “special”, and punished severly by beating us for almost any transgression, no matter how insignificant.
Some really good comments above. I especially agree with the mentions of self-obsession, profiting from diagnoses, and unlimited wants encouraged by marketing and media.
In my work I daily encounter folk who claim to be disabled (at least in part) due to depression (with bipolar and anxiety running a close second and third.) In my non-medical opinion, not enough people distinguish between moods, personal dispositions, reasonable reactions, and diagnosable pathologies warranting treatment. I readily acknowledge the existence and impact of depression. But I’m not persuaded that a good percentage of folk who present themselves as depressed aren’t simply dissatisfied with their lives for any number of reasons.
I also believe the current trend is to identify more and more people as suffering treatable psychological impairments. For example, I believe the APA has proposed eliminating the “bereavement” exception from the definition of depression in the next edition of the DSM. Personally, I do not consider that a desireable trend.
Depression is certainly not a modern phenomenon. I know just enough about, say, my grandfather’s life as a farmer in North Dakota to be certain he spent some long evenings and dark mornings staring out the window. Despite all the verities about hard work and life purpose and the devolution of mod’ren society.
FWIW, I try to help people differentiate between two forms of depression. Being depressed when there’s a damned good reason to be down is one thing. What I sum up as “being depressed over being depressed” needs all the effort you can give it to push aside and overcome.
I feel that two opposing things are to blame, ultimately. Firstly, too much time alone, disconnected from family and community, until the internal life becomes so large it consumes their world.
And secondly, no time to reflect. People are often pushed into decision making without enough information to feel comfortable with a well informed choice. They don’t reflect because their world is too busy. Also, in part they don’t want to reflect on decisions that may prove wrong or produce uncomfortable feelings. Without reflection, they not only fail to grow, but are continuously being robbed of the good feelings wiser choices produce.
Of course it’s not just these two things but I think they are a big part of the problem.
I think that is a very useful distinction. ISTM there is an additional dimension in terms of how each individual responds to depression. I can’t tell you how often someone tells me, “You know, sometimes it is hard to get out of bed in the morning.” No shit! I can’t IMAGINE what you mean! :smack: But what is it that makes one person haul their sorry ass out of bed even tho their life sucks, while another person stays in bed with the curtains drawn?
I don’t find enough discussion of this aspect. I lack the vocabulary to properly assess it, but one element impresses me as the individual’s “character” (an imperfect and judgment-laden word, I acknowledge). Some people seem more prone than others to act as tho they “deserve” certain things, or perceive themselves as “victims” of forces beyond their control.
Another factor is the resources at an individual’s disposal. Sure, a rich person can be depressed as well as a poor person. But in my ignorance I imagine it would be easier to drag one’s butt out of bed if the day contained rewarding work and enjoyable leisure instead of drudgery and poverty.
And perhaps an aspect of “resources” is the extent to which one has someone willing to enable them. I know it is not as simple as this, but it impresses me as considerably easier to remain in bed or on the couch watching TV and playing video games all day if you have someone providing you room and board, doing your laundry, etc.
As above, a lot of it has to do with awareness and diagnosis. In the old days, there was nothing to diagnose you with. If your life sucked, too bad for you. As medical knowledge evolved, people became able to treat and identify mental illnesses that would not have been recognized as such before. Same thing for problems like autism… I’ve had relatives who were diagnosed as having learning disorders in the past who would probably be good candidates for an ASD diagnosis if they were treated by a modern specialist.
This is what makes depression pathological rather than simply unpleasant. Here is how I like to explain it:
Imagine you twist your ankle on your way home, a bird shits on your head, and your family forgot your birthday. If you feel unhappy, you are not depressed, you are just a normal human being having a crappy day.
Now imagine a puppy dog wants to play with you, you get a giant birthday cake, and all your friends give you presents that you really hoped for. A normal person would understandably be quite satisified. A depressed person will still be unhappy.
Even if they cognitively KNOW that they should be happy and have no objective reason to feel sadness, they still feel horrible anyway.
That’s the difference between regular sadness and clinical depression.
I think you must also add, besides all of the factors mentioned in this thread, an inability to be content with what we have. The grass is always greener, or so we’re taught, from day 1, instead of learning to live our lives. Our romances are plebian and comfortable, but we see the flash in the pan romance in the movies and we want that. Our houses are comfortable but not glamorous. Etc. So we reach, and reach, and forever remain unhappy, instead of looking around at all the blessings we have.
For those of you with Netflix, the documentary Happyis worth a watch.
What I took as their main argument was that there are basically two main things that make people happy: actively being part of a social community and serving/being useful to others in some capacity.
My friend got really into his genealogy, and found a trove of hidden secrets about his ancestors, including one who went bat shit crazy.
My grandmother grew up very closely connected to family, was very religious, worked hard on a farm her whole life, making jam and growing her own food. She was so completely obvious to the world around that she completely screwed up all of her daughters. The oldest, a boy, and the golden child, was fine, but my mom and aunts were left with a lifetimes of depression.
The world wasn’t any better 50, 100 or 200 years ago. Just less people talked about the problems.
I think people in this thread are answering two different questions. The people who are saying things like “No, really! Depression is a real medical condition and has always been part of human life!” are missing the point. Yes. We know that. We agree. But that’s not why “depression” is “prevalent” today.
There are a lot of factors, and they are outlined in the posts above (including mine, which isn’t nearly as all encompassing as some of the others). But the gist is that today, a lot of people think/feel they are “unhappy” and are then considered to be “depressed”.
Who are these people who think/feel they are unhappy and then considered to be depressed?
I hear this a lot, but what I don’t see is the actual people.
Depression encompasses a hell of a lot more than just being unhappy. Mood swings, difficulty sleeping, loss of interest, lower threshold for pain, suicidal thoughts, distractibility, irritability . . . and unless there is a very clear situational context like the loss of a loved one, most people battling depression can’t point to a source for their unhappiness. It’s one of the things that makes it so bad. If it had a source, you could do something about that and not be depressed anymore. It doesn’t, so you’re stuck feebly dealing with symptoms, trying not to sink.
I’ve known people who were unhappy, and it was always about something. A bad marriage, a crappy job, no money, or a laundry list of other things. None of them ever said they were depressed, and no one around them ever told them they were depressed.
I agree that it’s always been with us, and is being exacerbated by the constructs of modern society (it’s WAY too easy to never leave your computer chair, these days…).
But going deeper and farther back, I think depression is a side effect of intelligence. The more intelligent you are the more you are aware of the myriad of ways in which things can suck, for one. But I think there’s some neurology / bio-chemistry going on in there too.
Anecdotally, it seems like genius is closely/inextricably linked to depression. Van Gogh is one famous example, but I’ve seen it in the people I’ve met, too. This doesn’t mean that smart people are always in the black pit or that less intelligent people never are, but the bright ones seem to be more prone to it – more often, and more severe.