Why More Americans Suffer

[Persia]

That mental health disorders are pervasive in the United States is no secret. Americans suffer from all sorts of psychological issues, and the evidence indicates that they're not going anywhere despite (or because of?) an increasing number of treatment options. There are the mood disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, and the less severe dysthymia (low grade depression); anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, agoraphobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); substance abuse; and impulse control disorder (like attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Research shows that while we're seeking treatment more, rates have not dropped much, if at all, in recent years. For depression alone, about one in 10 people in America has suffered from it in the last year. Twice that number will be affected over the course of a lifetime.

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/10/why-more-americans-suffer-from-mental-disorders-than-anyone-else/246035/?google_editors_picks=true

[redhen]

From the study;

Ron Kessler, Ph.D., the Harvard researcher who headed much of the WHO’s mental health research, says that by and large people in less-developed countries are less depressed: After all, he says, when you’re literally trying to survive, who has time for depression?

How much did this study cost? I realized this years ago. If you watch a TV show like Seinfeld where we have a bunch of neurotics sitting around b****ing about insignificant annoyances (or as the show is advertised; "it's a show about nothing") you will see that people living in survival mode have no such luxury.

Thank you World Health Organization for that enlightening project. /sigh

[WoIverine]

Processed food, hormone altering substances in our plastics, many used by infants, aspartame, the list goes on and on. Many of these substances are banned everywhere else, NOT in the USA.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Spid3rCyd3

[rashore]

Processed food, hormone altering substances in our plastics, many used by infants, aspartame, the list goes on and on. Many of these substances are banned everywhere else, NOT in the USA.

I agree that a lot of it has to do with all the chemicals we've been pumping into our systems.

I think some of it comes from, well, we have the time to indulge our mental, and mental is a good excuse a lot. I also think inbreeding has something to do with it- some people have generations in the same town so eventually the gene pool starts getting crossed up. I also think the pharms have something to do with it- far better for their pocketbooks to convince people that they just need a little pill to fix them rather than taking the time to really work out whatever the problem is. Media plays their part too, especially with problems like eating disorders.

It's really sad that so many people are so messed up now a days.

[asc.rudeboy]

watched a documentary called GENERATION RX,they pretty much say a lot of these conditions were created to fill a void in the drug industry to increase profits..

[conspiracybeliever]

watched a documentary called GENERATION RX,they pretty much say a lot of these conditions were created to fill a void in the drug industry to increase profits..

I think you're right. In America to find the answer you just have to follow the money trail. It's all pretty simple.

[H.H. Holmes]

As a person who has chronic depression and ADHD, I am not convinced that these conditions are just "made up" by modern pharm companies.

People, across the world, have described feeling depressed or melancholy for hundreds of years. Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Francisco De Goya, and many other historical figures experienced symptoms of depression. Usually, it was called another name before the clinical classification was created in the early-20th century. Even Hippocrates took note of specific symptoms that are very similar to our modern day concept of depression:

The Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates described a syndrome of melancholia as a distinct disease with particular mental and physical symptoms; he characterized all "fears and despondencies, if they last a long time" as being symptomatic of the ailment.[258] It was a similar but far broader concept than today's depression; prominence was given to a clustering of the symptoms of sadness, dejection, and despondency, and often fear, anger, delusions and obsessions were included.[72]

My link

People didn't often seek treatment for their condition in centuries before, they either drank or drugged themselves with narcotics or committed suicide, while some might of just dealt with it in a more healthy manner. Like others have noted, people who are struggling everyday to survive are not going to complain of feeling a little "blue" because there are more pressing matters, like finding food, water, and shelter. We also live in an increasingly detached world as society becomes more dependent on telecommunication and families seem to be less connected and supportive. What alot of people have found in many third-world countries is that people have huge support systems. They live with their family and the members of the village their whole lives. If someone is feeling down, then they have plenty of close family or friends to interact with.

As for ADHD and ADD, there is no cure for that condition since it is neurological in nature. Medications help and can be replaced or supplemented with behavioral therapy to help with symptoms. There is a real difference in the way a "normal" brain works and how a brain of a person with ADD/ADHD works. You can look up my thread on the topic in this sub-forum to see the imaging results that show a large difference in processing between the two types of brains. In other times, ADD/ADHD was actually thought to be beneficial to some people. ADD/ADHD people are usually adventure seekers and it could have been a critical trait in leaders who would seek new pastures to hunt or gather. Such risks sometimes paid off greatly and the trait would be passed down through the generations.

I do think that some of these conditions are overly diagnosed. Someone who is feeling down or sad in the short-term is not clinically depressed and should not require any kind of pharmaceutical therapy to help them get better. On the other hand, there are people who are chronically depressed who cannot function in normal life and who are at risk of being suicidal. I think that once the symptoms become chronic and debilitating enough, then some intervention needs to take place.

[asc.rudeboy]

i have no doubt there is a need for these drugs,but i also believe the need for these drugs is actually much much smaller then the amount of drugs handed out. my wife was put on 3 different depression meds by three different dr.s with minimal amount of time to diagnose her.. turns out she had PCOS a blood disorder and nothing to do with her brain.

back in the early 80s my little brother was selected for a special program,and wanted to give him meds to help calm him down,,at that time it wasnt acceptable to believe your kid had a problem,back then they were called day dreamers,or full of energy..mom fought the school and he was allowed to go back to normal classes. he was a straight A student from then till he graduated..he was having a reaction to the red dye in the koolade..

in the documentary i mentioned GENERATION RX,they talk about how these drugs were never meant to be given to children. that these drugs change the chemical make up of how the brain works,this was never tested on children who brains were still developing..they more or less explain how we are giving our children mental issues by these drugs. and they site all the mental disorders that increased exponentially after these drugs started being mass proscribed. it also investigates collusion between drug companies and their regulatory watchdogs at the FDA..in other words they HAD the drugs,they just needed to invent a market for it.

now they hand out meds to kids who are sad because their dog died. we as humans need to feel both happy and sad we can not live level all the time. emotionless is not living.