How/why is depression so prevalent

[mimee]

Its easy to answer dude.

Everything in life is HARD to get. If life was considered a game it would be "GOD MODE difficulty" not easy, not normal... GOD MODE BRUTAL difficulty.

There is absolutely nothing in life easy getting to.

[Komati]

Its easy to answer dude.

Everything in life is HARD to get. If life was considered a game it would be "GOD MODE difficulty" not easy, not normal... GOD MODE BRUTAL difficulty.

There is absolutely nothing in life easy getting to.

Uh...what? I live in Norway, age 20. My life is easy as fuck, and I have so far hardly put any effort into surviving. If I decide to give up on life and die I actually won't be allowed to do so. Someone will interfere and make sure I survive. I read about this really sucicdal guy who wasn't even allowed CDs in his apartment because he had tendecies to cut himself badly.
Unless rest of Europe has a vastly different view on things than Norway, you're not gonna be allowed to die easily there either.

[Deleted]

Clinical Depression as a mental disorder is not merely feeling bad or down or something like that. It is a change in brain chemistry, that effects the hormones that regulate the persons feelings, usually reducing serotonin levels. And that is as much physical as a broken arm. You can't just walk it off or anything, and unlike a broken arm, you will never really get rid of it. You can learn to live with it, and you can even live a perfectly normal life, but every now and again, it will hit you, and you are going to feel upset and weak and worthless for a while, without any reason whatsoever. Some people are born like that, some people develop it at some point in their life, but once it is there, it stays, even if treatment worked and you are over the worst part.

[Deleted]

I think it's down to having a better understanding of mental illnesses in general. It's easier to diagnose, there's less of a stigma against people who have been diagnosed and there's less people who think they just need to "suck it up"... although you wouldn't know that from looking in this thread. But I do agree that a lot of people tend to confuse feeling down for depression. People who look like they have everything in the world that they could ever want might suffer from depression. It's usually down to chemicals in le brain being all imbalanced. Of course some people probably are depressed 'cause their lives are utter shit.

[muto]

I would say addiction, bullying, abuse, death of someone close, friends or family moving away, and relationship breakups are the most prevalent causes of depression.

[Deleted]

Far too many people are quick to diagnose themselves with depression. While I'm not disputing there are genuine cases out there, I feel like a lot of it is just self pitying.

---------- Post added 2013-01-09 at 07:55 AM ----------

Its easy to answer dude.

Everything in life is HARD to get. If life was considered a game it would be "GOD MODE difficulty" not easy, not normal... GOD MODE BRUTAL difficulty.

There is absolutely nothing in life easy getting to.

Depends on your attitude. A lot of people don't help themselves, they would rather sit in a world of misery than actually go out and do something.

[Deleted]

Because it is a fashion disease and everyone who feels just a little sad is depressed these days. Just like ADD and ADHD labels being put on any child who can´t sit still for 5 minutes. Fashion ailments.

[Melanieshaman]

Because it is a fashion disease and everyone who feels just a little sad is depressed these days. Just like ADD and ADHD labels being put on any child who can´t sit still for 5 minutes. Fashion ailments.

wow..no...just no.

[Beazy]

We've all heard the stories in the news or around town...family members or friends being depressed, suicides, school shootings, etc. where did it all come from? Did depression exist 100 years ago and was just dealt with somehow, or has it developed along with our newer, more advanced society? What do you guys think?
I can't seem to understand the thousands of people now dealing with this illness that seemed to be non-existent just a few decades ago

Because life sux.


/thread

[Stir]

Because it is a fashion disease and everyone who feels just a little sad is depressed these days. Just like ADD and ADHD labels being put on any child who can´t sit still for 5 minutes. Fashion ailments.

Actually... Yes.
Yes, I agree with this.

Being sad does not equal being depressed, yet people who are sad, or stressed out, call themselves 'depressed' regardless.

Just like ADD, ADHD, Borderline Disorder, Asperger's and PDDNOS, depression is one of those things that is completely over-diagnosed. The ailments are real, but not by far as prevalent as people think.

[Deleted]

I think people get usually depressed if they are treated bad by people close to them and if it continues like years or smth. I bet many people get wrong diagnose with ADD and shit like that just because their parents didnt raise them properly.

[Stir]

I think people get usually depressed if they are treated bad by people close to them and if it continues like years or smth.

Not really a nurse, are you?

[Kraenen]

A few decades ago people used to go camping , fishing , outdoors a lot more often than today generations . I remember that until I was 15-16 years old most of my vacations (summer and winter) were spent at my grandparents (hills/mountain area) and during that time I spent 99% of the days fishing , exploring , climbing trees , helping my g-parents with housework and playing with my friends .
Now , when I look at today's generation I actually pity them , they WILL NEVER understand what it means to have a childhood full of adventure , they only know of SMS , Chat , Games , TV and other crap like that .

PS: I also don't get what the fuck is with the people going to shrinks and feeling depressed , having the need to be hospitalised ... I mean WTF , I have 100000 more problems than most of those people and I don't bitch or complain about it , I just do the best I can to finish everything I can .

When you're hospitalized for depression it means you don't have any appetite and CAN'T eat. You're lying in bed all day, with your mind blank, immobilized. You consider and even act on thoughts to kill yourself. It's not just "I feel sad today" like you do. Depressed people go to shrinks in order to LEARN how to deal with those problems of theirs. Don't be such a prick about things you have no clue.

---------- Post added 2013-01-09 at 11:15 PM ----------

wow..no...just no.

I'd have to disagree with you. But not in agreement with him either.
Feeling depressed has two meanings: the topical "sadness" that people mistake, and the clinical, hospitalized full fledged depression.
The problem is, people use the term to describe either of those two, so the meaning gets conflated in society and people take it less seriously when someone really is depressed.

[Melanieshaman]

When you're hospitalized for depression it means you don't have any appetite and CAN'T eat. You're lying in bed all day, with your mind blank, immobilized. You consider and even act on thoughts to kill yourself. It's not just "I feel sad today" like you do. Depressed people go to shrinks in order to LEARN how to deal with those problems of theirs. Don't be such a prick about things you have no clue.

---------- Post added 2013-01-09 at 11:15 PM ----------



I'd have to disagree with you. But not in agreement with him either.
Feeling depressed has two meanings: the topical "sadness" that people mistake, and the clinical, hospitalized full fledged depression.
The problem is, people use the term to describe either of those two, so the meaning gets conflated in society and people take it less seriously when someone really is depressed.

No i get what you're saying but it seems too many people take everyone who is depressed as the first "general sadness" thing. I Am clinically depressed, the drugs are a big part of why I am still alive. Too many take depression to mean sad... not unable to do anything. I describe it as a numb feeling... like I just don't hear anything, my mind goes blank, and my vision focuses on a tiny insignificant point... and I take that point as me.

[Nanaboostme]

No i get what you're saying but it seems too many people take everyone who is depressed as the first "general sadness" thing. I Am clinically depressed, the drugs are a big part of why I am still alive. Too many take depression to mean sad... not unable to do anything. I describe it as a numb feeling... like I just don't hear anything, my mind goes blank, and my vision focuses on a tiny insignificant point... and I take that point as me.

I always liked the way Jim Carrey described his depression.

[Chirri]

I always liked the way Jim Carrey described his depression.

His description makes a lot of sense to me on a personal level. I struggled with depression for about a decade (clinical depression; I have a family history of clinical depression spanning back a good 100 years on both sides, it's taken several lives that I became aware of only after "shit got real" for me), and I was medicated to varying degrees over that time. I'm currently not medicated, in part because I'd experienced what medication had to offer, what medication cost, and I'd experienced some really shitty doctors.

It's more mainstream for a lot of reasons, not least of which is diagnoses. Over diagnosing seems like an issue, a lack of understanding of mental illnesses in general, a lack of willingness to pursue and be open about mental illnesses is an issue, shaming people with mental illnesses is an issue ("Get the F over it!" isn't a solution, it's selfish and lazy and frankly makes things worse; if they were the type to be able to get the F over it on their own, then they weren't in all that serious of a mental state). Another issue is encouraging clinically depressed people to become dependent on medication that isn't right for them, and insisting that the pill(s) will help them for the rest of their lives. That doesn't seem wise for the patient, but it certainly seems profitable for the drug companies. It seems like a complacent solution to me, but that only reflects my personal experiences with it - my brain chemistry is obviously different from anyone else's.

It's always been here, however (at least, in my family). For a long time, people were distracted with bigger problems (paying bills is a pain, but it's more than possible to survive homeless and mentally ill; it's not the life or death struggle it used to be, there are all sorts of support systems in place for the vast majority of the posters on these forums - it won't be comfortable or pretty, but it's only impossible if you make it so). For a long time, it was just plain easier to die, and considered less of a tragedy when it happened. For a long time, depressives (and any mentally ill) were simply not talked about, not visible to the common public. For a long time, it was considered somewhat normal but impossible to treat, so why make a big deal about it?

Now, people feel there's hope, so it's brought up more. People are encouraged to search for a diagnosis, and then encouraged to search for the drug bill that should allow them to make it through the day as a functional zombie (in the case of poor medication), or (for the very lucky) get/feel "better" on a medication that's quite compatible for the individual. Certainly there's middle ground, but I think for a lot of those people it's a matter of poor medication, and very good doctors or lucky life choices - how they choose to spend their free time, the people they choose to keep in their lives on a regular basis, even a change in diet (for non depression reasons).

Some of us are able to make a drastic change in the way we choose to think, the way we look at life. That's not as easy as it reads. It took a life threatening epiphany and a shit ton of compassion on the part of the people around me to get that far, and I'm not going to pretend I'm all better now because I'm not.

Ignoring it didn't make it go away. I suppose the hope is that awareness and proper treatment will be able to do so, instead.

[Melanieshaman]

His description makes a lot of sense to me on a personal level.

Same here... That IS how i feel when things get bad. I know when I discussed getting back on something a couple of years ago, my therapist almost recommended self committing (that the right term?) for a few days. I was in one of those low points when I went to see her. She was obviously very upset by the way I was talking to her about how i felt. She said she was scared for my life. I wasn't because i didn't care if i lived or died.

[Nanaboostme]

His description makes a lot of sense to me on a personal level. I struggled with depression for about a decade (clinical depression; I have a family history of clinical depression spanning back a good 100 years on both sides, it's taken several lives that I became aware of only after "shit got real" for me), and I was medicated to varying degrees over that time. I'm currently not medicated, in part because I'd experienced what medication had to offer, what medication cost, and I'd experienced some really shitty doctors.

It's more mainstream for a lot of reasons, not least of which is diagnoses. Over diagnosing seems like an issue, a lack of understanding of mental illnesses in general, a lack of willingness to pursue and be open about mental illnesses is an issue, shaming people with mental illnesses is an issue ("Get the F over it!" isn't a solution, it's selfish and lazy and frankly makes things worse; if they were the type to be able to get the F over it on their own, then they weren't in all that serious of a mental state). Another issue is encouraging clinically depressed people to become dependent on medication that isn't right for them, and insisting that the pill(s) will help them for the rest of their lives. That doesn't seem wise for the patient, but it certainly seems profitable for the drug companies. It seems like a complacent solution to me, but that only reflects my personal experiences with it - my brain chemistry is obviously different from anyone else's.

It's always been here, however (at least, in my family). For a long time, people were distracted with bigger problems (paying bills is a pain, but it's more than possible to survive homeless and mentally ill; it's not the life or death struggle it used to be, there are all sorts of support systems in place for the vast majority of the posters on these forums - it won't be comfortable or pretty, but it's only impossible if you make it so). For a long time, it was just plain easier to die, and considered less of a tragedy when it happened. For a long time, depressives (and any mentally ill) were simply not talked about, not visible to the common public. For a long time, it was considered somewhat normal but impossible to treat, so why make a big deal about it?

Now, people feel there's hope, so it's brought up more. People are encouraged to search for a diagnosis, and then encouraged to search for the drug bill that should allow them to make it through the day as a functional zombie (in the case of poor medication), or (for the very lucky) get/feel "better" on a medication that's quite compatible for the individual. Certainly there's middle ground, but I think for a lot of those people it's a matter of poor medication, and very good doctors or lucky life choices - how they choose to spend their free time, the people they choose to keep in their lives on a regular basis, even a change in diet (for non depression reasons).

Some of us are able to make a drastic change in the way we choose to think, the way we look at life. That's not as easy as it reads. It took a life threatening epiphany and a shit ton of compassion on the part of the people around me to get that far, and I'm not going to pretend I'm all better now because I'm not.

Ignoring it didn't make it go away. I suppose the hope is that awareness and proper treatment will be able to do so, instead.

Nicely written, i can really relate to you as well. I think with clinical depression we need other people for support, its sooooo much harder to fight through it by yourself