Girl Power.
Now, I don't know all the causes, but for a very long time I have been pretty critical of the younger generation and their inability to deal with themselves. They spend an inordinate amount of time defining who they are at the theoretical level, whilst spending next to no time actually living life at the practical level. Sure, they say they are "in the moment", but all that translates as is hyper-focusing on the way they feel, with no real insight into why they are feeling the way they do, and next to no control over their reactions to their emotions. They seem to believe that acting on their emotion and intuition is some higher-level mode of living, without actually taking stock of their life experience and acknowledging that they are failing.
Antidepressant use among young Finnish women has surged, with nearly one in five aged 18–29 taking the medication last year.
One in five. That is 20% of female adults under thirty claiming that they are depressed enough to be on medication to manage their emotions. And don't get me wrong, I fully understand that medication can be useful for many, but before you get up on your high horse in defence - really think about those numbers for a moment. That is incredibly high and among a demographic that is apparently "living their best life" and "prioritising their mental health" by managing their work-life balance.
As said - Failing.
And it is depressing because this failure is made to look as winning, because they have bought into an ideal sold to them that doesn't work, but have also been conditioned to ignore the results, and defend their position vigorously, cutting out of their life all the "toxicity" that doesn't agree with them.
And while you might say "it is only twenty percent" on medication, that doesn't take into consideration all of those who are depressed, but not on medication. Medication is the extreme, so the distribution is statistically much, much higher.
It seems that the more we focus on our "mental health" the worse it becomes. And I think that this is because what people are actually doing is focusing on the theory of mental health, without the activity of what provides mental health. This creates a hypersensitivity to emotional fluctuations, coupled with an inability to emotionally manage, and conditioned to react based on emotional trigger uncontrollably.
If we were to look at the basic needs of the average human (and the vast majority of us are covered in the "average" category, despite many thinking they are special snowflakes), it would be pretty obvious that thinking about mental health is not going to lead to having mental health. And, avoiding stressors isn't going to lead to mental health either, if those stressors are natural parts of the activities that do actually support health. For instance - work.
I am not saying that work will set us free, but "work" in this case means any activity that supports our personal growth across the physical, mental and emotional planes. But, there has to be balance, because if we ignore many in favor of a few, we will become unaligned. And, another part of work is that it supports our place in society, a community, and the relationships we have with ourselves, others and all the components that make up a life. Again, imbalance here is going to lead to conflicts between what we do, what we think, and what we feel.
Is internal conflict a good foundation for mental health?
No.
But it is this personal conflict that is driving so much of the health issues, because people are setting up expectations about what they believe life should be and how it should work, but their beliefs are not aligned with reality. They think they are right however, so rather than changing their behaviours to align with the world, they blame the world - they make themselves victims of circumstance.
And no - this is not a problem for the ladies only. The men who have a slightly lower prevalence of depression medication usage, have plenty of their own issues that they are choosing not to deal with and instead choosing to blame the world as well. Like how they are hard done by as men, and women are to blame - which is a narrative that has been growing for a few decades now. Again, it is more victimhood mentality so they don't have to work on themselves and mature.
Immaturity is running rife in society.
No one wants to grow up, but life demands it of us from a societal perspective, and at a biological level, yet many want to hold onto their youth activities well into their adult years. Yet, we ignore the actual demands of our bodies and instead keep trying to feed our emotional selves what it demands. And in that immature emotional mindset, we are children demanding toys and candies and when we don't get our way, we throw a tantrum and blame our cruel parents.
Grow up.
For the most part, depression is a lifestyle disorder, not a physical one. It is built through our conditioning and development of expectations that are impossible to meet. With the technology available, we are able to avoid dealing with ourselves, and silo ourselves off from what we need to experience, to feel safe to the point that we are weakened and fragile, increasingly susceptible to disease of the body, mind, and spirit.
Depression, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor posture, weakened immune systems, many cancers, high cholestrol... The list goes on. They are symptoms of lifestyle, not the causes of illness. They are an outcome from how we live our lives, and no matter how much a person pushes back against what I have said here, the reality is that the majority of us Are failing to do what we need to do in order to be well-rounded, healthy individuals - including doing what it takes to have a well-rounded, healthy society.
We as a society need to understand what we need to do in order to be healthy humans and that will take some thought. But most importantly, we have to put it into practice and make the changes necessary to change outcomes for individuals. To put wellbeing at the top of the list for humanity, and actively working to make it the reality.
We need to grow up as a species.
Taraz
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Unfortunately many parents do not enforce this in early childhood and when imposed later, it feels like a burden to the kids. And most realize they necessity of this change, only after the damage.
A soft childhood without disappointment - leads to a very disappointed adult.
Not going to argue with you on this one :) There are definitely way too many people on those sorts of meds these days. I know people who actually need them and take them and real depression is a whole lot more than being bummed because you don't have the lifestyle some influencer supposedly does. Yet another example of how social media makes pretty much everything worse!
antidepressants, adhd meds, sleeping pills...
There is nothing wrong with the medications, but I question the level of diagnosis!
For sure!
This is an awfully large percentage of people who take antidepressants. And I think these drugs have side effects on the body.
Personally, I am wary of taking medications and over the past 10 years I have only taken the antibiotic Augmentin a few times for a bad cold. This drug is sold without a prescription in our country.
I read a few studies that the best treatments for depression were exercise and the Mediterranean diet. Exercise certainly helps, but I wonder if it is the Mediterranean diet, or just the lovely vistas and life styles enjoyed in those parts of the world. Friends and family are valued, and people make time for them.
The Mediterranean community perhaps :)
They definitely do. And a lot of the side effects are things that make people even more depressed.
We should question why they have depression at such early ages and what their problems are. Might be too much consumerist-orientated lifestyle, might be no hope for the future, might be not being rich in a short time...
:D
Many of the conditions they buy into set them up for depression. They need to get out from behind the screen more at least.
I wouldn't agree more. The 21st Century is plagued by nihilists to whom a preference for numbing escapism prevails. Rather than use technology as a tool for growth and exploring the capabilities of the billions of neurons at our access, it is mostly being used for mindless entertainment. We truly need to grow up. From individuals, to communities, to societies, ultimately the species as a whole. A major disruption is imminent.
Weapons of mass distraction - in the name of cousins, money and control.
As gen x, we are prone to taking the blame for stuff and I can see how we created this ;). Inadvertently or not.
When we went through our trials and “rub some dirt on it and get back in the game” approach to self care, it didn’t seem fair. Perhaps it wasn’t but it certainly taught us conflict resolution skills.
Removing some of the denial of mental health and self care sure has swung way too far the other way hasn’t it? Might be we are just turning into our parents we thought were so out of touch. ;)
As they say, accepting that there's a problem is the first step ;)
But I am entitled to happiness I don't feel fulfilled so I am just going to remove myself from this conflict so unjustly thrust upon me! ;)
Ah, but what if the problem wasn't you, but it was society?
Or, in a more grim tone, I assert that my birth wasn't consensual. (I didn't consent to it) (Or my own conception)
So I guess its all my fault, anyway. Dang.
Fair is a bit of a pointless position. Sure, it would be nice, but expecting it is only going to lead to pain.
For sure it has. My parents weren't really there for me, so I don't know! :D
It is late at night, so I only know how to respond to this gloomy post with comedy.
Wild take: we'll see the return of the 1980s style goth. The Cure, Nick Cave, Smashing Pumpkins et al.
A new Nietzsche (but of TikTok) will emerge.
From this new-wave depression, we'll see a new form of stoicism come into being, which will recycle the buddhist philosophy as edgy and new.
Or maybe, we'll be honest with ourselves and report the rates of life lost to depression, and realise that if we all make concessions to make everyone in society more able to thrive, then perhaps, just perhaps; we'll see less depression.
Or perhaps, people should lower their expectations - because if you have low expectations, you can never be disappointed.
That is just semantics...
But it is late, and I'm tired. And this was a ramble.
:D :D
This is the approach people have chosen it seems...
"Own nothing and be happy"
Sure.
Own nothing and be happy isn't an approach chosen, I think it is people simply being a victim of circumstance and unable to understand the concept of ownership.
Even corporations and many governments around the world are falling prey to "own nothing and be happy", with the sovereign assets such as power distribution infrastructure, water pipes, public transportation, and other amenities which are owned by the community (the tax payer, I guess) being sold off to other people.
So are governments happy that they own nothing? :D
As what you stated;"The more we focus on our mental health the worse it become. " I think I agree with this, I know a lot of people misusing psychological terms and even self-diagnosing. That they are depressed and so on. As if mental health is just a walk in the park. Mental Health have been a famous topic in this generation, but for some who don't understand the heaviness of this is treating it as a trend. That's just my opinion.
In my humble opinion, YES, absolutely yes. Human beings have an imperative need to mature as a species.
We have developed a technological power and a capacity to transform (and destroy) the planet. We are like teenagers with the keys to a powerful sports car but without the emotional maturity and long-term vision to drive it responsibly.
Many of our current crises (climate, resource depletion, extreme inequalities) come from a short-term mentality of seeking immediate profit without thinking about future consequences.
We continue to engage in conflicts based on superficial differences (nationality, religion, ideology), acting in a very tribal way. Sometimes we seem to stumble over the same stone again and again (wars, exploitation, denial of obvious problems).
It is not just a question of ‘being better’, but could be a question of survival and the quality of that survival. We have the potential, the intelligence is there, but we urgently need to cultivate collective wisdom.
The corporations profit. The people seek the profit of distraction. They are maximising avoidance so they don't have to deal with reality.