depression help: Why is depression ten times more prevolent in western society - Help.com

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We have the time to be depressed, whereas they have time to eat and sleep and work and little else.

lol here’s mine but it random and a bit out there on the fringes of psycology. but i think its to do with societies. ie. the media, laws, looks, reining in of instincts, food, etc etc.. its easy to get depressed when nothings simple and you don’t feel like you fit in.

Ok. I wasn’t sure it is more in Western society so I found the following from New York Times.

“epression and anxiety have long been seen as Western afflictions, diseases of the affluent. But new studies find that they are just as common in poor countries, with rates up to 20 percent in a given year.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/hea…

also as science prevailes we are letting go of religious outlooks, science is becoming the new religion. a science where we are all animal and finite. a good thing in my personal opinion. but it comes with some questions and problems, much like many religions.

I think it’s society’s fault as well…
There are a lot of things that the media thinks is right, like how much to eat, what to wear, how to talk, how to act, how to style your hair, and so many other things.
Also, people in other countries value marriage and partnership more than Americans. A whole family and a good marriage can keep some of the younger generations from being so depressed.

Meh. I don’t know. Just my opinion.

seems to me we are simple creatures in an utterly self-made un-simplistic world. living confuses the hell outta me anyways ;) i’d rather just fight and hunt (respectfully and only for food) and do art and music and be happy with my friends and family.
rather not worry about the international stock market, or tibet and the torch, or polands overly rasist views with regards to football world cups, or forgein policy, or cctv, or reform in the tax system or how many forms i need to fill in to get my car on the road, or how well the bbc is doing with my money, or quantum psyics or omg i can’t go on, you get the idea ;)
i would get depressed, these things bug the hell outta me ;P

Some of these have been mentioned before, but there are probably several reasons:

1) Capitalism/market values are morally vacant; fosters alienation
2) Western psychology and outlook centers on self, self-seeking, alienation, apartness
3) Life has become more fragmented since the industrial revolution
4) Lower needs are more satisfied, more time to notice being depressed
5) Diminishing marginal returns - each new addition to our standard of living brings less added happiness
6) Western philosophy/rationality has not come up with any ultimate answers
7) Our old God-based worldview has been shattered
8) The food we eat contains neurotoxins

I agree with cknoettg, but at the same time, having spent much time in what may be termed ‘developing countries’, I have noticed that depression, in one form or another, seems to be a univeral human plight. It makes no sense to talk about ‘detection rates’ in places where there is no concept of ‘detection’. Life is hard. Even if you are rich. But if you are poor and uneducated, you don’t get much chance to talk about how it gets you down.