Mental Health

[fruitsalad]

Why does there seem to be so much depression and anxiety these days, is it because we hear more about it, especially, it seems in young people, was it not heard of years ago or, especially, when war was on and could understand the reasons for it.

[Mamyalynne]

More openness is definitely part of it - also the pace of life and the expectations are different.

No one can deny that those in the past often had greater hardships to bear but remember there doesn't actually need to be anything bad in your life for you to fall into the abyss of clinical depression.

[teacake44]

There are lots of folk who suffer such I'm sure, but I do wonder if its used for an excuse for everything now.

[wolf63]

In the 'olden days' mental health was not something that people spoke about.

Depressant doesn't have to be 'caused' by anything - in my case my brain chemistry is unbalanced.

I am a naturally a good-natured, positive person with a good sense of humour. None of these things helps my mental health problems when the black dog of depression comes to visit.

[teacake44]

I think the biggest problem( and its been said on here before) is the lack of face to face contact with other people. As for the younger kids yes some do have problems, but I have know some get depressed if they can't achieve a high score on their xbox, or they don't receive a text message back right away from their electronic friend.

[Mamyalynne]

That's fed up or peeved - not depression.

People often use the wrong words.

[teacake44]

Maybe that's the problem then, depression is being used instead of peeved.

[Mamyalynne]

Hopefully not a mistake a medical professional would make, possibly in everyday speak it is misused at times.

[Tilly2]

When you are depressed, you don't verbalise it as depression. You may not even know you're depressed.

[Ken4155]

My dad knew of my condition but he was from the old school. A man admitting to depression was a sign of weakness to him. He still loved me with all his heart but his only sign of supporting me and my illness was to take me to the pub once a week. Of course it cheered me up no ends. But only for a few hours.
Social media is the root cause of much of depression in today's young people. If they go on line and admit their illness to their friends, they get trolled left, right and centre. Some to the point of suicide. I feel for today's youth as they are under far more pressure than we ever were.

[andy-hughes]

I have always hated the term Depression for my illness - because when you say it, people think you are depressed, which is absolutely not the same thing.

As I have said many times, being depressed is part of the human condition - everyone has periods where they feel low, and those periods are usually short and pass without any real difficulty.

Depression is something very different indeed.

To me the comparison is - if being depressed is having a sprained ankle, then Depression is having your foot cut off with a rusty tin lid - that's how big the gulf is between the two.

I do agree with other posters, there is more openness about mental illness these days, it is slowly losing the dreadful stigma it attracted until reasonably recently.

You were said to be 'suffering with your nerves' which didn't really say anything, and anyone confined to a psych ward was usually not mentioned, except in hushed tones.

Most psych hospitals dated from Victorian times and were usually large places with high walls, avoided by the locals.

In fact, the Victorians had absolutely the right idea - an asylum is a place of safety, and these large hospitals with their massive grounds and walls meant that patients could roam about in the peace and quiet and not venture onto roads and get lost or run over.

I was in one for three months, and it kept me safe - I would have been utterly unable to cope with traffic, and would probably have availed myself of the chance to jump under a lorry. I roamed the grounds all day every day, and gradually got my mind back.

I would wish that the word 'depression' had the same ring of fear and seriousness as 'cancer' - maybe in time the term will evolve.

[teacake44]

I would think its difficult for a medical professional to make a true assessment of a true case of depression with most, is it drugs or drink that's the real problem, and making them depressed. The after affects if you like.

[andy-hughes]

teacake - // I would think its difficult for a medical professional to make a true assessment of a true case of depression with most, is it drugs or drink that's the real problem, and making them depressed. The after affects if you like. //

I disagree.

The presenting symptoms of Depression are actually pretty standard, and any good GP can see them with a few pertinent questions, and knowledge of the patient.

Weirdly, Depression victims gain a sense of 'radar' - they can intuitively assess the levels of suffering in their fellow patients in a ward - and that can stay with you when you leave.

I could do it in hospital, and I still can do it now.

[teacake44]

I was born in 1950 and I can still remember my mom and dad talking about a third world war. If you think of what very young kids are seeing on TV and hearing, such as the present virus, climate change, threats of war here and there, their young heads must be spinning with fear. The media, tv/ papers blow it up also as much as possible with TV channels reporting the same news over and over again throughout the day.

[andy-hughes]

Indeed teacake - so you will understand the stigma of mental illness, and I am sure like me, you welcome changing attitudes.

I think it must be very hard for young people growing up in a world that does bombard them with sensory input at every twist and turn - and it probably does have some direct impact on the rise of stress levels among younger people.

[Cloverjo]

It was the threat of nuclear war, and later AIDS that frightened us when I was a gal.
I don’t remember anyone suffering from Depression, or perhaps they kept it hidden. There was a lot of anorexia and bulimia, though. Which I suppose comes from the same place as depression.

[teacake44]

Cloverjo, there where thousands of depressed people I believe after the 1st and second world wars. I understand that my father was one of many, and spent many months in what they then termed as a mental home/ asylum, he was in and out for a long time. I believe it was the war that did it to him, and to many. As far as the Victorian era, as mentioned in post 14.33, I really can't go along with that being the best place to be, but I maybe very wrong? I do know that a lot of depressed people ended up in a Victorian workhouse, and once in, they never got out, and never a good place to be apart from the fact that they didn't starve.

[zebo]

It's becoming a universal catchword for any negative feeling. Many people who diagnose themselves as depressed or having anxiety are often just a bit fed up, someone recently referred to their 'anxiety' because of the weather and there's no flooding round here.
The concept of 'coping' is now frowned upon as being unsympathetic, people take 'mental health' days off work because they're feeling a bit down.
It's getting out of hand totally.

[teacake44]

15.10 so I believe is the medication that's freely being given. ( out of hand)

[andy-hughes]

teacake - // As far as the Victorian era, as mentioned in post 14.33, I really can't go along with that being the best place to be, but I maybe very wrong? //

I should have been clearer in my post - I think the Victorians' approach may have been motivated more by keeping the 'loonies' away from society, and the isolation was a fortunate byproduct of that.

I experienced the isolation which was good for me, in tandem with modern treatment, which meant i could get better.

Sadly most of the old Victorian premises with their large grounds have been sold for development.

The one I was in was demolished, and its vast grounds are a now a large high-end housing estate.

[10ClarionSt]

It's all in the mind! I've had many, many problems in recent years. I never felt depressed or stressed. I dealt with them.