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A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

washingtonpost.com

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Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#191

Post by Applejinx »

all2 wrote: post #181
paulddraper wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, very insightful. Is there a consensus on what makes it bad and how it should be remedied?

Well, yes. For the last four years I've been hearing about this orange cartoon character and what an awful impact he's had. There was something about Russia and the orange man, but that went away after about 3 years. Then the orange man was taking credit for some other guy's economic expansion. Now there's this virus thing, and I'm hearing the orange man is making a terrible job of it. According to my sources, the re…

That's a start. Also, this is the first I've heard that Russia went away. Where ever did it go? And who told you that it was gone? Seems like a pretty big (and historically well understood…) thing, and most unlikely to randomly disappear.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#192

Post by seph-reed »

all2 wrote: post #179
3pt14159 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the internet and the constant FOMO and comparisons to people at their best points in life, or the fact that the social dynamics of dating have gotten crazy. Attractive, fit, intelligent men get a completely outsized proportion of the interest on apps like Bumble and Tinder, while even median men are mostly ignored. America is in the worst shape in the West, but these trends are getting worse here in Cana…

> Attractive, fit, intelligent men By and large these are results of choices people make, not accidents. A guy with visible abs didn't just wake up one day and have abs. He put in the work. Same goes for attractive or intelligent. Taking time to find clothes that fit, discovering a flattering hair style, and generally not being a slob can put an average man into the "attractive" group. By intelligent, I mean "witty"…

Read these books:

1. How to win friends and influence people 2. The Art of Seduction 3. She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman

They all seem like terrible/manipulative books, but read them anyways. Glean what fits your ethics.

In terms of online dating: work out, buy nice clothes, get 2-3 good photos. Or don't do online dating and go out to the same (mixed gender) place over and over for a while.

It's all work. It sucks. Good luck.

If the above is too much, beat Dark Souls, then try again.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#193

Post by Red_Leaves_Flyy »

tokamak-teapot wrote: post #159
nca-peripherals wrote: post #112

Before this incident (I've been through a few disasters and violent incidents), I was already on my 13th antidepressant (vilazodone) which doesn't appear to be working. Also on propranolol, clonidine, atomoxetine, carbamazepine, baclofen, gabapentin, and 40 mg/day of CBD. I buy CBD isolate (pure CBD) in bulk and make my own sublingual tincture using a precisely-measured ratio of ingredients comprising: - Organic coco…

It sounds like you're in a bad place. Lots of us have been there. Seek help from others, please. There are people around, hopefully in your local area, who can help.

Sounds like they are and have been.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#194

Post by Ididntdothis »

karatestomp wrote: post #180

Shit, our terrible healthcare system's given me what'd probably qualify as clinical anxiety for longish periods several times in the last few years, and that's despite being well into the top 20% most economically-fortunate Americans, consistently having health insurance , and not having really serious or chronic medical problems in my immediate family.

Same here. I am totally terrified of being in an accident or having a serious disease and then getting wiped out financially as I have seen others in similar situations. If you are lucky things usually work out but it can easily happen that you are liable for a $60000 helicopter ride or a $300000 hospital bill because somebody (not even you) has filled out some paperwork incorrectly.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#195

Post by all2 »

rjkennedy98 wrote: post #153
malandrew wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When in human history has life for most not been stressful? If anything life for most today (even the young with kids, roommates or tiny apartments) is far less stressful than for most humans in history. There's a complete loss of perspective today.

Stress is not just a matter of the facts of every day life. That's almost like saying all that matters is if you can eat and sleep. That is not what most people want out of life. They want meaning in their life, respect, and love. Those are all things that are way way way more difficult to get today than at almost any time during human history.

> Stress is not just a matter of the facts of every day life.

Stress is the response to every day life. We don't have the coping skills we used to have.

Kids, children, were conscripted, given weapons, and sent to a different continent to fight and die. Twice. After the first time, the Spanish Flu hit and killed millions of people. The kids who lived through that time were mentally tough and capable of coping with the tragedy of both events.

They lived full lives, had purpose, had families. By and large, they had a few things that today's kids don't; religion and nuclear families. To some extent, God is a panacea. Having certainty of one's final destination makes the road there a lot more manageable. They also had nuclear families and all the benefits that go with them.

We are now at the tail end of a "softening". Peace makes for soft people.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#196

Post by rjkennedy98 »

conistonwater wrote: post #177

Diagnostic criteria for anxiety and depression are very broad because they are necessary as tools for practicing doctors seeing patients (as opposed to applying them to a random selection of people). If you turn the process back, and just ask how many people in the population fit under them, you'll always, even in normal times, get an unexpectedly large number. That doesn't imply that anything is wrong or that anythi…

> very broad because they are necessary as tools for practicing doctors seeing patients

This is such nonsense. These criteria are supposed to be scientifically valid and not a tool. What other medical speciality calls their diagnostic criteria tools. That's like saying the standards for diagnosing cancer are just a tool and anyone could be diagnosed with cancer if the doctor thought you would benefit from chemo drugs.

Amazing the mental gymnastics people will go to defend an obviously corrupt discipline like psychiatry.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#197

Post by [deleted] »

sometw wrote: post #185
sdwa wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree about the toxicity of social media, it's why I don't have an Instagram and, well, Facebook is dead among my generation anyway so it's not an issue. >Attractive, fit, intelligent men get a completely outsized proportion of the interest on apps like Bumble and Tinder, while even median men are mostly ignored. Is this a real problem though? I've heard about how women rate most men as below average, yada yada, bu…

You're missing a few pieces that contribute to the decay of society: - No they don't build harems, but they are more likely to wait before settling down with a long term partner. Also, perhaps it's the circles I've run in, but monogomy is far less dominant than it was in the past, and serial dating is far more common, especially when you start looking at some folks interpretations of 'empowerment'. I'm using airquote…

[deleted]

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#198

Post by munificent »

I recently read "Man's Search for Meaning", written by a psychologist who survived several years in concentration camps during the Holocaust.

Frankl's main thesis is that humans have a deep need for meaning in their life, which he defines as producing some kind of work, caring for others, or having enriching experiences. This strongly resonates with me. I believe America's consumer culture undermines this need. Many work "bullshit jobs" only to be able to afford to consume things — the work itself is not for anything more meaningful than a paycheck. Mass manufacturing lets us care of most of our material needs ourselves so there is less culture around caring for each other than there used to be. There are an infinite number of "experiences" available, but most are simply consuming a thing created by someone else and endlessly reproduced. There is nothing particularly enriching about watching the latest Hollywood spectacle, nearly instiguishable from the previous ten movies in the franchise.

Frankl observed about his fellow prisoners that people could survive anything if they had something to live for. But when our lives are meaningless and we fill that void with shallow pleasures and distractions, we are ill-equipped to have the resilience needed to get through something like the current pandemic. When something bad enough is going on that Netflix no longer takes your mind off it, then to what do you turn?

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#199

Post by karatestomp »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #157
nmfisher wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find this comment utterly mind boggling. The US's stay at home orders were issued when? Mid to end of March? That makes it what? About 1 month? Are we supposed to believe that "young people" suddenly get into a tail spin because they have to endure a whole month of not finding a partner, get to know each other, make life plans, and get pregnant? No, but millions have lost their jobs due to the shutdown, and it's…

I know that the whole "have kids" thing, which we were thinking about, has basically been totally shut down. Nope, this is craziness, time to just survive for the next few years.

On the plus side, if you catch a bad case of Covid then a birth this year will probably work out as free because you'll be hitting your out-of-pocket max anyway. Just make sure you time it so the birth doesn't hit on the next year or they'll get you for double.

(yes, for international folks, people in the US who've thought it through really do base their family planning in large part on when their annual insurance limits reset, because the difference in costs can be thousands of dollars even with pretty good insurance, if you accidentally land most of the prenatal care on one year and the birth itself on the next)

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#200

Post by alexilliamson »

viklove wrote: post #174
Pfhreak wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is dangerously wrong. I went way too long before trying an antidepressant because I was worried I'd lose who I was, that I'd face social stigma, and that I was somehow cheating. Turns out they've made me more expressive, energetic, and connected to others in my life. The biggest effect is an increased ability to break out of mental ruts much more easily.

> Turns out they've made me more expressive, energetic, and connected to others in my life. Sounds like you did lose who you were, medications change your personality and that's not something I want for myself. More power to you for undergoing that change, though.

Your personality is changing all the time. You've already lost yourself from 5 years ago.

Even putting aside the question of whether one can lose one's self, what is so special about you that you can't bear to lose it? I don't understand this romantic ideal of self.

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