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U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

news.gallup.com

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Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#161

Post by prottog »

danaris wrote: post #149
m_fayer wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support UBI but it’s not in the cards any time soon, fine. Then, we should aim for one overarching economic policy target: most people should be able to land a job that would enable them to generously house, feed and equip one adult and several children without working themselves to the bone. This should include a reasonable amount of leisure and luxuries, and a thorough safety net. How to achieve this? I’m not sur…

One absolute prerequisite for this would be making the minimum wage a thriving wage. Until and unless that happens, jobs traditionally seen as "bottom of the barrel"—things like fast food, grocery cashier, etc—will remain an important source of jobs for those in dire straits (very much including adults with families), while also still paying so little that even a teenager looking to make some money over the summer mi…

> making the minimum wage a thriving wage

What makes you say that someone should be able to "thrive" on the least-paying job? That's like saying that the dumbest person should be able to do get into selective universities, or that the weakest and slowest person should be able to win medals at sporting competitions.

Let me put it another way. Does $66k/year sound like a thriving wage to you? That's a little over $4k/mo after taxes. You won't be able to afford to pay rent, let alone buy a home, in any of the country's most popular cities, or take a family of four to vacation in Paris every year, or buy a nice new car. You could live in a smaller city in a less popular state, drive an older car, and maybe take your family to Disney World every now and then. Would you call that thriving?

That number ($66k/year) is all personal income in this country combined divided by the population; so that's the standard of living you could expect if all income was evenly distributed and it magically had no detrimental effect on the supply of goods and services. It seems like an extraordinary claim that the lowest income should even be able to afford a median lifestyle, let alone a "thriving" one. Perhaps I misunderstand what you mean by that word.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#162

Post by reaperman »

roody15 wrote: post #46
reaperman wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statements like this need more of a thesis. There are not enough details in your comment to have any kind of a productive, non-flamebait discussion.

Corporations are no longer beholden to governmental and regulatory bodies. Educational institutions, news agencies, etc simply echo corporate approved information. Watch 60 minutes and see a “news” story that is really just an info commercial for a new weight loss drug presented as journalism. The public discourse is now dominated by corporate safe “progressive” topics. Race, gender, identity .. etc all safe.. progre…

> Watch 60 minutes and see a “news” story that is really just an info commercial for a new weight loss drug presented as journalism.

This has existed since TV was originally invented. Ads used to be content...and often still is. I hate it too but I'm not sure this is what I'd point to for "A-ha! Here's the reason depression is suddenly skyrocketing!", when it's been true for 70 years running.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#163

Post by prottog »

lompad wrote: post #158
prottog wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not who you responded to, but I'll try and analyze GP's original points. It's up to you whether you decide this is sufficient evidence against the idea that certain demographics should be depressed given the present conditions. > Women have just experienced the most significant blow against their rights and personal freedoms in 50 years, combined with the intense pressure they're under to try to bring persistent sexu…

TL;DR: Comparing raw week-numbers is only useful within the same legal and cultural framework. Comparing European and US limits on weeks alone feels pretty misleading because of that. >The GP may be surprised to learn, however, that on the subject of elective abortions, presumed socially liberal European countries like Denmark (12 weeks) or France (14 weeks) are closer to socially conservative states like Georgia (6…

> It's not all about number limits. It's about healthcare and support.

Sure, but numbers can be compared objectively.

> there is no major stigma associated with abortion [in Germany]

I agree, there is a lot more stigma in the US, especially in more socially conservative circles.

> If there's serious danger for the mother, it's unlimited.

This is also true in every US state the last time I checked.

> As far as I know, the situation in france and UK are somewhat similar.

France and UK have an abortion rate twice as high (~17 per 1000 women) as Germany (~8/1000)[0]. So at least there is enough of a difference that Germans get only half as many abortions as the French or the Britons.

For comparison, the US is sandwiched between Bulgaria and Sweden, around ~21/1000.

> a talking point, created to fool americans

I'm not trying to fool anyone. I'm just examining the claim that women in the US, even those in conservative states, are hopelessly oppressed with regards to abortion, so much so that they should be depressed about it.

[0]: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/abortion-...

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#164

Post by sethrin »

lordloki wrote: post #104
kayodelycaon wrote: post #33

[flagged]

This is, quite literally, the best and safest time in the history of the US to be openly LGBT. This sounds like a reddit comment. I suggest getting offline for a bit and actually spending time with other people in real life.

As a trans person, I have to disagree in the strongest terms.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#165

Post by prottog »

ashleyn wrote: post #115
thelopa wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Moving to a heavily blue state may be a better and far cheaper option, they are holding the pro-queer line for the time being. Judging historically on blue states' treatment of some other issues like immigration, I don't expect them to cooperate with any anti-queer laws on the federal level.

> Judging historically on blue states' treatment of some other issues like immigration

Blue states don't have a great history on those other issues, either. Oregon literally prohibited black people from entering its territory. The last Major League Baseball team to integrate was the Red Sox. A quarter of all present-day blue states have never elected a black person to the House of Representatives, and another quarter have only ever elected one.

Actually, even today, most professional athletes point to Boston as the most racist city they'll play in. "Sanctuary cities" in blue states like Chicago and NYC are pushing refugees out to the comparatively redder suburbs right now. In the meantime, college-educated black people are moving back to the South.

Point being, differences are only felt in the extreme margins; red states and blue states are just the difference of 49% vs. 51% one direction or another on almost every divisive issue.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#166

Post by deathanatos »

the_af wrote: post #145
NopeSlide wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a third option: depression is not a real disease, it is the correct response to what has been done to you, and there are people who should be held responsible for that.

I don't think that's a real option though, because many people suffering from depression haven't been "done" anything to by anyone, or if they have, it's not out of the ordinary or different to what's been done to other people who are not depressed. Like losing your job, or splitting up with your spouse, or simply just existing. Some people react with depression to a serious grievance or ill inflicted upon them (this…

Even if they have had something done to them by someone, … they're still depressed? Holding people accountable is nice (though I agree that not all causes of depression are necessarily from acts we'd consider needing accountability), but the post above seems akin to saying "we need to hold the shooter responsible, but we don't need to treat that gunshot wound"?

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#167

Post by NopeSlide »

olalonde wrote: post #154
NopeSlide wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually sexual orientation is fluid and can be adjusted through acclimatization, it's how pedophilia is treated, it just doesn't work on unwilling participants. People who are straight occasionally do become bi or gay, and vice versa.

It depends what you mean by sexual orientation. For example, I don't think adult pedophiles ever stop being sexually aroused by children. They just learn not to act on their urges. > People who are straight occasionally do become bi or gay, and vice versa. Past puberty? Do they really change sexual orientation or do they realize they were X all along? And is it really the result of acclimatization or the result somet…

>I don't think adult pedophiles ever stop being sexually aroused by children. They just learn not to act on their urges.

Adult pedophiles can stop being sexually aroused by children, because there's still a cognitive component to it. In the same way that you might for example, stop being attracted to your partner if you start associating them with a negative memory, a softcore pedophile might lose their attraction to children if they begin to associate it with a negative emotional response from the child.

>Past puberty? Do they really change sexual orientation or do they realize they were X all along?

They quite literally change sexual orientation. The same way you might stop liking sugary foods if you go off them for a while, or how you might develop a taste for leafy greens if you give them a go enough times.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#168

Post by NopeSlide »

the_af wrote: post #145
NopeSlide wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a third option: depression is not a real disease, it is the correct response to what has been done to you, and there are people who should be held responsible for that.

I don't think that's a real option though, because many people suffering from depression haven't been "done" anything to by anyone, or if they have, it's not out of the ordinary or different to what's been done to other people who are not depressed. Like losing your job, or splitting up with your spouse, or simply just existing. Some people react with depression to a serious grievance or ill inflicted upon them (this…

>because many people suffering from depression haven't been "done" anything to by anyone

Some may lack the tools to identify the reason for their depression, that's not the same as nothing having happened to them.

>it's not out of the ordinary or different to what's been done to other people who are not depressed

It's entirely possible that the people who are not depressed are in fact the ones who are sick.

>some react with extreme depression to the most ordinary and mild of life's occurrences.

Or, the mild life occurrence just serves as a tipping point that cascades and causes the person to reevaluate their situation and come to the conclusion that they are dissatisfied.

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#169

Post by NopeSlide »

deathanatos wrote: post #166
the_af wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's a real option though, because many people suffering from depression haven't been "done" anything to by anyone, or if they have, it's not out of the ordinary or different to what's been done to other people who are not depressed. Like losing your job, or splitting up with your spouse, or simply just existing. Some people react with depression to a serious grievance or ill inflicted upon them (this…

Even if they have had something done to them by someone, … they're still depressed? Holding people accountable is nice (though I agree that not all causes of depression are necessarily from acts we'd consider needing accountability), but the post above seems akin to saying "we need to hold the shooter responsible, but we don't need to treat that gunshot wound"?

What I'm saying is more akin to "you're being strangled, and we should take the person's hand off your neck"

Re: U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

#170

Post by deathanatos »

NopeSlide wrote: post #169
deathanatos wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if they have had something done to them by someone, … they're still depressed? Holding people accountable is nice (though I agree that not all causes of depression are necessarily from acts we'd consider needing accountability), but the post above seems akin to saying "we need to hold the shooter responsible, but we don't need to treat that gunshot wound"?

What I'm saying is more akin to "you're being strangled, and we should take the person's hand off your neck"

It's not that simple. Depression doesn't magically evaporate the moment the abuse stops.
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