mental illness is not a random occurrence

[bionic nipples]

i think you're right. when i was in fifth grade i was prescribed lexapro by a guy who had lexapro pens and mugs in his office. i think some doctors get a reward for handing out certain medications to people (i can't prove this at all lol, it just strikes me as odd how easy it was for him to hand out a prescription to a child)
overall i think the masking issue comes from how difficult it is to balance things like jobs and money with things like having a therapist and sometimes making major life changes to deal with depression.
a lot of people in hard financial situations are depressed which makes it easier to go to the doctor and get a generic than see a therapist, and the financial situations are getting tighter for a lot of people.

[bionic nipples]

You say "chemical imbalance" or "neurotransmitter imbalance". Well, that's nice, but that is a physical disorder with physical causes. So why not look at that?

the way you think can also have an impact on the chemicals in your brain.

[Pleikaaun]

Mooby the Golden Sock

Pleikaaun

Mooby the Golden Sock

Pleikaaun

Mental illness seems to be increasing in our society. It's not just awareness. More people are suffering from anxiety and depression than before.

How do you know this?

Get out of your house and realize that the majority of your friends are complaining about these problems.

The majority of my friends are not complaining about these problems. Your friends are not generalizable to society.

Quote:

Everyone is on anti-depressants.

False. Not everyone is on antidepressants. For instance, I am not on antidepressants.

Plus, being on antidepressants does not mean someone has depression or anxiety, and not being on antidepressants does not mean someone does not have depression or anxiety.

Quote:

About 1/2 of my friends are on or have been on them, as opposed to like 1/10 of the people over 40 I know.

Your personal estimates about people you know are not generalizable to society. Also, being on antidepressants does not mean someone has depression or anxiety, and not being on antidepressants does not mean someone does not have depression or anxiety.

So again, how do you know that the number of people with depression and/or anxiety is increasing in society?

The 1/5 is from studies been conducted in Canada. If you'd read the first post. . .

[Pleikaaun]

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Pleikaaun

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Look into the history the DSM and the new DSM V.
Then look at how deep in the pharmaceutical companies are in on it's development.
Also the way 'mental illnesses' make their way into the manual (by being voted in, no scientific testing).
Look at all the money can be made from an array of ill people.
????
Profit.

I reckon that's why so many people have depression and anxiety now.
As well a million other god knows what made up disorders.

They do make up a s**t ton of disorders; no arguing there.

But people really are depressed/anxious as compared to before.

is that from casual observation or do you have hard certifiable facts?
do you think its possible mental illnesses of this sort has always been rife,
but society refused to discuss the issues and so it wasn't as widely discussed?
we presume there is more mental illness now because we talk about it,
because it's easier to say 'i am depressed'?
or are we over-diagnosing people?
taking what may be a bad patch and diagnosing people with illnesses they don't have.

critical thinking man ~

because people who existed before the 80s are still alive.

[vegan shrimp kabob]

Mooby the Golden Sock

Pleikaaun

Mental illness seems to be increasing in our society. It's not just awareness. More people are suffering from anxiety and depression than before.

How do you know this?

who gives a s**t how accurate the numbers are?
the point of the the medical system is just prescribing s**t tons of drugs to mask symptoms of depression instead of actually finding out what's causing it.

You go into a doctor, and they immediately start trying to put you on drugs.
I went into ER with hypoglycemia and instead of giving me glucose, they told me I was bipolar and gave me Ativan and an SSRI(which, btw, aren't even supposed to be given to bipolar people).

Then I decided that when going to the doctor to never, ever mention any psychological symptoms ever. If they asked, "Do you feel anxious/depressed/ is your mood off?" I always answer, "No, I'm am fine. No mood problems. I'm happy. . .etc. . ." even if it's a lie. And then they started offering me birth control.

I swear, it was a good thing my nut and fish allergy wasn't severe, because it took me 3 months to actually find a doctor who would listen to my physical problems without trying to sell me random drugs.

[vegan shrimp kabob]

aliens are from hell

You say "chemical imbalance" or "neurotransmitter imbalance". Well, that's nice, but that is a physical disorder with physical causes. So why not look at that?

the way you think can also have an impact on the chemicals in your brain.

******** doctors.
I would rather be crazy than take seek out medical treatment.

I went to ER with low blood sugar, and was called bipolar and given an SSRI and a Benzo(Which aren't even supposed to be given to bipolar people).

And the doctors in Ontario got together and decided to not administer medical tests to "mentally" ill people, because it wasn't worth the time, so now we have a bunch of people with legit physical conditions being given psycho-pills because the doctors are too ******** lazy to do their job.
link

[uralxium]

Pleikaaun

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Pleikaaun

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Look into the history the DSM and the new DSM V.
Then look at how deep in the pharmaceutical companies are in on it's development.
Also the way 'mental illnesses' make their way into the manual (by being voted in, no scientific testing).
Look at all the money can be made from an array of ill people.
????
Profit.

I reckon that's why so many people have depression and anxiety now.
As well a million other god knows what made up disorders.

They do make up a s**t ton of disorders; no arguing there.

But people really are depressed/anxious as compared to before.

is that from casual observation or do you have hard certifiable facts?
do you think its possible mental illnesses of this sort has always been rife,
but society refused to discuss the issues and so it wasn't as widely discussed?
we presume there is more mental illness now because we talk about it,
because it's easier to say 'i am depressed'?
or are we over-diagnosing people?
taking what may be a bad patch and diagnosing people with illnesses they don't have.

critical thinking man ~

because people who existed before the 80s are still alive.

so what?
your point?

i don't think you quite realise the major effect stigma has on a society.

[Mooby the Golden Sock]

Pleikaaun

The 1/5 is from studies been conducted in Canada. If you'd read the first post. . .

I did read the first post. It contained nothing about 1/5 or Canada. In fact, the post that I'm currently quoting telling me to read the first post is the only post in this thread so far mentioning 1/5, 20%, and/or Canada.

What are these studies, and what do they show? Do they demonstrate that the percentage of people who are mentally ill is increasing?

How do you know that the number of people with mental health problems is increasing?

remourleia

Mooby the Golden Sock

Pleikaaun

Mental illness seems to be increasing in our society. It's not just awareness. More people are suffering from anxiety and depression than before.

How do you know this?

who gives a s**t how accurate the numbers are?

I do, for one, as it happens to be the entire point of this thread. The OP's entire argument is that mental illness is increasing due to some yet-unknown cause that everyone is ignoring. If it turns out, in fact, that mental illness is not increasing, then the entire argument becomes null and void.

remourleia

the point of the the medical system is just prescribing s**t tons of drugs to mask symptoms of depression instead of actually finding out what's causing it.

No, that is not the point of the medical system. The drugs prescribed increase the levels of neurotransmitters and thus treat the underlying pathophysiology of depression. They do not simply mask symptoms.

remourleia

You go into a doctor, and they immediately start trying to put you on drugs.

Drugs are one of the primary tools used by doctors to do their jobs. This is like saying that you go to a restaurant and they immediately start trying to give you food, or that you hire a carpenter and she immediately pulls out a measuring tape, hammer, and nails.

[Pleikaaun]

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Pleikaaun

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Pleikaaun

l i t t l e - b e a r s

Look into the history the DSM and the new DSM V.
Then look at how deep in the pharmaceutical companies are in on it's development.
Also the way 'mental illnesses' make their way into the manual (by being voted in, no scientific testing).
Look at all the money can be made from an array of ill people.
????
Profit.

I reckon that's why so many people have depression and anxiety now.
As well a million other god knows what made up disorders.

They do make up a s**t ton of disorders; no arguing there.

But people really are depressed/anxious as compared to before.

is that from casual observation or do you have hard certifiable facts?
do you think its possible mental illnesses of this sort has always been rife,
but society refused to discuss the issues and so it wasn't as widely discussed?
we presume there is more mental illness now because we talk about it,
because it's easier to say 'i am depressed'?
or are we over-diagnosing people?
taking what may be a bad patch and diagnosing people with illnesses they don't have.

critical thinking man ~

because people who existed before the 80s are still alive.

so what?
your point?

i don't think you quite realise the major effect stigma has on a society.

There's more to this than stigma.

Why are you so adamant to disregard my post about how the medical system should be trying to find the cause of mental illness by arguing about numbers? It implies you think depressed people should remain sick rather than receive PROPER medical treatment for the underlying problems causing their depression. That in itself is significantly worse than stigma.