America is mentally ill.

[Brain Candy]

America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens - 67.5 million - have taken antidepressants.

http://nysun.com/editorials/are-we-really-ill?

So is psychology full of incompetence/greed or is America really that sick? Either way this is disturbing.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Brain Candy

[DangerMouse]

So is psychology is full of incompetence/greed or is America really that sick? Either way this is disturbing.

Sadly we live in a very disfunctional world lead by the USA. The US olympic team and other professional sports are all doped up on steroids.

[jazzer]

Excuse me if I'm wrong but doesn't a psychiatrist diagnosis mental illness?. I think the stats show that people can walk in their M.D.'s office and ask for or be prescribed prozak or any of the med advertised on TV for depression. I think that's a difference from a genuine diagnosis of say clinical depression from a qualified psychiatrist. So I think the heading of this thread is a bit misleading.

Edited March 27, 2008 by jazzer

[Guest American Woman]

....I think the heading of this thread is a bit misleading.

The heading of this thread is definitely misleading, even according to the article cited. The title of the article is "Are We Really That Ill?" Evidently Brain Candy feels qualified to answer that question and declare that America is mentally ill.

Then we have DangerMouse chiming in:

Sadly we live in a very disfunctional world lead by the USA. The US olympic team and other professional sports are all doped up on steroids.

First of all, what "US olympic team" is all doped up on steroids? The fact is, the U.S. isn't the only country whose athletes have taken steroids.

And fyi, the use of antidepressant prescription drugs in Canada has gone up considerably also. Between 1981 and 2000, total prescriptions increased from 3.2 to 14.5 million. link

Edited March 27, 2008 by American Woman

[Drea]

I think it's more availability than anything else. In the 80's there were few "depression" drugs available. Now there are loads of them and people, rather than dealing with life, choose to take the easy way out with a pill.

I take a Calcium/Magnesium mineral supplement (along with B complex) for stress. I no longer grind my teeth in my sleep and feel wayyy less stressed than I used to. I had a doctor prescribe prozac but I felt like I was on a cocaine binge and didn't continue with the pills. I got onto the vitamin route through my neighbourhood healthfood store. Friend of mine didn't have any energy so she now takes a "kelp" supplement and feels great.

We are taught that a pill (drug) will cure everything when in actuality all we need is the right nutritional balance.

[Brain Candy]

The heading of this thread is definitely misleading, even according to the article cited. The title of the article is "Are We Really That Ill?" Evidently Brain Candy feels qualified to answer that question and declare that America is mentally ill.

No, I just find the statistics, which appear to come to that conclusion, interesting. Also it was not an attack on America because anything going on there is usually going on up north too. Nothing personal at all.

The title is not misleading, but probably a subtitle is in order to clarify.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Brain Candy

[guyser]

Sadly we live in a very disfunctional world lead by the USA. The US olympic team and other professional sports are all doped up on steroids.

Of course if you had any gumption to think , and that seems rare for you, you would know that the US olympic team (whatever that is) are on par with the Canuck Olympians with respect to doping, but far far below what the Russians, East Germans and Chinese have done in the past.

But hey, get your US bashing in early and often. Sigh, just another USHiC type troll.

[Brain Candy]

I think the stats show that people can walk in their M.D.'s office and ask for or be prescribed prozak or any of the med advertised on TV for depression. I think that's a difference from a genuine diagnosis of say clinical depression from a qualified psychiatrist. So I think the heading of this thread is a bit misleading.

Whether people are diagnosed or are just gloomy enough to ask for medication to function, I think it's still a bad sign.

[Guest American Woman]

No, I just find the statistics, which appear to come to that conclusion, interesting. Also it was not an attack on America because anything going on there is usually going on up north too. Nothing personal at all.

The title is not misleading, but probably a subtitle is in order.

Your title is extremely misleading. You say now that you find the statistics appear to come to the conclusion that America is mentally ill. So you are backing up my statement that apparently you feel qualified to answer the question the article asks.

But let me point out a quote from your article/post:

"...nearly a quarter of its citizens - 67.5 million - have taken antidepressants." That's one quarter of the population (as opposed to the other three quarters) who have, at some time or another in the course of their lives, taken anti-depressants for an undisclosed length of time. So how many have taken them at the same time? The article doesn't say. A 90 year old could have taken anti-depressants for a couple of months 55 years ago and they'd be in those statistics; they'd be part of the "67.5 million." Yet you feel qualified to make the broad claim that America is mentally ill. Furthermore, I didn't see anything in your original post about the same thing happening in Canada, and I sure don't see a thread claiming that Canada is mentally ill.

And unless half the population has been seen and diagnosed by a qualified professional, the claim that "almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill" is ludicrous.

Edited March 27, 2008 by American Woman

[Brain Candy]

But they probably did not use it when they were younger, because most of these drugs have only been on the market for the past couple decades.

So these are relatively new drugs, for a relatively new definition of disease, and a sizable portion of the population has used them and even more have been declared to be in need of them. So is this sizable portion actually in need of these drugs and if so, why?

Edited March 27, 2008 by Brain Candy

[jazzer]

Whether people are diagnosed or are just gloomy enough to ask for medication to function, I think it's still a bad sign.

Well, if that's the case you don't have to wonder for too long what with war on, recession, bad times for a lot of folks on both sides of the border. Antidepressents are relatively easy to get, and some people feel the need to rely on pharmaceuticals to get thru the day. Sign of the times.

[jazzer]

So is this sizable portion actually in need of these drugs and if so, why?

I think it boils down to coping skills. My family raised us to keep our mouths shut and never talk about feelings. Lots of baby boomers raised that way too and probably make up the bulk of patients on these things. But I hear they're giving 'em to teenagers too. Plus they aren't all that bad. I have clinical bipolar so the meds DO work for me and thousands of others.

[Brain Candy]

Maybe part of the problem is they're so easy to get access to so people feel like they need them when they really dont. I think other options (like exercise and diet) should be more promoted as well as the definitions of some of these mental illnesses be much more clear as some precise condition and not just a general down in the dumps feeling.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Brain Candy

[jazzer]

Maybe part of the problem is they're so easy to get access to so people feel like they need them when they really dont. I think other options (like exercise and diet) should be more promoted as well as the definitions of some of these mental illnesses be much more clear as some precise condition and not just a general down in the dumps feeling.

I don't think Docs give them out if someone is feeling down in the dumps. That would be a rather poor diagnosis. There are clear guidelines, especially for clinical depression. Plus, Docs should also make it clear that many of the meds are for short term duration, unless prescribed by an on-going psychiatrist.

[Guest American Woman]

I have clinical bipolar so the meds DO work for me and thousands of others.

I think in the past people were left on their own to deal with chemical imbalances. They were told something to the effect that they 'just have to snap out of it.' Thankfully people like that who would have just had to suffer in the past are now getting the help they need.

Edited March 27, 2008 by American Woman

[Brain Candy]

But there are issues are far as where you draw the line:

Canada's use of antidepressant use increased 300% in past two decades.

Antidepressant use among kids rises 10% a year.

How much of this increase has to do with the drugs being more available to people who need it and how much has to do with an expansion of the definition of what is genuine, clinical depression? And then their is the problem of IF so many people are genuinely depressed, how much of it has to do with the environment that we live in and how much has to with a significant portion of society ALWAYS being depressed to a point where a change in lifestyle will not fix it?

Edited March 28, 2008 by Brain Candy

[jazzer]

I think in the past people were left on their own to deal with chemical imbalances. They were told something to the effect that they 'just have to snap out of it.' Thankfully people like that who would have just had to suffer in the past are now getting the help they need.

Unless they are considering joining the Church of Scientology.

[Topaz]

I don't think your everyday general doctor should give anti-depression medication out, they should refer them to another doctor who can deal with the depression and not necessarily hand out drugs. I think both the US and Canada should license "natural doctors" because some of the natural ways are safer than the medication man makes. My 33 year nephew was diagnosed as being depressed and after being on the pills for 2 years he's put on about 60 lbs and already has heart pains!! BTW, it has been reported that both Bush and Harper take medication for depression.

[capricorn]

BTW, it has been reported that both Bush and Harper take medication for depression.

Wow! It has been reported where? Do you have a link? I would hate to think that our country is run by a person that is depressed and in need of meds.

[jazzer]

Wow! It has been reported where? Do you have a link? I would hate to think that our country is run by a person that is depressed and in need of meds.

Even it this is so, to assert that one who requires anti-depressant medication can't function would fall into the stereotype camp. Meds have come a long way.

[jbg]

So is psychology full of incompetence/greed or is America really that sick? Either way this is disturbing.

Whether people are diagnosed or are just gloomy enough to ask for medication to function, I think it's still a bad sign.

People, in my opinion, have unrealistic expectations. They want to be constantly happy, have no friction with others, always get their way.

They don't understand that only when they are infants does anyone even try to provide that milieu, that being their parents. People need to learn to accept less than perfection. Being imperfect personally does not mean being mentally ill.

Edited April 2, 2008 by jbg

[jbg]

Sadly we live in a very disfunctional world lead by the USA. The US olympic team and other professional sports are all doped up on steroids.

Another gratuitous potshot at the US? Why?

[Moonlight Graham]

Mental illness really is alarmingly abundant today. Having read on the subject, the 2 biggest factors seem to be the increasingly fast-paced and competitive society where we haven't had the time to properly adjust to these changes. Also, the moral confusion many people seem to live in today (ie: 100 years ago most everyone believed firmly in a set of principles usually set out by ones religion, whereas now many people's idea of right/wrong is all over the map). Also factored are all the external pressures of being "perfect", from everything from looks (thank you movie stars and Cosmo mags) to being "super mom" etc.

And this isn't just an American thing.