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I have pondered for years about what seems like a growing problem of Mental illness. My thoughts about why mental illness is so prevalent can be boiled down into one idea. I think it is due to the information that we consume every day. We now are bombarded by tragedy from the news 24/7 from all over the world. There is very little news that is positive. Social media can be very negative, but it also can be positive, or sometimes hateful.

I would be a fool to think that this is the only reason, for their are environmental factor for sure, and many other reasons. I have noticed I am more happy since I quit watching the News, but I still must medicate to maintain a semblance of mental health.

I invite your thought on this subject.

Leutrelle 7 Sep 4
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15 comments

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1

Mental illness has always existed, but years ago no one ever talked about it. If you had someone in your family who "wasn't right" you never said anything, just sent them away, and very often the way mentally ill people were treated was absolutely draconian.

2

May I posit a trinity? Emotionally speaking I think three things are necessary to keep one functioning, humour, compassion and ambition. I think this is a more useful metric for us laymen than id, ego and superego.

3

there are many well considered observations here it seems in the comments. I would like to add that the recognition, acceptance of, the degree of destigmatization, diagnostic capabilities and the maturation of psychological theory/ practice have also played a part in what we see more often now.... or what we call it anyway.

0

I think many of the terrible things that go on are themselves symptoms of the root cause, which is greed. Greed has been promoted by capitalist governments (ie, all of them; some - such as North Korea - pretend to be different but are actually only favouring an even smaller elite group than openly capitalist governments) which are fully signed-up to the "growth at all costs" philosophy; this causes inequality, environmental destruction and the loss of community, all of which lead to anger, resentment, further need, displacement and violence on both an international and personal scale.

Jnei Level 8 Sep 5, 2018
1

All the negativity in the news can certainly be depressing. For me, reading a lot of political posts on Facebook can upset me a great deal sometimes and cause me to slip into a state of depression. I feel better when I just skip most of the political posts on FB.

2

"What are the causes of mental illness? Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, it is becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.

"Some mental illnesses have been linked to abnormal functioning of nerve cell circuits or pathways that connect particular brain regions. Nerve cells within these brain circuits communicate through chemicals called neurotransmitters. "Tweaking" these chemicals -- through medicines, psychotherapy or other medical procedures -- can help brain circuits run more efficiently.

"In addition, defects in or injury to certain areas of the brain have also been linked to some mental conditions." ("Causes of Mental Illness," Web MD.)

"Major mental disorders traditionally thought to be distinct share certain genetic glitches, according to a new study. The finding may point to better ways to diagnose and treat these conditions.

"Scientists have long recognized that many psychiatric disorders tend to run in families, suggesting potential genetic roots. Such disorders include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia. Symptoms can overlap and so distinguishing among these 5 major psychiatric syndromes can be difficult."

(National Institutes of Health, "Common Genetic Factors Found in Five Mental Disorders." )

[nih.gov]

Yep yep🙂

4

I stopped watching the news years ago for this reason. I found co-workers will keep me in the loop on the important stuff. I can look up information I’m interested in.
I don’t know that the (feels like) constant negativity causes mental illness but I feel sure it doesn’t help.

2

you should pass on your insight to the surgeon general,

2

I agree. News and social media are toxic. Everything is "Reality TV" as if they want us to think this is normal. It's not. People imitate what they see and hear, and then there is drugs! If it isn't meth it's some opiod.
What do we do? IDK. The war on drugs was just something about controlling who made the money. Like everything else, forms of insanity come quicker these days.

Good thoughts🙂

2

Thanks🙂

4

The news seem to be almost all negative. If it’s positive it’s just not worth broadcasting so yes it’s very depressing to watch the news. Not sure if that’s causing mental problems or not but it’s definitely depressing so I suppose it could.

7

I think we've created a society so relentlessly stressful and demanding that trying to maintain one's mental health has become a struggle. You put a human being under the endless pressure of work, home, money, career, politics, relationships, etc... it's bound to wear down most any man or woman over time and it just keeps getting worse and more complicated as time goes on.

Good thoughts on the subject for sure.

3

Some food for thought, every day when people that take medication use the toilet they are sending drugs directly into the water supply system. The filters in the treatment plants can`t eliminate the drug residue from the water molecules. Everything uses water, the plants we eat the meat we ingest all of them inadvertently put medication into our bodies.

Yea that is a thought for sure. I have had well water most of my life, and I filter my city tap water which in the mountain of Idaho come from a fairly unspoiled source.

@Leutrelle Tata is like me I have a whole house filter on the .5 micron filter, the reverse osmosis on the sink and the filter on the fridge water.

1

It is because we poison our environment with garbage and soot and chemicals.

5

All the information we take in has an impact, I think. I personally sometimes make the decision to avoid regular news and seek out more uplifting news.

@PalacinkyPDX Yeah, I try to keep a cap on most incoming info since most of it is not accurate or relevant and just serves to vie for my attention. I really resent all the crap that is foisted upon us and I resent that I have to actively work to avoid it.

...I also watch "public TV" or radio, BBC
read local papers to keep an overview of
global events. Knowing that tradgity is
what gets the ratings.
Suicide among certain age groups
is in fact climbing(30-60yrs); is there a link?
Would we be told???----we are recommen
ed to defragment our computers(remove the
cache from phone)- they are saying that the brain
does similarly when in REM sleep.
there is alot to follow in science
can't abandon the monitoring of advances
which could help or harm humanity in the future
?

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