To wonder why anxiety and depression are so prevalent?

[Triplesalchow]

I am struggling dreadfully at the moment. I have had anxiety for a long time and recently I feel things slipping into depression. I'm getting some professional help.
I'm reluctant to share with many people close to me as I worry they will think I'm jumping on some kind of bandwagon. I know so many people with similar issues, people at work are off sick with it and you can read about how common it is in the media daily. Why is that the case? Was it always like this but it's just being talked about/ diagnosed now? Is it modern living? In which case why can't we as society change our lives to improve our mental health? Nothing really happened in my life to trigger it. Anyone got any insight into this?

[fixthefreezerdavid]

A lot of brainwashing by the media too. We are naturally inclined to look for the negative and news outlets know this.
I'm much happier when I spend time brainwashing myself with positive things.

[fixthefreezerdavid]

Plus what dimsmum said sadly

[Sludgecolours]

Less time spent in and among green fields, trees and interacting with animals.

Fewer opportunities to be creative.

[dudsville]

Kierkegaard was writing about anxiety in the mid 1800's, philosophers dating much further back have written about this. We are prone to reflection. If the outcome of that reflection isn't "I'm so freakin fabulous" then it's likely to be something more along the lines of anxiety and depression. It's rarely "ah so things are like this", rarely is it just awareness, but awareness with an emotional twist "ah, so it's like this and that makes me feel...".

[MeMeMeMe123]

pace of life, reduced resilience due to ongoing, relentless stressors.
strained relationships, ongoing financial crises, the appearance of the world being a lot smaller than it is.
i also think elements of it are catching or are exacerbated by toxic relationships. .... (bitter personal experience here....!!)

[frenchfancy]

Crumbs1 i disagree with almost every point you have made.

I have a DD with anxiety and Depression, there is a veritable epidemic amongst her age group (18).

• She does not come from a broken home nor do others of her peer group who suffer
  
• We have not mollycoddled her. I am from Yorkshire stock who doesn't spoil children and is more likely to tell them to pull themselves together
  
• We have not told her she has mental health issues rather than teenage angst - quite the opposite. It is NOT the same thing
  
• she never went to nursery and has had a parent at home whenever she has been at home.
  

None of these point cause anxiety or depression. I don't have an answer but I am coming to the conclusion that modern life is the problem. Perfect people with perfect lives and perfect bodies are everywhere. We are all supposed to have beautiful houses and beautiful hair and go to wonderful places on holiday. Movies are all action, no slow build up. Attention spans are incredibly short.

I am also beginning to think that diet, additives and other environmental factors may play a part.

[MeMeMeMe123]

YY dudsville

ive long thought the ability to reflect, to watch and catch thoughts and feelings are skills that need nurtured.

that and the ability to think critically eg learn to develop not just to recite.

[MeMeMeMe123]

Crumbs: I think there are lots of reasons including higher stress living, greater expectations of success, more marriage break up and single families

I think a lot of marriage breakups are as a result of anxiety and stressors CAUSED by modern living and all its trappings rather than the other way round.

[cathyclown]

Social media ain't helping. The constant barrage of look at me and what I am doing, I have a great life, my kids are gorgeous, look at us holidaying in the Galapagos! And etc.

That wasn't around twenty years ago either, not saying people weren't depressed or anxious, but maybe that was about lack of money or jobs at that time. The real things to be worried about. I know that is still there but there is another layer of SM comparisons now.

These days, anxiety can be triggered by looking at instagram or FB and thinking, why am I not like her, why have I not got all those things, why why why. Where in actual fact a lot of that is fake anyway. But it is there, in your face every minute of the day.

I am on NO social media except here and a couple of other hobby based forums. Bliss. I am sure I am a bit odd for that, but since no one is telling me that, I don't know and I don't care!

[Alexkate2468]

Watching this with interest as I've been wondering the same thing myself. Thinking of retraining as a therapist but also looking at lifestyle choices and a more wholistic approach to treating anxiety and depression. Life is way too complicated we need to find ways to switch off, stop striving and looking for what's next, connect properly with family, friends and our community, eat cleaner, exercise and sleep well.these are just a few things we could do.

[FlowerPot1234]

Generally speaking only, I am sure the increase in parental mollycoddling, the vast array of benefits and state provision for what families used to provide themselves, and a society that is centred around pandering to children until they are into their 20s has resulted in less ability to handle set backs, low resilience, and an acceptability to fall apart when some individuals don't get what they want.

[Greyhorses]

I'm not sure, I come from a really active 'circle' of friends. We have horses, ride, spend time outside, talk to eachother face to face every day, keep fit, walk and I have dogs that get me out daily. My son is also out of the house playing in the mud most of the day.

Without that, stuck in the house constantly, looking at other people's amazing lives on instagram, probably gaining weight and feeling worse about myself I can easily see how I personally would start to become depressed.

Not sure what would do it for other people though.

[Ylvamoon]

I agree, it's the "modern lifestyle" that makes us sick.
There is even evidence that the food we eat can lead to depression:
www.psyweb.com/articles/depression/what-foods-cause-depression

Sometimes, when things are tough (no money, too much work, always on the go,...) I allow myself to take a step back and look at the things that I have got. (a safe home, lovely DC's, a walk with my dogs, warm clothes,... ).

[Ylvamoon]

Posted to soon...

My thinking usually puts things into perspective and makes me feel better.

[frenchfancy]

Alexkate2468 And anyone else who is thinking about getting into therapy - what young people really need is coping stategies not therapy. My DD hated therapy - she knows she is from a good background with everything she wants, she knows she is loved, is clever etc. Talking through the why's isn't helping.

What is needed is more "how" - "how to I cope with a panic attack?" "How do I get out of bed in the morning when I just want to sleep forever?".

[Mewswalk22]

I agree with DavidPuddy on their points, I think that we don’t know how we affect tiny little ones. We say “well they were fine” with xyz parenting decision but we don’t actually know. I also think that mental health is more recognised before and people don’t just say “pull yourself together” it’s recognised more than it was previously.

[Ylvamoon]

OldWitch00

i'm beginning to question genetic diversity in the UK. extremely high autism rate similar to the island of Japan.

That is an interesting thought. But I also think that other cultures have these children with autism and other conditions. Except these people where/ are often given a meaningful role within society. I think our approach to mental health and "normal" is wrong.
I found this book a real eye opener on many levels. And I wish, I had the time to research other cultures and attitude to things like autism.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RI9SZ6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[Ansumpasty]

I blame the internet.
I can see social media being the root cause of mental illness for many, many people. The pressure to appear to have the right job/partner/house/holiday/wedding photographs/children/elf on the friggin shelf idea/looks/clothing/car/phone/eye brows on feek (you get the idea) is completely overwhelming. People are constantly comparing their lives to other people's. Looks have obviously always been important to people but I know of young people who spend hours and hours trying to make their bum curve in just the right way in the right lighting just to get the perfect selfie to post, only to be upset and have to remove it when they don't get many 'likes.' It's awful.
We also saw friends and 'did' things more before the internet was such a massive part of our lives. Even reading, painting your nails, playing an instrument, building stuff, things that people enjoyed to do and helped them relax have taken a back seat to the addiction that so many of us have to just sitting and staring at our phones. It's isolating and unhealthy.
I have health anxiety. I blame the internet and the masses of information I can pull up on Google in seconds ( both correct and incorrect), the forums, the scaremongering and the awareness campaigns. Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, as they say, and ignorance would have been bliss for myself and many others.

[Ttbb]

I really doubt that it's 'modern life'. If you compare the life of, well, anyone 100 year ago to your average person today you would be wilfully ingnorabt to say that living conditions are getting worse. I don't think that mental illness is more prevealent just better understood and identified.

[CauliflowerSqueeze]

Well in the under 18s I definitely think phones/ social media plays a huge role.
Never have young people been endlessly documented by each other, permanently contactable and totally at the whim of any cyber bully.

[Incitatus]

I think that only certain types of people are acceptable in our society. The well off, the good looking, the young, the successful, the extrovert.

People who don’t fit this mould can end up feeling marginalised which can lead to anxiety and depression.

Everything is very fast and pressurised now. Things seem to be in a constant state of flux and it’s difficult to keep up. Also, the relentless pressure to buy stuff and the tacky and cynical marketing campaigns and all these people trying to relieve us of our money. It’s just so miserable. Christmas is the celebration of all this misery and probably the most stressful time of the year for many people.

People of European descent are also hardwired for depression due to our ancestry.

[BeerBaby]

I also think this is why things such as Glamping and Hygge are becoming really popular. I think we are beginning to learn and seek out the natural and the comfortable instinctively. I think with the increasing awareness of mental health and it's almost epidemic levels we are collectively asking questions and seeking solutions.

I believe to solve this we all need to value our mental health over and about what consumerism and social media tells us we should care about. We also need to respect that as tribal animals we are all different and some of us are made to be cautious to point out the danger to those who are "warrior" types.

I also know that given the time and rest, alot of people can heal and manage their mental and emotional scars. This is why veterans with PTSD are encouraged to garden and do manual hobbies to get back to what we are designed to do. It's sad that our society doesn't realise this. It wasn't long ago we were going to bed and waking up in line with the sun and growing all our own food in fields.

I do wonder if living longer and the development of medicine is pushing us too far as well. Maybe 80 years is too much and were better living to 50-60.

[Alexkate2468]

French - good therapy should do that. I had therapy recently and a lot of what I had to do was work on coping strategies. We tried out different things. We looked at my triggers and how to spot signs that I was beginning to struggle before I reached tipping point. We did look at the reasons for my problems. Everyone has reasons - they may not always be to do with upbringing etc but there is always a reason. Knowing it and dealing with it is key. For example, a huge issue and trigger for me is perfectionism. I couldn't cope with what I saw as failure. I learnt how unhelpful my thinking was and how it contributed to my issues and practised a new outlook. It was hard but it's working and things are getting better. That was just part of my problem but a part I rarely struggle with now.

[OldWitch00]

Stepping back from consumerism is possible and really not that difficult.

[thehairyhog]

It depends what you mean by molly-coddling. More so I think most children are over-stimulated these days, and that is a massive cause. No time to just be, process, or work through things. They're also purposefully distracted away from their feelings from day dot. So they don't know how to deal with them.

They're sent to nursery/school too early, constantly tested and judged from an early age, and extrinsic motivation is valued over intrinsic (punishing and rewarding, rather than trusting). That sets the stage for social media (more judgement) to have a real impact on mental health.

I do think a lot of anxiety issues are rooted in childhood.

Though also a gut health advocate