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by mattgreenrocks
886 days ago
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Yeah, I need to digest this more. However I find myself in similar shoes, if only for the fact that almost person I can count as a friend (e.g. beyond the level of an acquaintance) is "normal" and "successful" (for some reasonable definition) and also taking SSRI or similar type medications in order to function. Those that aren't are very obviously self-medicating in some way. Is this the price of normal? It is downright chilling. It may be that depression is an affliction of wealth, but I've had it long enough to see it as a curse you never rid yourself of. PS: please don't go full Internet pedant and tell me about all my biases and sampling errors. That goes without saying: it's self-reported data! |
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There are at least two possible alternative explanations for your experience:
- Similar people group together. You said you have depression, so you tend to affiliate with similar people.
- Biased perception. You tend to notice the things your mind is revolving around. Like people with a pregnancy scare seeing children everywhere.
In addition surveys showed that most people have a positive hedonic tone and report being happy. I won't argue against the rising prevalence of mental illnesses in developed countries. However it seems that those numbers are just more diagnosed cases that did go unnoticed. In general. There are contributing societal factors like inequality, loneliness, etc. that make the US have higher rates than europe for example.