[funnym0nk3y]

You said it already, it's self reported data.

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.