Why is social anxiety/loneliness/depression such an epidemic in the Western world?

[Let's Get Free]

Mental health specialists now suspect that no more than twenty percent of us are free of psychopathological symptoms. What could be the reason for these increasing feelings of emptiness and worthlessness characteristic of depression in the rich western societies?

[Skyhilist]

Perhaps it's something related to consumerism and the heteronormative images in Western civilizations that make anyone different feel lesser, irrelevant, or even obsolete. That would be my best guess, seeing as those are major issues that seem to be even more prevalent in the Western world.

[Art Vandelay]

Alienation from this sick fucking world we live in.

[skitty]

Mental health specialists now suspect that no more than twenty percent of us are free of psychopathological symptoms. What could be the reason for these increasing feelings of emptiness and worthlessness characteristic of depression in the rich western societies?The same reason that brought you to Revleft.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Mental health specialists now suspect that no more than twenty percent of us are free of psychopathological symptoms. What could be the reason for these increasing feelings of emptiness and worthlessness characteristic of depression in the rich western societies?

Has there really been an increase, or have we just gotten better at diagnosing sub-optimal mental conditions?

Also, I think that the relative lack of more physical afflictions means that mental problems stand out more. I imagine that it would be difficult to discern depression if one is busy starving to death or dying of cholera.


Alienation from this sick fucking world we live in.

I do find these kind of statements infuriating, because unless one believes the olden days were better (they weren't), then what exactly is one using as a standard by which to judge the world's current state?

[Let's Get Free]

Has there really been an increase, or have we just gotten better at diagnosing sub-optimal mental conditions?

Also, I think that the relative lack of more physical afflictions means that mental problems stand out more. I imagine that it would be difficult to discern depression if one is busy starving to death or dying of cholera.


Yeah, I think that's just one of the reasons for the high rate of depression in rich nations. In (un)nderdeveloped countries it's very clear what your purpose is- survive.
When you're deprived of food//water/shelter, you'll find very quickly that you don't even have time for more existential thinking.
In rich nations people have solved the basic problem of survival and therefore have time. If that time is not then put to a strong purpose, the feeling of listlessness/no direction causes the depression IMO.

This is all just my theory.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Many of the places and society's in which there is a high degree of "community" (like, say, in a Mennonite community or North Korea) are societies that left-wingers here would probably be opposed to, so I don't think that social inclusion is automatically a great thing. I guess you just gotta find a middle ground between total isolation from the rest of society, and total assimilation at the expense of your own individuality and rational thoughts. Today's society sometimes strikes even me as too "nihilistic" or apathetic or atomized and so on, but there's a trade-off in that I also don't have the party or the Church or just the surrounding community breathing down my neck constantly.

[#FF0000]

Today's society sometimes strikes even me as too "nihilistic" or apathetic or atomized and so on, but there's a trade-off in that I also don't have the party or the Church or just the surrounding community breathing down my neck constantly.

Nah I think a lot of people in this generation would agree with you here. I feel like it's reflected a lot in music, too, where the more mainstream stuff is becoming more traditional/conservative (and increasingly accepted in what I guess one would call "alternative" or "underground" circles) and where stuff with this real sinister sound started resonating with people (Odd Future, a lot of electric stuff like Salem, Death Grips, etc.)

but that's just my weird-ass pet theory that might be totally off base

[Art Vandelay]

I do find these kind of statements infuriating, because unless one believes the olden days were better (they weren't), then what exactly is one using as a standard by which to judge the world's current state?

I never stated that the 'olden days were better' and I certainly don't hold that to be true. I don't even really have any info to back up my statement, it is just my (baseless) opinion that mental health is on the rise and that alot of it has to do with the alienation of capitalist society, being forced into the role of simply another cog in the machine, etc.

[Mather]

The increase in mental health issues such as social anxiety, loneliness and depression doesn't really surprise me. It is a fact that in North America and Europe workers today are worse off than the generation that their parents and grandparents belonged to. Workers today are worse off when it comes to; job security, wages, working conditions, workers rights and unemployment. Add to that the increase in managerialism, bureaucracy and social control that exists in the modern workplace and it is no wonder that we now see an increase in mental health issues as workers are put under ever more stress. Other factors outside of the workplace such as cuts to social services and welfare, the lack of affordable housing and increases in the cost of living all take their toll on the mental health of workers as well.

I would be interested to see if this increase in mental helath issues correlates to the time when the ruling classes of North America and Europe ditched social democracy in favour of neoliberalism in the late 1970s? With neoliberalism came all of the above attacks on workers and their living conditions.


Has there really been an increase, or have we just gotten better at diagnosing sub-optimal mental conditions?

Also, I think that the relative lack of more physical afflictions means that mental problems stand out more. I imagine that it would be difficult to discern depression if one is busy starving to death or dying of cholera.

I think it is a case of both. For example there has been an actual increase in loneliness and depression amongst the elderly in Japan and it has now become one of their main social problems.


I do find these kind of statements infuriating, because unless one believes the olden days were better (they weren't), then what exactly is one using as a standard by which to judge the world's current state?

I find your above point to be just as infuriating and the implications of it to be reactionary as well.

First off, why do you automatically assume that any criticism or complaint about contemporary society to mean that the past was somehow better? Can people not criticise or complain with a view towards progress as opposed to regression?

Secondly, since when did one need a standard to judge the current state of the world? When workers complain about their exploitation by virtue of directly experiencing such exploitation, should they stop complaining and remain silent because they did not use the standard that they are better off now than the peasants of the fuedal era? As communists, we have no standard by which we can say that capitalism is reactionary and exploitative. All the preceding historical eras (classical antiquity and fuedalism) were worse than capitalism and as of yet we have no communist standard which we can contrast with against capitalism. Yet workers can come to realise their own alienation and exploitation simply by experiencing it for themselves, being determines consciousness after all.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I think it is a case of both. For example there has been an actual increase in loneliness and depression amongst the elderly in Japan and it has now become one of their main social problems.

That there has been an increase in specific circumstances (in this case elderly people in Japan) does not necessarily entail that there has been an increase across the board. However, I don't think it would be impossible to find out whether or not an across the board increase in mental health issues has occurred, and if so, I suspect like you do that such an increase would follow the kind of political and economic trends that you mentioned.


I find your above point to be just as infuriating and the implications of it to be reactionary as well.

First off, why do you automatically assume that any criticism or complaint about contemporary society to mean that the past was somehow better? Can people not criticise or complain with a view towards progress as opposed to regression?

Secondly, since when did one need a standard to judge the current state of the world? When workers complain about their exploitation by virtue of directly experiencing such exploitation, should they stop complaining and remain silent because they did not use the standard that they are better off now than the peasants of the fuedal era? As communists, we have no standard by which we can say that capitalism is reactionary and exploitative. All the preceding historical eras (classical antiquity and fuedalism) were worse than capitalism and as of yet we have no communist standard which we can contrast with against capitalism. Yet workers can come to realise their own alienation and exploitation simply by experiencing it for themselves, being determines consciousness after all.

It's one thing to want to improve the world, because goodness knows it will always need it. But statements that paint the world entirely in shades of miserable black seem to have more to do with an attitude of toxic nihilism rather than a desire to improve things. I also think that it's psychologically self-defeating - why bother even attempting to improve things if life is always going to be shit?

I must say that I don't think 9mm actually believes anything like that, but I do think his original statement could just as easily have been uttered by someone who does.

There's a certain kind of mean-spirited cynicism that in my estimation is all too popular these days, one that applies beyond the dominant institutions to encompass most of humanity, and I don't think that is at all conducive to motivating people to make positive changes.

[Vanguard1917]

I do find these kind of statements infuriating, because unless one believes the olden days were better (they weren't), then what exactly is one using as a standard by which to judge the world's current state?

What was different 50 or 60 years ago was that collective social bonds were stronger and more prevalent. There were mass organisations which brought people together (like trade unions, political organisations and churches), and tighter-knit communities where individuals were less likely to feel isolated. Of course we shouldn't romanticise the past (or regret the fall of religious institutions and bourgeois parties), but people are clearly more atomised today than they were.

[Ele'ill]

What was different 50 or 60 years ago was that collective social bonds were stronger and more prevalent. There were mass organisations which brought people together (like trade unions, political organisations and churches), and tighter-knit communities where individuals were less likely to feel isolated. Of course we shouldn't romanticise the past (or regret the fall of religious institutions and bourgeois parties), but people are clearly more atomised today than they were.

Perhaps past eras seem closer knit because they were actually more conservative with so little variance allowed at all, with pressures to be 'normal' being much higher.

[Conscript]

Well, at least in the US, the generation coming of working age now is dealing with a crap market and still remembers the somewhat innocent and optimistic period up to 9/11, the iraq war, and all the pessimism and toxicity that follows.

I am part of that 20%.

[Let's Get Free]

Perhaps past eras seem closer knit because they were actually more conservative with so little variance allowed at all, with pressures to be 'normal' being much higher.

I think pressures to be "normal" are one of the contributing factors to the depression epidemic in western society. Alienation, loneliness, homelessness, low self-esteem, etc are all the destructive results of a society which doesn't tolerate differences.

[Vanguard1917]

Perhaps past eras seem closer knit because they were actually more conservative with so little variance allowed at all, with pressures to be 'normal' being much higher.

The norms set by a 'community' can be be conservative or quite radical, and they are subject to change. We would need to be specific about the community in question.

But even in a 'conservative community' - say, that made up of devout church-goers - there can be a sense of togetherness that does not exist in a community where people don't even know their immediate neighbours by name. Furthermore, those close social ties can form the basis for actions of solidarity that go beyond the conservatism of the church and religion, as the black civil-rights movement in America showed, for example.

Again, to avoid any confusion, i'm not saying that backward institutions and norms should be reinstated or reinvigorated. But we do need to appreciate the level of fragmentation that exists in modern societies.

[Futility Personified]

Well, diagnosis of mental illness is on the up. For starters stigma of mental illness (or at least certain types of it anyway) is going down, depression is becoming an accepted and slightly more understood phenomenon. I don't think the cultural aspects are irrelevant, anecdotally, some of the most conformist individuals i've known have confided unhappiness at being unable to reveal their "true selves" due to rejection, so there's that too. Also, never forget the pharmaceutical industry. Every diagnosis is another stream of revenue.

If it is possible to measure alienation, I wonder how it can be applied. As jobs are becoming scare and employment is being put upon a pedestal, alienation in the work place I guess will wither and be replaced by a feeble gratitude for a steady income. Alienation out of the workplace is pretty widespread, forgive me for anglo-centrism but the london riots showed us that!

Consumerist values, a lack of opportunities for fulfillment, the environment, any interest in current affairs (bourgeois or not) is going to be accompanied by a slow steady sense of dread akin to poo gently seeping out of your bum at dinner with the folks. Humanity is fucked unless something changes folks! Anyone who decides to apply some critical thought themselves can see that. Body image, low income, poor nutrition, all sorts.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Anyone ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophesy?
Also, it's probably TV's fault.
I have anxiety because the drugs I'm not doing make me anxious.
Ever felt like punching your boss? Not only was it a Feederz album (arguably the Feederz album), but it's probably a "sub-optimal mental condition".
Geeze, I wish I could optimize my mental condition. Other than by snorting ritalin. Shit, I applied for, like, four jobs last time I snorted ritalin. One of them was at a liberal NGO.
What's more mentally optimal than liberal NGOs? That shit is all sunshine, lollipops, and being as condescending as quoting the DSMV.

[Let's Get Free]

The same reason that brought you to Revleft.

That's not untrue. I myself feel alienated from the rest of society.

[human strike]

The commodification of social relations is alienating. Who knew?

[Yuppie Grinder]

Mental health specialists now suspect that no more than twenty percent of us are free of psychopathological symptoms. What could be the reason for these increasing feelings of emptiness and worthlessness characteristic of depression in the rich western societies?

Because these sedentary lives in which you're defined by what you consume have left us all socially inept.

[Turinbaar]

Alienation is the abstraction of the human from its nature, so that it becomes an object. A humanity in contradiction with itself will seek to fill the void with the pleasures wrought from this condition, but these are empty, and for the proletarian extremely limited by wage-labor, and what is needed most to cure the resulting depression (the self-conciousness of humanity as such) is what is specifically denied in order to sustain the condition in the first place. As the west has the most developed capitalist system it would register this alienation in more of its population.