Years ago, when our parents were born, and even before they were born, nobody ever heard of anyone going to the doctor for the treatment of clinical depression. Times have changed, however, and now going to the doctor for clinical depression is as common as going for treatment of the common cold. Why are we so depressed? Why are clinical depression statistics increasing and at an alarming rate? There may be several reasons for this, but it is difficult to pinpoint the problem.
Depression is a widespread mental health problem in Canada. The cost of mental illness in our country is estimated to be over $33 billion annually, with the biggest single component being depression. About 11 percent of men and 16 percent of women in Canada will experience major depression in the course of their lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that by the year 2020, depression will be responsible for the second highest rate of disability, following cardiac disease.
One of the reasons why clinical depression statistics are rising could be that we as a society have too much time on our hands. In previous generations, everybody would be so hard at work, raising kids and farming and providing for families, that nobody would have had time to think about being depressed. Nowadays, with automation and cars and other conveniences, we have much more time on our hands than any other generations before us. Of course this is only one view but it sounds very plausible that if we didn’t have so much time to think, we wouldn’t be so depressed and clinical depression statistics might actually decline.
We spend so much time by ourselves, it’s no wonder we’re depressed. iPods, iPhones, personal computers, home entertainment systems and other electronic devices are dividing us further apart as a society. Most of these, such as computers and cell phones, are sold under the premise that they’re actually connecting us. Use this device and you can connect to anyone, anywhere. But they’re actually doing the opposite. Could these types of devices be the reasons for clinical depression statistics going up so high?
The truth is nobody knows why clinical depression statistics are rising and nobody knows how to make them even out or even decrease. But as long as clinical depression can be treated, even is someone is getting rich off of it, those people who do find themselves depressed can be helped so they can lead normal lives.