Why are millennials so depressed?

[Solid Snake]

Narcissism and entitled views run wild on people under 35. Numbers in this generation have spiked so high in terms of depression because of how we were raised and what we were raised around. Many people have parents who would preach good things for participating. Not actually having to earn anything to be rewarded. Things like this coupled with social media outlets have made people very self-absorbed. The way the brain reacts to needs and desires of this new found technology rich world (smart phones and social media) have lead to a cycle of dopamine release, followed by long periods of sadness much like what gambling addicts and alcoholics go through. This more often than not leads to depression.

There is an upside to this but you just have to watch the video. It is very interesting and ends on a good note.

Also the woman at 8:42 is holding her phone upside down... ity:

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

I don't use twitter much, I only use it to keep track of trends in gaming but I do see what you mean, I've seen a lot of people on there that are genuinely depressed and then some that make me wonder if people try to be depressed.

That ending research is pretty interesting.

 

[Solidus1]

Really good video, worth a watch. As is every Thoughty2 video.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Too much porn would get to anyone after a while (except @Prince Bálor , he lives for it). Poor Millenials

Seriously though, I liked the video

 

[Solid Snake]

Too much porn would get to anyone after a while (except @Prince Bálor , he lives for it). Poor Millenials

Seriously though, I liked the video

Joey has a Tinder addiction. He swiped right on everything.

 

[Aids Johnson]

I personally believe a lot of MY generation (86 baby) was introduced to the internet early on enough to really adjust to how there are two sides of a story. I had a cell phone at 14, and one other person I knew had it - and we kept our numbers for about 8 years? Either way, we had Dial up internet and knew house #'s by name. I think mine is the last to have that "home" feel. We called and didn't expect a response in 5 minutes. But not today.

We had ADD ADHD OCD and other things now actually prescribed to people. Why are people depressed now? There is social interaction, but personally I think the actual PHYSICAL interaction makes a difference on people. Now everything is easier, and people are less challenged, easily broken or beat up, and I think it's society (couldnt think or the next term) to blame. The sweet is not so sweet without the sour, right? I think people learn that they can float in the middle and be left to their own devices, instead of being challenged.

Rambled as fuck, but I think most people just are lost on reasonings and have too many unanswered questions now that we have unlimited access to anything. It's why porn takes up such a great part of the internet, and why companies try to use the "family" deal. People are weak because they live for a quick response like a drug. You watch 30 second clips of kitties and fails and shit like that for what? It's a stimulant.

 

[MGS32]

Right I've not watched the video but I wanted to give my two cents as someone with major anxiety problems and depression. We're just way better at catching things these days, I think its plain and simple with that. I get the social media aspect but I think it plays a very small part to play, I think the prospects for youths these days are pretty slim to none. You force yourself into student debt for a zero hours contract while the old racists vote Conservatives and Republicans into power to stop them from changing it for the youth. But back to my original point, we are so much better at catching this stuff now and I think that is why we're seeing such a rise.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Right I've not watched the video but I wanted to give my two cents as someone with major anxiety problems and depression. We're just way better at catching things these days, I think its plain and simple with that. .

I think you're right on about that. It's not really that there is more depression or that millennials are really more depressed. It's that people are recognizing symptoms of depression more easily and others are more willing to admit that they may be suffering from it. I have severe, actually disabling OCD and clinical depression as well. No time in school did anyone, counselors or teachers realize this... although it was very evident. My OCD is actually so bad that I qualify for social security disability. If I stopped working, I would automatically pick up the benefits. But no one EVER noticed this. Nowadays, people can tell right away.

So I think it says more about how far we've come in recognizing and being comfortable talking about it rather than it being more common.

 

[Snowman1]

 

[Stopspot]

I think you're right on about that. It's not really that there is more depression or that millennials are really more depressed. It's that people are recognizing symptoms of depression more easily and others are more willing to admit that they may be suffering from it. I have severe, actually disabling OCD and clinical depression as well. No time in school did anyone, counselors or teachers realize this... although it was very evident. My OCD is actually so bad that I qualify for social security disability. If I stopped working, I would automatically pick up the benefits. But no one EVER noticed this. Nowadays, people can tell right away.

So I think it says more about how far we've come in recognizing and being comfortable talking about it rather than it being more common.

This is a part of this. But I also agree with Aids a bit, we live with tools now that also much more easily cause depression or depression like symptoms. Constant streams of dopamine through social media praise and escape routes should one feel uncomfortable.

And on one hand I also think that sadly there are people that selfdiagnose themselves as depressed to create one of these escape routes. "I don't have to put in effort if I am depressed or suffer from anxiety. It's not my fault". And that causes a placebo effect to create the symptoms which eventually leads to actual depression because they cannot get out of the act.

 

[MGS32]

This is a part of this. But I also agree with Aids a bit, we live with tools now that also much more easily cause depression or depression like symptoms. Constant streams of dopamine through social media praise and escape routes should one feel uncomfortable.

And on one hand I also think that sadly there are people that selfdiagnose themselves as depressed to create one of these escape routes. "I don't have to put in effort if I am depressed or suffer from anxiety. It's not my fault". And that causes a placebo effect to create the symptoms which eventually leads to actual depression because they cannot get out of the act.

I agree with you on the self diagnosis part, I think its a very dangerous thing to just look at symptoms and do some online tests and just say "yep that's me" and call it a day, its also quite insulting to people like myself who have had to go through the process of an actual diagnosis and then get thrown into the truly awful mental health part of the NHS. I mean personally for me I've been seeking out external counselling at my own cost because of how long its taken for me to get referred and get appointments and even then the NHS thinks that giving you 10 appointments and calling it a day is acceptable care for people with long term issues. I could go on for days about that but yeah don't self diagnose, always get an official diagnosis.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Self diagnosis is probably one of my biggest pet peeves. I used to go to dinner every Friday with a friend who swore up and down he was bi-polar. And when I asked him why, it was because he had sudden and severe mood swings. I told him that has NOTHING to do with being bi-polar. If anything, that is a symptom of depression... although he didn't have that either. He was just looking for attention. Eventually I showed him a video of a person in both a bi-polar depressive and bi-polar manic phase... he never claimed to be bi-polar again.

The fact is that clinical depression is nowhere near as widely experienced as we would believe. People tend to think that just because they've been down, and sometimes down for a long time, that they have depression. More often than not, this isn't the case. However, we also have the practice of psychiatry which nowadays is pretty much controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. Psychiatrists get paid more to put people on certain medications. So people who may not have ANY true clinical depressive or other mood disorder, get medicated for it. For example, my brother, who is NOT bi-polar, gets treated for it. And when a psychiatrist tells you, "OMG, you're depressed," more often than not, you're going to believe it.

So I really stick by what I said and I don't believe millennials are any more depressed than any other generation before them. Just like I didn't think the Generation X'ers were. The actual peer reviewed studies on the manner do not show this. When millennials get older and there's a new generation, this conversation will pop back up again about that younger generation... I guarantee it. It's all about perception.

 

[Solid Snake]

Everything is over-diagnosed these days because big phrama wants money. I know a woman who a doctor had her believing she had MS for 15 YEARS. He moved or something so she went to a new doc and was told she never had it and she was left with a horrible addiction to pain killers. She ended up dying from malpractice. Only in her 40's too. Mental stuff is easy to over diagnose because most people who don't know anything about bi-polar, depression, anxiety, ect would believe a doctor who told them they had it due to lack of knowledge. On paper, the younger generations may have "more depression" but I agree that it likely isn't the cold hard truth.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Everything is over-diagnosed these days because big phrama wants money. I know a woman who a doctor had her believing she had MS for 15 YEARS. He moved or something so she went to a new doc and was told she never had it and she was left with a horrible addiction to pain killers. She ended up dying from malpractice. Only in her 40's too. Mental stuff is easy to over diagnose because most people who don't know anything about bi-polar, depression, anxiety, ect would believe a doctor who told them they had it due to lack of knowledge. On paper, the younger generations may have "more depression" but I agree that it likely isn't the cold hard truth.

For example, when I first was treated for my OCD, I was put on Paxil and Seroquel. Paxil is for treating OCD, but interestingly enough, the gold standard at the time was Prozac and Prozac really should have been what I was put on first. Problem was that at the time, Paxil was not available in generic and Prozac was. And Seroquel is an anti-psychotic which is mostly used for the treatment of schizophrenia. OCD and Schizophrenia are in no way related. OCD is caused by the reuptake of serotonin in the synapses and schizophrenia by your brain producing too much dopamine. Seroquel cuts off the production of dopamine. There was absolutely no reason for them to put me on Seroquel... except that I found later that this office put almost everyone on Seroquel because the firm had a deal with the makers that saw them paying the firm more money for every Seroquel prescription. It wasn't until I went to school and studied cognitive psychology that I realized this was a bit weird.

 

[Solid Snake]

For example, when I first was treated for my OCD, I was put on Paxil and Seroquel. Paxil is for treating OCD, but interestingly enough, the gold standard at the time was Prozac and Prozac really should have been what I was put on first. Problem was that at the time, Paxil was not available in generic and Prozac was. And Seroquel is an anti-psychotic which is mostly used for the treatment of schizophrenia. OCD and Schizophrenia are in no way related. OCD is caused by the reuptake of serotonin in the synapses and schizophrenia by your brain producing too much dopamine. Seroquel cuts off the production of dopamine. There was absolutely no reason for them to put me on Seroquel... except that I found later that this office put almost everyone on Seroquel because the firm had a deal with the makers that saw them paying the firm more money for every Seroquel prescription. It wasn't until I went to school and studied cognitive psychology that I realized this was a bit weird.

They did the same thing with anxiety and panic attacks for years. They treated it like depression. A panic attack is essentially and over active adrenal gland and the adrenaline spiking a very natural response to the flight or flight mode. They try to suppress this and it doesn't cure it. By suppressing it it only makes you more prone to depression. The irony. I always opt for holistic doctors when I can. Went to one for years.