Depression, Medicalisation, And The Pursuit Of Happiness

According to research published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, major depression rates for American adults increased from 3.33 percent to 7.06 from 1991 to 2002. “Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act”(Parekh). Although some may believe that depression is stagnant, more Americans are in fact dealing with depression than in years prior. I heard this and was unsettled. In a time of openness and greater opportunity than ever before, why is depression increasing in Americans? My research has lead to the conclusion that social media, the modernization of western culture, and the average American diet has been leading factors in

Trained in the profession of psychology, Sharon Begley had multiple pieces published in The Wall Street Journal, and conducted several survey critiques of happiness. Begley introduces the article by talking about a book labeled “The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Disorder.” Essentially, the novel depicts how today’s society relies too much on a pill for solving ones disputes. It is normal to feel dismal after an event such as a break up, and instead of letting an individual cope with the feelings the assumption is that a person is depressed and needs to seek medical attention. Begley proceeds to touch on the fact that “...only by experiencing sadness can we experience the fullness of the human condition” (557). It is necessary to feel all different emotions rather than masking them all with one. Begley is not stating that happiness is a bad thing, rather she interprets that it is healthier to be in a state where you can have improvement in your life.

At the individual level, lack of proper treatment for poor mental health and mental illness has a detrimental effect. At a population level, society also suffers from the burden resulting from the lack of treatment options for poor mental health and mental illness, due to loss of productivity from those crippled by poor mental health and mental illness. Evidence has begun to emerge showing that lack of treatment for mental illness -specifically depressive disorders - has been linked “with increased prevalence of chronic diseases.” Currently it is estimated about 26% of adults in the United States suffer from depression.

Throughout the past decade, our society has seen an increase in mental health related issues, and the tragic consequences that can result when an individual is unable or unwilling to seek help. There are many kinds of mental health diseases that are notated in medical literature, and despite humans being strong physically, the human brain which is the strongest organ becomes the body’s kryptonite. The history of mental health in our society dates back many centuries, some as early as the era of Hippocrates where mental health was thought of demonic possession. As our society expanded their knowledge, as to the respect of mental health, policies and procedures have been put in place to protect those who are suffering.

To be depressed and joyless is just insupportable in today's society, happiness is becoming an argument in today's world. The article, “Happiness: Enough Already” by Sharon Begley, is to inform people that everyone undervalues the state of being happy; instead, they wanna push away the natural process of healing from melancholia. I believe this article can be directed to anybody who has suffered a maximum of happiness and sadness at least once, which almost every human being has or will experience once in their lifetime. The author makes valid statements throughout the article, an example would be everyone does not want to acknowledge that they are depressed, they either wanna “pop” a pill and forget about it or emotionally try to forget about it by just showing happy expressions. Even though everyone wants to have maximum happiness all the time, being depressed or heart

By making depression seem ambiguous and less severe than it really is, the general population became more inclined to use the antidepressants. By depicting depression as kokoro no kaze, “it implied that [depression] was not the severe condition it was once thought to be and therefore should carry no social stigma…[and] suggested that the choice of taking a medication for depression should be as simple and worry-free as buying a cough syrup or an antihistamine” (Watters 524). The last message portrayed to the general public is the phrase “depression [is] ubiquitous” (Watters 525). By using the analogy to connect the common cold to depression, GlaxoSmithKline downplayed the severity of the mental illness and as a result, made the general population more open to acknowledging the possibility of having a mental illness and thus making depression a social and societal norm. “Depression was so broadly defined by the marketers that it clearly encompassed classic emotions and behaviors formerly attributed to the melancholic personality type” (Watters 525). Depression became “intentionally ambiguous and ill-defined, applicable to the widest possible population and to the widest possible range of discomforts…. The only feature that distinguishes depression as a ‘disease’ from an ordinary depressed mood seems to be the length of time…” (Watters

Whether we are becoming a more depressed population or simply changing the standards by which we diagnose is an area of some controversy. What is certain is that the medical system is now processing and treating—with ever-changing cocktails of psychotherapy, support groups, and pharmaceuticals—20% more Americans every year than the year before. Depression—together with its aftermath—is a staggering epidemic sweeping the country, ravaging countless lives in its

Everyone enjoys happiness. Sure, we exude it a multitude of ways, but overall, everyone loves to be happy. For the majority of our world’s past, people have experienced this emotion through doing activities that make them happy, such as watching a comedy show, exercising, or listening to music. In the more recent decades, however, “happiness pills”, more commonly known as “antidepressants”, have been the substitute for how to feel this emotion. They are prescribed to patients who have been diagnosed with depression in hopes that taking the pill will stop the depression and fill the mind with feelings related to positivity. What researchers have begun to notice though is that sometimes it’s more in the patients head than they think. Because of this observation, placebo pills were introduced as a way to distinguish if antidepressants are truly beneficial for a patient or if the power of positive thinking is enough. One article titled, “Prescriptions for Happiness”, uses the question, “how much greater is the recovery of those taking an active drug as compared to those taking the inactive placebo” as a thesis for their research, and in doing so, they make a few surprising observations.

There will be many topics covered as you continue to read that are related to depression. Clinical Depression is a very serious disorder that affects millions of people in the United States every year. There are many reasons for depression and there are also many signs and symptoms that can help you to identify depression that is affecting someone close to you. Depression can be treated in different forms weather it is through the use of anti depressants, coping, cognitive-behavioral and psychotherapy. There are many situations that can cause each person to get depressed for different reasons and may affect everyone in different ways and have different severities.

If you have ever worked in the healthcare system you will know there are a few patients you will never forget. Some are for good reasons and some are for not so good reasons. There are some patients that are never satisfied no matter how nice you are or how much time you give them. Needy or demanding patients typically are characterized into different subgroups and once insight is gained nurses and medical staff can respond more effectively to their needs.

When first presented with this assignment I was eager to dive-in to consume many of the books on the list and learn from the wisdom of others. In my eagerness, I skimmed the list of books putting subject matters of interest in order from “fascinating” to “I would rather have a root canal”. My anticipation was quickly thwarted when the instructor told me that I was assigned to my “root canal” choice: Crazy: A Father’s Search Through American’s Mental Madness. Mental health is the one field of study that I consciously put effort to avoid and based on the book that neglect is one of the many reasons mental health is in its current

While, there is positive association between having a Western and the increased probability of depression, a recent study also found that there is

Depression is a mental disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. When people are depressed they feel down and lose interest in daily activities. It can cause many physical and mental health disorders such as cardiovascular problems and social disorders, for a couple examples. There are many different kinds of medications and therapies used to treat people with depression.In the book We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride, three individuals lives were brought together by trauma and by coincidence. A main issue in this book is depression and this book McBride shows how a hospitalized veteran is affected and overcomes this issue as the book goes on.

Medicalization is best defined as the way that humans view or treat medical conditions, thus furthering medicine. With new technology and findings, the use of medicine has increased greatly in the twenty-first century. In today’s society, people seem to think that there is a “magic pill” for everything, from a headache to a brain tumor. Scientists and doctors continue to search for a cure to cancer, but they have yet to find one. On the other hand, there are a wide range of conditions that are not considered medical by everyone.

A number of large-scale studies indicate that depression rates have increased worldwide over the past several decades. Furthermore, younger generations are experiencing depression at an earlier age than did previous generations. Social scientists have proposed many explanations, including changes in family structure, urbanization, and reduced cultural and religious influences.