4 ms·

one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year This is something that frightens me. What is a "diagnosable mental disorder"? I'm

one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year This is something that frightens me. What is a "diagnosable mental disorder"? I'm willing to bet this statement was far from true 50 or a 100 years ago. Not because I think people got more depressed or anxious, but rather because we're looking harder to "diagnose" things. I think there's a big danger, especially in psychological afflictions, to always "look for" problems with yourself. This may be a cultural thing as well. Until I came to the US (I'm from Germany), I never asked myself "Am I depressed?", "Is this what depression feels like?" when I was aving a down day. I also never considered that I may have/have had ADD now/as a kid but now people tell me I should "get that checked out" all the time.

ceol 14y ago
The winter blues are a real thing.[0] Wil could have very well been talking about that, which is fairly common. It's something you might not personally notice, but it helps to have someone else give their opinion. [0]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder
jmitcheson 14y ago
I think you are right that these things were less common 50 or a 100 years ago, but consider this (first comment on the blog) "It’s not a job that I want, or that I even feel really suited for, and it’s not paying what I need, but after 11 months of unemployment, you take what you can get. I’m not going to spill all my guts here, but life is really starting to suck for me, mostly because I’m shoulder-deep in debt and can’t see a way to scrabble myself back up. This is an important fact because with how little I make, and how much I owe, I no longer can afford health insurance." How common was this situation 50 or 100 years ago? And 100 years ago people would have had better support systems from living in smaller communities. Modern life causes depression; I don't think it's necessarily an over diagnosis.
- Evbn 14y ago
  50 or 100 years ago a person might have flat out starved in the street, or died of an illness that no money could buy a cure for at the time. Modern life causes more depression because basic necessities of life are too easy (on a historcal scale) and so our brains are too idle most of the time, so they get caught on logic bugs.
lsc 14y ago
>This is something that frightens me. What is a "diagnosable mental disorder"? I'm willing to bet this statement was far from true 50 or a 100 years ago. Not because I think people got more depressed or anxious, but rather because we're looking harder to "diagnose" things. Eh, 50-100 years ago, we couldn't do anything about it, so why bother? now we can do something about it, and I think that's a good thing. > I also never considered that I may have/have had ADD now/as a kid but now people tell me I should "get that checked out" all the time. Really? in America? Generally speaking, telling someone else they should see a mental health professional is considered extremely rude, especially for something that is obviously not life-threatening (for instance, ADD. Irritating, but unlikely to kill you.) I mean, that's considered rude in the same way telling someone that they need to lose weight is rude; yeah, it might be true, and eh, the person might even need to hear it, but unless you are the person's doctor or you are /very/ close, it's a very rude thing to say. (note, though, if you do suffer from ADD... I can plot income when I am treated and when I am not treated? the objective difference is... dramatic. Of course, side effects are unpleasant, but the difference is so dramatic I can usually get away with 6 months on, get a lot done, then coast for the next 6-12 months.)
huggah 14y ago
I am quite confident that mental disorders are not just more diagnosed, but also more common than they used to be. I don't know what all the causes are, but I suspect that it is somewhat akin to the "obesity epidemic" and that it has many factors of debatable relevance. There are social and environmental factors that are causing profound differences in disease rates; there's no reason to suspect that mental diseases are any different. For my money, I would say that increase rates (real rates, not diagnosed rates) of mental disorders have gone up considerably due to, in no particular order: * dietary changes * environmental toxins * less time spent outdoors (in bright sunlight) * more sedentary lifestyles * more low-level, long-term stress * broader, shallower social circles (more severely exceeding Dunbar's number) * changes in social norms (less physical contact, more space and time spent alone) Some of the above probably have no effect, and there are probably important factors I didn't mention. But I think that as a population, we are more ill than we were generations back---not just more over-diagnosed or more often diagnosed.
- jcfrei 14y ago
  absolutely agree. I believe that our body and especially our minds aren't prepared for the kind of lifestyle we're living today and that puts a strain on our mental sanity. especially the lack of physical activity I believe can have a seriously negative effect on your body, because you lack the release of dopamines and endorphines. furthermore I you're a frequent HN, reddit or similiar reader, the information overload might cause confusion and disorientation (in terms of mental goals) and also lead to depression. You're also more prone to lose touch with your body when all you're focused on is your work or the computer, you might just need a certain minimal level of social interaction to stay happy. I think it's wrong to believe that with enough will power you can work all day in front of the computer. it will eventually run you down, you'll become less productive and as a result less happy.

ceol 14y ago

The winter blues are a real thing.[0] Wil could have very well been talking about that, which is fairly common. It's something you might not personally notice, but it helps to have someone else give their opinion. [0]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder

jmitcheson 14y ago

I think you are right that these things were less common 50 or a 100 years ago, but consider this (first comment on the blog) "It’s not a job that I want, or that I even feel really suited for, and it’s not paying what I need, but after 11 months of unemployment, you take what you can get. I’m not going to spill all my guts here, but life is really starting to suck for me, mostly because I’m shoulder-deep in debt and can’t see a way to scrabble myself back up. This is an important fact because with how little I make, and how much I owe, I no longer can afford health insurance." How common was this situation 50 or 100 years ago? And 100 years ago people would have had better support systems from living in smaller communities. Modern life causes depression; I don't think it's necessarily an over diagnosis.

Evbn 14y ago
50 or 100 years ago a person might have flat out starved in the street, or died of an illness that no money could buy a cure for at the time. Modern life causes more depression because basic necessities of life are too easy (on a historcal scale) and so our brains are too idle most of the time, so they get caught on logic bugs.

lsc 14y ago

>This is something that frightens me. What is a "diagnosable mental disorder"? I'm willing to bet this statement was far from true 50 or a 100 years ago. Not because I think people got more depressed or anxious, but rather because we're looking harder to "diagnose" things. Eh, 50-100 years ago, we couldn't do anything about it, so why bother? now we can do something about it, and I think that's a good thing. > I also never considered that I may have/have had ADD now/as a kid but now people tell me I should "get that checked out" all the time. Really? in America? Generally speaking, telling someone else they should see a mental health professional is considered extremely rude, especially for something that is obviously not life-threatening (for instance, ADD. Irritating, but unlikely to kill you.) I mean, that's considered rude in the same way telling someone that they need to lose weight is rude; yeah, it might be true, and eh, the person might even need to hear it, but unless you are the person's doctor or you are /very/ close, it's a very rude thing to say. (note, though, if you do suffer from ADD... I can plot income when I am treated and when I am not treated? the objective difference is... dramatic. Of course, side effects are unpleasant, but the difference is so dramatic I can usually get away with 6 months on, get a lot done, then coast for the next 6-12 months.)

huggah 14y ago

I am quite confident that mental disorders are not just more diagnosed, but also more common than they used to be. I don't know what all the causes are, but I suspect that it is somewhat akin to the "obesity epidemic" and that it has many factors of debatable relevance. There are social and environmental factors that are causing profound differences in disease rates; there's no reason to suspect that mental diseases are any different. For my money, I would say that increase rates (real rates, not diagnosed rates) of mental disorders have gone up considerably due to, in no particular order: * dietary changes * environmental toxins * less time spent outdoors (in bright sunlight) * more sedentary lifestyles * more low-level, long-term stress * broader, shallower social circles (more severely exceeding Dunbar's number) * changes in social norms (less physical contact, more space and time spent alone) Some of the above probably have no effect, and there are probably important factors I didn't mention. But I think that as a population, we are more ill than we were generations back---not just more over-diagnosed or more often diagnosed.

jcfrei 14y ago
absolutely agree. I believe that our body and especially our minds aren't prepared for the kind of lifestyle we're living today and that puts a strain on our mental sanity. especially the lack of physical activity I believe can have a seriously negative effect on your body, because you lack the release of dopamines and endorphines. furthermore I you're a frequent HN, reddit or similiar reader, the information overload might cause confusion and disorientation (in terms of mental goals) and also lead to depression. You're also more prone to lose touch with your body when all you're focused on is your work or the computer, you might just need a certain minimal level of social interaction to stay happy. I think it's wrong to believe that with enough will power you can work all day in front of the computer. it will eventually run you down, you'll become less productive and as a result less happy.