Major Depressive Disorders Have an Enormous Economic Impact
&gt; The number of US adults with MDD increased by 12.9%, from 15.5 to 17.5 million, between 2010 and 2018, whereas the proportion of adults with MDD aged 18–34 years increased from 34.6 to 47.5<p>If about half of young adults suffer from a disorder, it makes me question if it’s a disorder at all. And the noted impact of economic factors and things like Covid highlight the “nurture” aspect of the disorder instead of “nurture” (e.g. the “chemical imbalance” internet myth).<p>I’ve been diagnosed with MDD, GAD, ADHD, and  bipolar type 1 but after I suffered a manic episode while on psych meds , I really dug into the research of psychiatrists and now have the controversial opinion it’s very weak science riding on the coattails of the rest of Western medicine and is obviously influenced by the for profit pharmaceutical companies. The DSM 5 wasn’t even created in the open.<p>Both as societies and as individuals, we need to introspect on how we can be so relatively wealthy yet so often so fundamentally unhappy. And the idea that half of the population has a brain disorder rather than is in a bad environment and conditioned by circumstances to feel that way seems hard to believe.<p>I’m very interested in the anti psychiatry movement which includes a small minority  of medical professionals, and I’m more open to sane ideas that I used to consider “new age.” But more than anything, I think many aspects of mental health are like losing weight - very simple but difficult especially in the wrong environment. Close family relationships, diet, exercise, time outdoors, a sense of community, less time on social media - we mostly know that this is the key to feeling better but we desperately want an easier answer in pill from someone in a white coat and our profit driven medical system is more than happy to oblige.