Why are there so many depressed people, people that seems to have everything they need?

Question

And so many men are on anti-depressants pills?

Answer 1

idk

Answer 2

I'm quite lucky on the financial side and i was in a high school in which not many of us weren't rich. i have friends from various backgrounds and quite weirdly I find my friends who are poorer happier than my rich friends.. Maybe because nowadays it's easier to get what you want .. stupid example: before to calculate, you needed to do it yourself, now there's the calculator; you need to find an info, go on google, no more need to search in books... It's stupid but we don't need to "work" as much now so we get lazier. WAnd the lazier you are, the more your life is empty so people get depressed because they are lazy...

And for those who have everything, I guess they are just bored to h**l since they don't need to do anything to have what they want...  

Answer 3

they obviously don't have everything they need.

Answer 4

People look at clinical depression the wrong way.

It's not that you're sad because you don't have things you need (which is just sadness, not clinical depression) it's that there's a chemical deficiency in your brain that is beyond your control that makes you feel things and you don't know why.

There are many causes--genetics, lifestyle, diet

Answer 5

Don't assume that "having things" will give anyone lasting happiness.

People with no goal to work toward will ultimately become depressed.

Humans are goal striving machines. Many people die shortly after they retire and many people find empty feelings when they achieve shallow goals.

Answer 6

You hit on very valid point.There is a difference between a clinical depression, that is the world's No.1 mental disorder , recognized through classic symptoms and  the depression you've mentioned. People that seems to have everything they need, apparently do not need to suffer from depression . Nevertheless they do, that is a psychological depression  Why? is a good question and here's how I see this problem.

We live in turbulent times of accelerated internal and external reorganization. It means  we are in the process of releasing  old foundational structure that no longer functions and building new foundations that are firmly rooted in new energy. Imagine such enormous transformations and  its  implications.We often feel out of control, even confused. As human being, we tend to fear the unknown. This is why even the smallest change to the status quo  can inspire a tendency to be depressed with the companion of never -failing question "What if..." Don't forget , we are feeling the effects of global warming too. Also, the deep changes are not only occuring in the outside world, they are also occuring within us and often lead to depression.  Inflation in food, energy and medical cost exceds salary increases, good reason for psychological disorder. We experience so many outside pressure { including the media} that has bombarded us with how we should act,walk, feel, work, play and so on. In this picture, seems to be easy to see  only chaos and difficulty in the future time. We have become a society of excess. We have to have more than our neighbor, and we have to have it perfect.So we stress ourselves almost to death looking for the perfect present. And here's the most important factor.Each person has his/her  own reasons for modern depression. Perhaps people , like me, have lost a loved one and the days will come, just aren't  the same anymore.Other reasons can be  a major personal disappointments , dealing with a chronic illness the effect of pesimistic thinking even the issue of self-esteem, unrealistic expectations, time constrains, financial stress, buried memories of past, ,fear of failure, fear of loss, even fear of success and of course fear of death. I know a fun cause of psychological depression, some people are going to be depressed that they spend serious money for gifts knowing that receive a junk in return. Let me to tell you medical reason too, lack of physical exercises, even a minimal ones. People that seems to have everything , have at least a car for buying a litre milk. Also most people are affected in winter and it is because a reduction in sunlight.

Self-love has the great importance of moving up and out of such kind of depression

At the heart of such result are a few basic question:

-who am I?

-what is most important to me?

-how do I bring a bit of joy into my life?

Good health to you without any kind of depression

Answer 7

I suppose what you want is never enough, when you've got it it never seems that good. I suffered from major depression for many years, it has all to do with how you view yourself. I hated antidepressants they turned me into a zombie and never made anything better.

I think there is a lot to be said for being positive.

Answer 8

Just because you have everything you could ever want or need, doesn't mean you can't get depressed. It's an emotional discrepancy caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. It's a lot of times (but not necessarily always genetic). Anti-depressants (sometimes) help this. Just as many women as men are on anti-depressants. The idea that having "a lot" or "just enough to suffice" or lack thereof has no impact on whether or not a person is depressed

Answer 9

  I don't think Depression is new, i believe lots of people years ago suffered from Depression , but nobody put a name to it. Some people were called lazy, stupid, a no good, because they just could not get up to do things that other people did on a daily basis.

    Years ago when a family member  was probably in a great depression and they just shut down, the family just referred to them as well you know aunt emma or uncle Fred has always been kind of off for years, because they just stayed in their room.

    Now days with modern medical break throughs we know that when an otherwise healthy person suddenly over time becomes sad, and withdrawn, something is  definitely wrong

    As for having everything they need, that has no bearing on Depression.  I sometimes wonder  with young people that become depressed if it hasn't got something to do with their home life.So often both parents work and when they come home they don't notice that their child has become  so reclusive lately and spends so much time in their room.  Or the elderly person, that years ago lived with the eldest son  or daughter on the farm and always had a place of respect and dignity in the home up until they died there, surrounded by their grandkids.  Now they are shipped off to senior citizen facilities, where in lots of cases they are all but forgotten by their families, no wonder they are depressed.

Answer 10

In our materialistic and acquisitive society, we believe that happiness, contentment, lasting joy and fulfillment can be ours if we are rich and famous, etc. But looking at the lives of people who are wealthy and famous, one will quickly realise that very often these things do not bring them the inner peace that poets, philosophers and religious teachers talk about, and to which many common people aspire. Look at how many famous and rich people who have committed suicide or are depressed. Anti-depressants and chemical pick-me-ups are the best selling drug preparations today.

Material things meet our material needs, but they do not meet our deepest psychological and spiritual needs. Unfortunately, having been told that they need to 'go on a spiritual quest', many rich and famous fall victims to scams spun by religious nuts and cults.From this point of view, people like Dawkins, Harris, Hutchins, and especially Karl Marx, are right. They seek the opiate of fantasy and delusion. But worse, many are addicted to pills, although they are useful for short-term intervention.

We are not just merely flesh and blood - material. We all have a spiritual aspect to our selves and unless the whole person is satisfied, there will always be a yawning chasm inside us which we may try not to peer into but into which we will fall one day.  This chasm can only be banished by the True Light of the World. He has said, "Ask and it shall given, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you." There is a deep thirst in many that can only be slaked by drinking from the True Spring. We are not talking about -isms and movements or organisations. Avoid these as they are there to rip you off. Seek only the Truth.

Thus spake the Lamas.

Answer 11

depression is neurological, caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. hence teenagers often go through depressive phases during puberty because of a high level of hormones in their system.  the brain doesn't choose to be depressed. anti depressants help to control and balance this flow of chemicals.

Answer 12

I think it is because people are never satisfy with what they have, always taking things they own for granted. People with personality type A (ambitious, high-achiever, competitive) are not easily satisfied, they tend to suppress and keep their negative feelings to themselves. Most of the time, men fall into this category of personality. In Asian countries like China and Japan, men are grown up in more conservative society which teach them of hardship and responsibilty as the bread-winner, hence, seldom pouring their feelings to others.  

Answer 13

Even people who have everything they need, material wise, can be depressed because they are lacking something else - love. A person can have all the possessions in the world but if they want love, and don't get it, that's all it takes to plunge them into the pit of depression.

Answer 14

Cause wats the point its no fun when u can just have everything u want.....-__-

Answer 15

not everyone has everything they need.

like.. i had to move in with my dad. so now me and my bf have a distance problem. we cant see eachother anymore or anything :[

sux.

theres plenty of reasons why people are depressed these days.

neglected. beaten. hurt. heartbroken. ...u get it...

Answer 16

depression is a mental illness.

there life may not have anything to do

with being depressed but is a main cause.

its what people think about that

causes depression to. some people

may have everything they need. but

sometimes theres things going on in there

head/mind. that causes them to suffer

from the ilness.

hope that helped

Answer 17

i might possibly be suffering from either possible anxiety, or mild depression, not to sure why but itdoesn't mean that i don't appreciate my life, because really i do, im thankful for my family but some things just happen that we can't control.

Answer 18

When you have to struggle to survive or earn your daily bread, you can't afford to be depressed. You usually don't bother too much with The Meaning of Life or Is There A God or  Why Are We Here, either. Depression in the form we see it is a condition only found in wealthy countries, surprisingly often in otherwise healthy people, and appear when you have everything you need.

Of course poor people can be depressed, too, but it's not as common.

Women are still more prone to depression and anxiety and overall, there are more women who are diagnosed with and treated for depression, but you're right in that the number of depressed men has increased over the past 50 years. I think it's partly because men have lost ground in most areas and don't know how to deal with it. Men generally aren't as good as women at adapting to changes. But the gender issue is really a minor problem.

Answer 19

When you have depression you can also have ill health,if you don't have your health ,you have nothing because you feel so ill all the time.Men also get depressed hence the anti-depressants and they balance up the chemicals in the brain to relieve the depression.

Answer 20

because there are infectious virons that pass the blood brain barrier, caused by many chronic illnesses, or even short term ones for that matter.

then we have the environment, pollution, sensetive to chemicals....

stress......

the shame of it all is that anti-depressants don't work as well as intended.......after all they are chemically made, plus they don't work on viral infections known to pass the blood brain barrier.....or bacterial infections that pass the blood brain barrier....

depression isn't something that is caused by having everything a person needs.

Answer 21

Depression is a mental illness not a state of mind.  

Just having everything you need doesn't make this illness go away.  It is a deeply complex thing and there are many triggers for it.  

A report into anti-depressants a few years ago showed that some doctors don't believe in depression, and others handed out anti-depressants after a 5 minute appointment and didn't refer the patient to the correct psychiatric team.

Those who haven't suffered this crippling illness think that people just need to pick themselves up and get on with it, but unfortunately it isn't that simple.

Answer 22

I don't know why, I always think that people have it worse then I do so I really don't get why so many people are depressed. But then again look at the times, War, foreclosures, everyone is in debt, and no jobs.

So many people are a paycheck away from being homeless.

Answer 23

if i knew that i could help the poor guys.

Answer 24

im 16.

laugh all day.

but i fell like **** when i get.

sometimes crank up the metal and cry.

me becaouse i feel like ive been a screwup, and theres like nothing to live for, but im trying to find something.

thinkin of doing better in school. get into yale.

Answer 25

simply because they do have everything.  striving to save for something is not a challenge.people need goals in life, not have everything handed on a plate.they need to be gainfully employed, save up for what they want,. work hard & play hard, keeps the mind active & content.you don't need material things to be happy., trust me

as for pills, people who need them  only think they do.

Answer 26

well obviously you're lucky enough not to sufer from depression. I do and it has nothing to do with 'having everything you need'.  

Answer 27

because there is this thing called chemical imbalance...and some people are just not contented with what they have...

Answer 28

I just got done answering a question similar to yours. With some people, or shall I say most people, its not a choice, it is a chemical imbalance in the brain. High or low Serotonin levels along with other neurotransmitters and hormone levels will cause depression. Our body makes these to control our moods, if they are off then there is no way possible that these people can put their minds to being happy. Their brain wont allow it. The body works in crazy ways.

Answer 29

lifes a game u never know wat u want  and  change the outcome

Answer 30

Hello,

(ANS) I think a LARGE part of this problem is too do with quality of life that many of us experience in this country. Also the way we treat each other in our society. Many are very miserable, unhappy & depressed, why? I think some of the reasons are that money, & the accumulation of ever more material goods cannot satisfy the inner emptiness we feel inside. Materialism & money can never fill up that inner emptiness. The inner emptiness cannot be filled up by traditional conceptions of god or religion either, the inner emptiness is a spiritual & emotional problem, its about love and how we have increasingly lost sight of the importance of good relationships.

Work & work pressures, pressures on time, the credit crunch, etc the very force of capitalism is now the very thing that is ruining our relationships with each other. The lack of quality time to relate, to just be with each other, to sit down & listen, to give time. We have lost sight of the real value of these simple yet fundamentally important things. Relationships require time its that simple in some ways really.

**time that work & capitalism takes away from us, we have a time deficit we have less time than ever before. That's at the core of this problem IMO.

Kind Regards Ivan.

Answer 31

As someone who is coming off anti depressants after many years, I believe the reasons are multiple.

1) Genetics.

2) Trauma - some horrendous things happened in my life

3) Self-indulgence/immaturity. No-one is perfect and I hold my hand up to these.

4) Living in a materialistic, boring, shallow, self-obssessed repetitive culture. There is a fantastic line in a James Frey book, which says that every American should be forced to go to India at least once, so that people can see how lucky we are, and how f***ing stupid we are. I'm British but the same applies. My father was Iraqi, and one thing that always brought him profound pleasure was doing the weekly shop, which most Westeners would consider a chore, because he never got over the sheer range and availability of products in the West.