Posted by JohnL on June 18, 2000, at 5:55:16
In reply to On the razor's edge, posted by dj on June 17, 2000, at 22:06:56
DJ,
I was deeply moved by your descriptions and observations. You drew me into it like a novel. Very heartfelt.
I think you are correct that there are psycho-social trends in motion here influencing increased rates of mental illness. To add a slight twist to it, I believe each of us is genetically predisposed to be vulnerable to one thing or another. Someone for example who never smokes, yet has the gene for cancer vulnerability, may die of cancer from working a summer job where others smoke. And someone else who smokes all their life, but has genetically preprogrammed cancer resistent genes, will never get cancer. Like George Burns. How is it possible to smoke so may cigars and be 100 years old simultaneously? Depending on what we are individually genetically vulnerable to, environmental triggers set it into motion. Society as it has been going since the 1960's seems to be providing a lot of triggers. The susceptibilities were there all along, since the beginning of time. But now the catalysts, or triggers, are becoming numerous. Weird way to think of it, huh?
But of course, I don't mean to imply depression is a new age phenomenon. Even my great grandmother decades ago suffered horrible depressions. One of them was a 7 year long bout with no apparent cause. And no good medications then either. But back then it was something kept private and confidential, or ended in suicide without public knowledge of why the suicide took place. So it just doesn't show up in the historical statistics. Even famous people in the Bible suffered mental illnesses their whole lives. Though it's not new, I think current day society has a way of exposing the illness and setting off more triggers. Both may be factors in the perception that mental illness is on the rise.
poster:JohnL
thread:37668
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000610/msgs/37682.html