It seems that everyone and their mother has anxiety and depression these days. Perhaps I am exaggerating by saying everyone, but I seem to encounter somebody on a daily basis that has at least one of these conditions. My question is, when did this all start?
Believe me when I say that I am not one of these people that believes that anxiety and depression are figments of people's imagination or signs of weakness. They are recognized by the APA as legitimate psychological conditions and should be respected as such. My point is that I never remember anyone from my parents' generation talking about anxiety and depression the way people talk about it today, and I am not sure why that is.
If I am correct in this assumption, it begs the question; when did anxiety and depression start to become so prevalent, and even more to the point, why have they become such big problems? When one looks at the statistics and sees the number of Americans on antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication, the figures are staggering. I have a number of friends and colleagues who are prescribed such medications and say they could not function without them.
Believe me when I say that I am not one of these people that believes that anxiety and depression are figments of people's imagination or signs of weakness. They are recognized by the APA as legitimate psychological conditions and should be respected as such. My point is that I never remember anyone from my parents' generation talking about anxiety and depression the way people talk about it today, and I am not sure why that is.
If I am correct in this assumption, it begs the question; when did anxiety and depression start to become so prevalent, and even more to the point, why have they become such big problems? When one looks at the statistics and sees the number of Americans on antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication, the figures are staggering. I have a number of friends and colleagues who are prescribed such medications and say they could not function without them.