Depression (part 1)
Yeah I went in and out of depression throughout the past 3 or 4 months. But that's not what this post is about. It is my struggle with depression that has lead to my concern for others in this area.
I watched the movie Prozac Nation. It sucks. But anyways it ended w/ this fact:
OVER 300 MILLION PRESCRIPTIONS FOR PROZAC ARE FILED EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES.
Holy crap! There's 256 million people in the US already. I'm assuming each prescription lasts for a month. That's a ton of people, and that's not including the other anti-depressant drugs that people are on. America, what the piss is wrong with you?! Why is everyone so depressed?????
Facts/Stories that I believe shed light on this travesty:
When the group from RUF went to Belize this is one of the stories they told:
The kids and families are so happy there. The kids wear the same shirt every day of the week b/c that's all they have. The poor families that live in two-room houses live in the same neighborhoods as the rich which seems like that atmosphere would breed envy and covetousness. Yet the families and their kids are content. It's like they don't know any different.
The world's poorest countries have the lowest suicide rates. Of course, America has one of the highest rates per capita. In my opinion, it is because the South American and African countries are more family oriented, and they live less stressful lives because their lives are simpler.
I think Peggy Noonan hit the nail on the head:
“Our ancestors believed in two worlds, and believed THIS world to be the solitary, poor nasty one. Our generation is among the first to believe that we can find our happiness here completely on earth. And our search for it has actually produced unhappiness. The reason is this: if you do not believe in an other, higher world, then you think that this place (earth) is your only hope of happiness; then when you are denied happiness in this world, you aren’t just disappointed, you’re in despair.”
Remember the book King Solomon (known to be one of the wisest kings ever) wrote? He explained how he had everything: servants, musicians at his beck and call, popularity, friends, abundant and kinky sex, the best food ever, and anything money could buy. And his response was: "all of this is meaningless... I hate life." His conclusion to his problem: seek after the things of God not the things of men. May we strive against our natural flesh to believe that this is true.
Yeah I went in and out of depression throughout the past 3 or 4 months. But that's not what this post is about. It is my struggle with depression that has lead to my concern for others in this area.
I watched the movie Prozac Nation. It sucks. But anyways it ended w/ this fact:
OVER 300 MILLION PRESCRIPTIONS FOR PROZAC ARE FILED EACH YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES.
Holy crap! There's 256 million people in the US already. I'm assuming each prescription lasts for a month. That's a ton of people, and that's not including the other anti-depressant drugs that people are on. America, what the piss is wrong with you?! Why is everyone so depressed?????
Facts/Stories that I believe shed light on this travesty:
When the group from RUF went to Belize this is one of the stories they told:
The kids and families are so happy there. The kids wear the same shirt every day of the week b/c that's all they have. The poor families that live in two-room houses live in the same neighborhoods as the rich which seems like that atmosphere would breed envy and covetousness. Yet the families and their kids are content. It's like they don't know any different.
The world's poorest countries have the lowest suicide rates. Of course, America has one of the highest rates per capita. In my opinion, it is because the South American and African countries are more family oriented, and they live less stressful lives because their lives are simpler.
I think Peggy Noonan hit the nail on the head:
“Our ancestors believed in two worlds, and believed THIS world to be the solitary, poor nasty one. Our generation is among the first to believe that we can find our happiness here completely on earth. And our search for it has actually produced unhappiness. The reason is this: if you do not believe in an other, higher world, then you think that this place (earth) is your only hope of happiness; then when you are denied happiness in this world, you aren’t just disappointed, you’re in despair.”
Remember the book King Solomon (known to be one of the wisest kings ever) wrote? He explained how he had everything: servants, musicians at his beck and call, popularity, friends, abundant and kinky sex, the best food ever, and anything money could buy. And his response was: "all of this is meaningless... I hate life." His conclusion to his problem: seek after the things of God not the things of men. May we strive against our natural flesh to believe that this is true.
posted by Martin | 3:35 PM
1 Comments:
I agree and I think the sheer volume of things we have available to us--McDonalds, Walmart, porn, 5000 channels, the Internet 24/7--exacerbates bipolar tendencies and depression in all of us.
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