There is a worse pandemic than COVID-19. It is a pandemic that annually kills more people through suicide than COVID. That pandemic is depression. This is the first in a two-part article on depression in America. Depression is the prevailing mental illness of this generation. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in 2021. This number represented 8.4% of all U.S. adults. Why? Why are so many Americans depressed? Causes of depression are hard to determine but here are eight suggested reasons:
- Exhaustion, burnout, fatigue. Many Americans are exhausted and have nothing left in the tank to withstand the pressures of life. They are exhausted from their jobs, marriages, parenting and family demands. They’re exhausted from trying to live up to the expectations of others. Exhaustion can take its toll and lead to depression.
- Fear. Too many Americans see the culture deteriorating before their very eyes and they are afraid. Their values and belief in the American dream are evaporating. Add to that the divisiveness of the current political scene, and they are in a constant state of anxiety. Fear begins to morph into hopelessness and soon depression.
- Finances. For many their financial income is not keeping up with their expenses. The average U.S. household with debt now owes $155,622, or more than $15 trillion altogether, including debt from credit cards, mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, student loans and other household obligations — up 6.2% from a year ago. Financial debt breeds hopelessness and despair. It says, “We will never get out of debt.”
- Health. If you haven’t had COVID-19 or one of the many variants yet you’re blessed. Many have had the coronavirus. Some have had few or no symptoms, others have been very sick from it, and many have died from it, often alone. As of 1/29/22, 885,136 deaths have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with 90% attributable to COVID-19 and the remaining 10% list COVID-19 as a contributing cause of death. In addition to COVID-19, there are innumerable other health issues from cancer to heart disease to kidney failure causing Americans concern. Sickness very often leads to depression because those who are ill begin to tell themselves, “I’ll never get well.”
- Family. The stress of providing for the family, the worry about what your children are learning in school and who their friends are, the busyness of family activities, the subtle pressure of keeping up with the lifestyle of others. In addition to all that, depression can run in the family. All of that takes a toll on us and can bring us down to the point of depression.
- Addictions. Alcohol is a depressant but all addictions have the potential to spiral someone into depression. Addictions cause one to feel trapped with no escape. That trapped feeling breeds a sense of hopelessness and depression.
- Loneliness. More than aloneness, loneliness is the emotion people experience when they feel isolated even in the midst of a crowd. They lack connection to another, something which is vital to all human beings. All of us need to feel wanted, loved, needed, and connected to someone. When that feeling is not present, loneliness and depression can set in.
- Loss. Whether it is the loss of a spouse through death or divorce, loss of a job, death of a child, or parent or sibling, loss is the single most common cause of depression. On the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory, 7 out of the top 10 stressors were loss-related. The connection between stress and depression is well established. Unabated stress causes depression.
Those are the eight possible causes of depression that my research turned up. Next month, in my second article on depression, I’ll address the cure for depression. You won’t want to miss it!
There is joy in Jesus,
Irv