The Three Ds of Doom: Debt, Default, Depression

Charles Hughs Wednesday, July 17, 2019

"Borrowing our way out of debt" generates the three Ds of Doom: debt leads to default which ushers in Depression.

Let's start by defining Economic Depression: a Depression is a Recession that isn't fixed by conventional fiscal and monetary stimulus. In other words, when a recession drags on despite massive fiscal and monetary stimulus being thrown into the economy, then the stimulus-resistant stagnation is called a Depression.

Here's why we're heading into a Depression: debt exhaustion. As the charts below illustrate, the U.S. (and global) economy has only "grown" in the 21st century by expanding debt roughly four times faster than GDP or earned income.

Costs for big-ticket essentials such as housing, healthcare and government services are soaring while wages stagnate or decline in purchasing power.What's purchasing power? Rather than get caught in the endless thicket of defining inflation, ask yourself this: how much of X does one hour of labor buy now compared to 20 years ago? For example, how much healthcare does an hour of labor buy now? How many days of rent does an hour of labor buy now compared to 1999? How many hours of labor are required to pay a parking ticket now compared to 1999?

Our earnings are buying less of every big-ticket expense that's essential, and we've covered the gigantic hole in our budget with debt. The only way the status quo could continue conjuring an illusion of "prosperity" is by borrowing fantastic sums of money, all to be paid with future earnings and taxes.

At some point, the borrower is unable to borrow more. Even at 0.1% rate of interest, borrowers can't borrow more because they can't even manage the principal payment, never mind the interest. That's debt exhaustion: borrowers can't borrow more without ramping up the risk of default.

When wages are stagnant and big-ticket items are soaring in cost, that leaves less available to service more debt. We can cover expenses by borrowing more for a while, but there's an endgame to this trick: even at zero interest, servicing the debt exceeds income.

Marginal borrowers default, and the resulting losses collapse marginal lenders.Recall that every debt is somebody else's asset and income stream. When a student defaults on a student loan, that erases the asset and income stream of a mutual fund, pension fund, etc.

In other words, defaults are not cost free. They wipe out assets and income streams, never to return.

For the past 20 years, the trick to escaping recessions has been to lower interest rates and flood the financial system with new credit. If everyone would just borrow more and spend every cent of the new money, the economy will start "growing" again.

But we've reached the point where most wage earners can't borrow more, corporations shouldn't borrow more and the top tier of earners no longer want to borrow more. Governments can always borrow more, but eventually servicing the ballooning debt starts crowding out other spending, and the solution--borrowing more to cover the interest payments--spirals out of control.

Lowering interest rates and giving banks and financiers "free money" doesn't increase wages or household incomes or corporate profits. Nor do these monetary tricks magically turn marginal borrowers into creditworthy risks.

Borrowing more to fill the hole left by declining purchasing power only works in the short-term. We've burned the 20 years that this trickery can work, and now we face the endgame: borrowing more only increases defaults, which trigger losses in wealth and income that will be measured in the trillions.      More..

Study: Facebook Can Cause Depression

Zerohedge 11/16/2018

A new report conducted by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania have determined that an excessive amount of time on “social media” sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are making millennials depressed.

“It was striking,” said Melissa Hunt, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the study. “What we found over the course of three weeks was that rates of depression and loneliness went down significantly for people who limited their (social media) use.”

The study, “No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression," is being published in December’s Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

Researchers recruited 143 students for two different trials, one in the spring semester and one in the fall semester. Each subject was required to have a Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat account, plus an Apple iPhone. They collected data on the students for about a week to get a baseline reading of their social media usage, and also had them submit questionnaires that assessed their mental health according to seven different factors: social support, fear of missing out, loneliness, autonomy, and self-acceptance, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem.

“Here’s the bottom line,” Hunt explained to Science Daily. “Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness. These effects are particularly pronounced for folks who were more depressed when they came into the study.”

Very common vitamin deficiency linked to higher levels of depression

Spring  March 30, 2015

Almost half of young women have insufficient vitamin D levels, which is linked to depression.

The new study also found that over one-third of young women had signs of clinical depression.

Dr David Kerr, the psychologist who led the study, said:

“Depression has multiple, powerful causes and if vitamin D is part of the picture, it is just a small part.
But given how many people are affected by depression, any little inroad we can find could have an important impact on public health.”

While many suspect a link between the vitamin deficiency and depression, studies have not often confirmed it.

Dr Kerr continued:

“The new study was prompted in part because there is a widely held belief that vitamin D and depression are connected, but there is not actually much scientific research out there to support the belief.
I think people hear that vitamin D and depression can change with the seasons, so it is natural for them to assume the two are connected.”

Exercise is the best treatment for depression

Psyblog  June 6, 2017

A brisk walk three times a week can actually beat antidepressant medication in treating major depression, research finds.

The results come from a study on three groups of elderly people with major depressive disorder.

One group were given the exercise, another given antidepressant medication and the third both.

The results showed that all three groups improved the same amount.

Professor James Blumenthal, the study’s first author, said:

“One of the conclusions we can draw from this is that exercise may be just as effective as medication and may be a better alternative for certain patients.”

The results showed that after exercise almost two-thirds of participants were no longer depressed after 16 weeks.

One of the problems with exercise is that it may take a little longer to take effect.

Professor Blumenthal said:

“While we don’t know why exercise confers such a benefit, this study shows that exercise should be considered as a credible form of treatment for these patients.
Almost one-third of depressed patients in general do not respond to medications, and for others, the medications can cause unwanted side effects.
Exercise should be considered a viable option.”

Exercise could be particularly beneficial because people are taking an active role, rather than passively taking a pill, Professor Blumenthal said:

“Simply taking a pill is very passive.
Patients who exercised may have felt a greater sense of mastery over their condition and gained a greater sense of accomplishment.
They felt more self-confident and had better self-esteem because they were able to do it themselves, and attributed their improvement to their ability to exercise.
These findings could change the way some depressed patients are treated, especially those who are not interested in taking anti-depressants.
While these medications have been proven to be effective, many people want to avoid the side effects or are looking for a more ‘natural’ way of feeling better.”

The antidepressant tested in the study was sertraline, which is marketed as Zoloft.

Antidepressants may do more harm than good

Psy  03/02/2018
Antidepressants may do more harm than good, according to a review looking at the drug’s impact on the whole body.

While the drugs may be effective at alleviating depression, they have considerable side-effects.

The researchers found three studies that suggest people taking antidepressants die at a higher rate.

One study has even suggested antidepressants may increase the risk of death by 33%.

Exercise has the potential to be an effective approach to both treating and preventing depressive symptoms

By Bernalyn Ruiz May 5, 2017

A new study published in The British Medical Journal compares the effects of varying amounts of exercise on preventing depressive symptoms in older adults. There has been limited research to date on the long-term mental health effects of exercise within older adult populations. Utilizing a prospective approach, the authors compared four types (duration/frequency) of moderate exercise and found evidence that persistent low amounts of exercise can have physical and psychological benefits for older adults.

Persistent low-volume practice (less than 15 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day) was shown to have preventive effects on depressive symptoms, similar to the effects of 30 minutes of exercise, the authors explain.

Exercise has the potential to be an effective approach to both treating and preventing depressive symptoms. As the authors point out, there is evidence of hippocampal neurogenesis and as a result of exercise, which can have anti-depressive effects. Exercise has also been linked with increases in B-endorphins, vascular endothelial growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and serotonin.    More

Monsanto’s Cancer-Causing Herbicide Detected In Organic Foods

Michelle Toole

Think you can avoid glyphosate by buying organic? Think again. A new investigation by Tropical Traditions reveals that many products in the organic grain market in the U.S. contain glyphosate residue at levels almost the same as conventional grains.

You and your loved ones likely ingested Monsanto’s cancer-causing herbicide with breakfast this morning and the FDA couldn’t care less.

The FDA is demonstrating their incompetence yet again by completely ignoring a critical report that shows how ubiquitous Monsanto’s carcinogenic Roundup has truly become.

According to the report released by the Alliance for Natural Health USA, detectable levels of glyphosate, the chief ingredient in Roundup, were found in numerous breakfast food items. Glyphosate, which has been linked to cancer by the World Health Organization, was found in bread products, cereals and coffee creamers.

What is really concerning, and exemplifies the need for an immediate ban on the carcinogenic herbicide, is that some of the highest levels of the toxic chemical were found in organic foods, such as eggs and breads. The organic eggs tested were especially tainted with glyphosate, far exceeding regulatory standards.

Microbe Infotech Laboratories, founded by former Monsanto scientist Bruce Hemming, conducted the testing. For 25 years, Microbe has been well-respected and is the go-to lab for glyphosate testing by food companies and consumer groups.

The report confirms what many have feared for a long time. Glyphosate is making its way into our food in ways that we may not realize. For example, last year a separate study found 75% of rain and air samples tested positive for Monsanto’s cancer-causing poison. What kind of ramifications do you think this will have for those growing organic gardens? (via march against monsanto)

“The fact that it is showing up in foods like eggs and coffee creamer, which don’t directly contact the herbicide, shows that it’s being passed on by animals who ingest it in their feed,” said Gretchen DuBeau, executive director of ANH-USA. “This is contrary to everything that regulators and industry scientists have been telling the public.”

Why Should We be Concerned about Glyphosate?

Glyphosate is in 80% of our food supply in the U.S., and some scientists believe it may well be the most toxic chemical ever approved for commercial use. Glyphosate is now linked to kidney disease, antibiotic resistant bacteria, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, depression, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, cancer, cachexia, infertility, and developmental malformations. It destroys the microbiome of humans and plants, which is the root cause of many modern diseases.(health impact news)       HHL

The food you eat directly affects your brain

Food is the best medicine. All your cells, bones, signaling molecules, and tissues are built from what you eat. For example, dietary fats are the building blocks of brain tissue and help balance hormones, and muscles are built from protein. Different vitamins and minerals are used to create energy and send electrical impulses along neurons so that we can move, think, and feel. A nourishing diet is the best strategy against depression.

The food we eat affects both our human and microbial cells. Numerous studies have shown that food changes the collection of trillions of beneficial bacteria in our guts, called the microbiome (1). In the name of convenience, flavor, or simply habit, so many of us consume inflammatory foods on a daily basis that increase intestinal permeability (leaky gut), harm the microbiome, and create chronic inflammation that can lead to depression.

Many studies have shown that people who eat an anti-inflammatory diet have significantly lower risks of depression (2-5). A recent study that tracked about 6,500 women over 12 years showed that women eating an anti-inflammatory diet had a 20% lower risk of developing depression than their peers (6). These anti-inflammatory diets consist of healthy fats, vitamins and antioxidants, and plenty of high-quality protein. On the other hand, many foods in the Standard American Diet (SAD) create chronic inflammation. These five inflammatory foods are the most frequent offenders I see when treating patients for depression:

Gluten

By now almost everyone has heard of gluten, the glue-like protein found in wheat. Grains like barley, rye, and contaminated oatmeal contain proteins that may be recognized by your body as gluten. Gluten and gluten-like proteins are some of the most inflammatory foods you can eat.

Many people think that gluten doesn’t affect them since they didn’t test positive for Celiac Disease. However, there are often false negatives on these tests because they don’t test for the full range of gluten proteins. Whether or not you have a diagnosed sensitivity to gluten, it isn’t doing you any favors, as it is almost exclusively present in processed foods.

Gluten drives inflammation by irritating the gut and gut microbes as well as intestinal tissues. This protein causes gut cells to produce a compound called zonulin, leading to intestinal permeability (or leaky gut). Gluten, which is a sticky protein, can also interfere with digestion by clumping together food particles. A recent study showed that gluten caused inflammation in gut cells of healthy volunteers, suggesting that gluten may cause adverse effects that can lead to depression in everyone (7).

Gluten consumption has been linked to depression, seizures, headaches, anxiety, nerve damage, and ADHD-like symptoms (8-10). Gluten has been linked to over 200 conditions, with neurotoxicity topping the list.

I’ve seen amazing recoveries from people who ditched the gluten – including myself. Gluten-free diets have helped people heal from too many seemingly hopeless diagnoses, like depression, to count!

Dairy

Believe me: I understand that dairy can be deeply pleasurable. Growing up in an Italian family, many of my fondest memories involve cheese, ice cream, ricotta, and yogurt. Science supports our attachment to dairy. On a molecular level, dairy contains morphine-like compounds which engage our opiate receptors and create mild dairy addiction (11).

A number of studies have shown that casein, a protein found in dairy products, can drive inflammation. Casein has been linked to several psychiatric conditions, ranging from schizophrenia to depression. Dairy may not be a problem for everyone, and some people can tolerate certain types of dairy, like raw milk. Fortunately, grassfed ghee is a wonderful substitute for butter.

If you’re suffering from symptoms of depression or anxiety, it’s worth eliminating dairy for 30 days and seeing how you feel. Some people are able to re-introduce dairy after a month off with no problems, while others totally lose their taste for it and even vomit when trying it again!

GMOs

Genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) have become a staple in the Standard American Diet. Beyond being a population-wide experiment in manipulating nature’s design, these foods, by definition, have been heavily treated with pesticides and herbicides. Since these chemicals have been designed to kill, it make sense that they’re quite toxic to our own human and microbial cells. Indeed, studies have shown that the common pesticide Roundup (glyphosate) causes cancer.

Alarmingly, these chemicals have been found in fetuses and breast milk, showing that the toxins used in modern farming are harming generations to come. Roundup is toxic to fetal cells and can lead to birth defects. This toxicant disrupts our microbiome, messing with the production of essential amino acids like tryptophan, absorption of minerals, and detoxification in the liver.

In addition to Roundup, the primary herbicide sprayed on GMOs like soy, GMOs also carry a variety of other toxicants that may be even more harmful in combination than alone. As even non-GMO foods can be contaminated with pesticides, I advise my clients, especially those suffering from depression, to eat organic.

Think eating organic is too expensive? Our Vital Mind Reset community support director, Shauna, has written an excellent article about eating healthy on food stamps!

Sugar and Artificial Sugar

Americans love sugar. The average American eats a staggering 164 pounds of sugar per year (12,13). Think about that for a moment. Even worse, sugar is highly addictive – the more we eat, the more we want.

Our bodies were not designed to handle the blood sugar and insulin roller coaster that many of us are on. Here’s how it goes: when you eat sugar, whether it’s in an obvious form like soda or a non-obvious form like pasta, your blood sugar increases quickly. This fast increase then spikes insulin. When insulin removes blood sugar, you then have a blood sugar crash, and cortisol comes in to compensate and try to move sugar out of storage and back into the bloodstream. This process, often called reactive hypoglycemia, is responsible for carb and sugar cravings (since your brain needs steady sugar to function), which leads to anxiety, headaches, irritability, and ultimately depression.

Overall, high blood sugar causes inflammation, which is one of the most significant risk factors for depression. Balancing blood sugar is one of the most effective treatments for depression and anxiety.

Sugar messes with our brain health in three main ways. First, sugar creates inflammation, often by spiking insulin and harming our gut microbiome. Next, sugar derails hormones, ultimately increasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol and disrupting the balance of sex hormones. Finally, sugar starves the brain and damages important structures in our bodies, like cell membranes and blood vessels (14). All this can lead to depression.

Because of all the research showing how harmful sugar is (15-18), food manufacturers have gotten creative with its naming. Don’t be fooled by code names like cane sugar, crystalline fructose, maltodextrin, high-fructose corn syrup – it’s all sugar.

It’s tempting to swap out sugar for artificial sweeteners. Artificial sugars, like aspartame and sucralose, are ‘zero calorie’ because they cannot be digested by the human body. But these chemicals don’t just pass through your body with no effect. Artificial sugars confuse hormones and change your microbiome. A high-profile scientific article showed that artificial sugar consumption leads to metabolic syndromes like insulin resistance and diabetes (19). Choose sweeteners that your body recognizes, like honey.

Vegetable Oils

The Standard American Diet contains large amounts of unhealthy fats, mostly in the form of commercial vegetable oils. Many processed foods, ranging from store-bought cookies to salad dressing, contain these oils. Vegetable oils include safflower oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. These oils are considered ‘processed’ because many high-heat and high-pressure steps, as well as chemical solvents, are required to create them. Further, many of these oils are made from GMOs.

For example, have you ever seen a canola plant? Canola oil, which has been touted as “heart healthy,” is derived from the Canadian rapeseed plant. Recognizing that “rape oil” was not a good marketing tactic, this invention was given a new name as a combination of “Canada” and “ola,” which means oil. Today, it is genetically modified by Monsanto to withstand saturation with Roundup herbicide (20, 21).

In short, our bodies do not recognize vegetable oils, especially when they’re heated and distorted. Consuming vegetable oils sounds the alarm of inflammation. Processed vegetable oils have been linked to thyroid dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases (22), nutrient deficiencies, cancer (23), and psychiatric disorders like depression (24, 25).

So what do I eat?!

I recommend that people give themselves 2-4 weeks to kick the sugar, gluten, and dairy habit. In this time, you can try non-GMO foods and healthier fats like olive oil and lard. People are amazed by how good they feel and how quickly their tastes change.

It’s can be overwhelming to try to overhauling your diet, and we’ve been led to seek quick and easy fixes. As someone who’s radically changed her diet and outlook on eating, I assure you that the deep commitment to yourself and your health is worth it. When you remove these inflammatory foods, you can more easily tap into your intuition to properly nourish yourself.

References

1. http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/1/6/6ra14
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26344165
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27788314
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26586104
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27592562
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27498949
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1954879/
8. http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/72/5/560.full
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19758171
10. http://www.drperlmutter.com/about/grain-brain-by-david-perlmutter/
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26877644
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27327801

13.https://bamboocorefitness.com/not-so-sweet-the-average-american-consumes-150-170-pounds-of-sugar-each-year/

14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27358413
15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27312321
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27226903
17. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28035340
18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28024276
19. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v514/n7521/full/nature13793.html
20. https://draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/
21. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/047167849X.bio018/abstract
22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24632108
23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18584483
24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26393778
25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25499313 

Kelly Brogan MD

Lifestyle Changes Now Proven to Effectively Treat Major Depression

Alex Pietrowski, February 4, 2017

More than 15 million Americans suffer from serious depression, and it is estimated that globally some 350 million people are struggling with the challenging mental disorder. While the causes of depression are varied and largely unidentifiable, since the 1950’s the pharmaceutical industry has been developing a broad range of antidepressants, and it now estimated that 8-10% of the American population is taking some type of antidepressants.

The problems with antidepressants are wide-ranging including addiction, costs, and a host of unfavorable side-effects including emotional numbness and even an increased risk of suicide. While antidepressants may very well help some people cope with the overwhelming effects of depression in the short-term, pharmaceutical treatments do not cure depression.

Pondering the reasons for such a major increase in depression in our society over the last couple of decades, many have speculated that a combination of lifestyle, social disconnectedness in a technologically advanced society, lack of exercise, environmental pollutants, and increased consumption of nutritionless and heavily processed foods are to blame. Yet, medical science has been slow to fully acknowledge and recommend lifestyle changes to patients, often preferring the recommendation of pharmaceuticals.

A world-first study, however, recently conducted by Deakin University in Australia has shown unequivocally that major depression can be conquered with the right dietary changes.

“We’ve known for some time that there is a clear association between the quality of people’s diets and their risk for depression. This is the case across countries, cultures and age groups, with healthy diets associated with reduced risk, and unhealthy diets associated with increased risk for depression. However, this is the first randomised controlled trial to directly test whether improving diet quality can actually treat clinical depression.” ~Professor Felice Jacka, Director of Deakin’s Food and Mood Centre

The study looked at adults with major depression, evaluating their progress with specific dietary changes over a three-month period, revealing the types of foods which help the most.

“The dietary group received information and assistance to improve the quality of their current diets, with a focus on increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes, fish, lean red meats, olive oil and nuts, while reducing their consumption of unhealthy ‘extras’ foods, such as sweets, refined cereals, fried food, fast-food, processed meats and sugary drinks.” [Source]       Read more

Social-media may put you at increased risk of depression and anxiety.

By Lauren Steussy December 22, 2016

Jason Zook started every morning by scrolling through Twitter, Instagram, Vine, his blog and Facebook. It started to have an effect on the 33-year-old entrepreneur’s mental health. The San Diego resident was stressed, distracted and feeling like he could never fulfill the expectations he created in his digital world, where he amassed more than 33,000 followers.

“You start your day looking at yourself compared to other people,” he says. “You feel behind, and you have other people’s opinions pressed upon you before you have a chance to have your own.”

So he went cold turkey, going on a 30-day social-media detox. It was a smart move: A recent study from the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Research on Media, Technology, and Health found that using multiple social-media platforms may put you at increased risk of depression and anxiety.

‘People compare themselves to the posts they see, and then feel inadequate.’

The study found that people who use anywhere from seven to 10 social-media platforms are three times more likely to be depressed or anxious, compared to those using no more than two. Those who reported such symptoms were overwhelmed by the multitasking needed to manage their profiles — and the more profiles they had, the more the pressure added up.

Though it’s on the high end, maintaining seven social-media profiles is possible with the bevy of options available to users today.

“People compare themselves to the posts they see, and then feel inadequate,” says Nicole Amesbury, head of clinical development at online-therapy company Talkspace. “Another reason is biology-based. Each time they open [a social media app] and see a positive response, they get a small amount of dopamine released in the brain . . . When someone doesn’t get enough ‘likes’ or dopamine hits, they feel the loss.”

Social-media consultant and Queens resident Josh Springer, 35, recommends limiting usage to three platforms.

Still, for Zook, the break was much needed.

“[After 30 days], my head felt like it just cleared, like the fog lifted,” he says. “I had all this mental space back.”          NY Post

The Most Unhappy People in the World

By Michael Snyder, on November 10th, 2015

How can we possibly be so miserably unhappy?  For a nation that supposedly “has it all”, we sure are depressed.  In America today, suicide rates are soaring, antidepressant use is skyrocketing and virtually every new survey that comes out shows that we are deeply dissatisfied about something.  But we live at a time when there are more things to enjoy than ever before.  When I was growing up there was only a handful of television channels to choose from, but now there are hundreds.  We have more movies than we could ever possibly watch, more books than we could ever possibly read, and the greatest video games ever made are at our fingertips.  With all of the entertainment that surrounds us, you would think that Americans would be happier than ever before, and yet we continue to become even more depressed.  Everywhere I go, I see people that look like they have had the life completely sucked out of them.  So why is this happening?  The following are 21 signs that Americans are the unhappiest people in the entire world…

#1 A scientific study that was just released found that U.S. adults are becoming less happy over the years…

“Adults over 30 are less happy than their predecessors,” concludes a study published online Thursday in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science, which examined happiness data from more than 50,000 adults, gleaned from the General Social Survey, carried out by NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan, independent research organization, which has collected information about American adults since 1972.
From 2010 to 2014, adults over 30 had an average happiness score of just 2.18, compared with 2.24 a decade ago. That’s significant considering happiness scores were measured on a tiny scale from just 1 to 3, with 1 being “not too happy” and 3 being “very happy.”

#2 Young people are also becoming increasingly depressed.  Just check out what one study conducted at San Diego State University discovered…

Americans are more depressed now than they have been in decades, a recent study has found. San Diego State University (SDSU) psychology professor Jean M. Twenge analyzed data from nearly 7 million adolescents and adults from across the country and found that more people reported symptoms of depression — including sleeplessness and trouble concentrating — compared to the 1980s.
Twenge’s findings show that teenagers in the 2010s experience memory trouble 38 percent more often than their 1980s counterparts. Teens are also 74 percent more likely to have trouble sleeping and twice as likely to see a professional for mental health issues. College students in the study reported feeling overwhelmed by academic and personal demands 50 percent more often than their 1980s counterparts.

#3 Back in 1987, 61.1 percent of all Americans reported being happy at work.  Today, 52.3 percent of all Americans say that they are unhappy at work.

#4 A different survey found that 70 percent of all Americans do not “feel engaged or inspired at their jobs”.

#5 One survey of 50-year-old men in the U.S. found that only 12 percent of them said that they were “very happy”.

#6 The number of Americans diagnosed with depression increases by about 20 percent each year.

#7 According to the New York Times, more than 30 million Americans take antidepressants.

#8 Doctors in the United States write more than 250 million prescriptions for antidepressants each year.

#9 The rate of antidepressant use among middle aged women is far higher than for the population as a whole.  It is hard to believe, but right now one out of every four women in their 40s and 50s is taking an antidepressant medication.

#10 Compared to children in Europe, children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants.

#11 In America today, there are 60 million people that abuse alcohol and there are 22 million people that use illegal drugs.

#12 America has the highest rate of illegal drug use on the entire planet.

#13 One recent poll found that 71 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction that things are going in this country.

#14 America has the highest divorce rate in the world by a wide margin.

#15 America has the highest percentage of one person households on the entire planet.

#16 100 years ago, 4.52 people were living in the average U.S. household, but now the average U.S. household only consists of 2.59 people.

#17 According to the Pew Research Center, only 51 percent of all American adults are married.  Back in 1960, 72 percent of all adults in the United States were married.

#18 The suicide rate in the United States is now the highest that it has been in 25 years.

#19 According to one absolutely shocking study, 22 military veterans kill themselves in the United States every single day.

#20 The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose by close to 30 percent between 1999 and 2010.  The number of Americans that are killed by suicide now exceeds the number of Americans that die as a result of automobile accidents every year.

#21 The rate of suicide is highest during the holidays that come at the end of the year, and 45 percent of all Americans say that they dread the Christmas season.  The following comes from a Psychology Today article…

We are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of year, an opportunity to be joyful and grateful with family, friends and colleagues. Yet, according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of year that people experience the highest incidence of depression. Hospitals and police forces report the highest incidences of suicide and attempted suicide. Psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals report a significant increase in patients complaining about depression. One North American survey reported that 45% of respondents dreaded the festive season.

So why in the world is this happening?

We have one of the highest standards of living in the world and we are surrounded by massive amounts of entertainment.

Yet we are severely depressed.

And during the “happiest time of the year” we get even more depressed.

Clearly something has gone very wrong.

Even more entertainment is not going to fix us, and neither will more drugging.

So what will finally make us happy?

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