Are you right to be depressed?

I think the short answer is yes.

You watch the news and its all death and destruction and financial meltdown. It’s enough in itself to make you depressed. There’s never any good news, no fluffy white cats being rescued from trees by nice fireman, or the like.

I usually switch it off before it gets started. But the other night the headline was mental health so I watched. Despite promises that funding would be increased it’s actually being slashed by many local authorities. There was a story of distraught parents with a young daughter having to travel 300 miles for treatment.

And then there’s the constant bombardment of advertising, portraying beautiful people having wonderful lives. You can’t help but compare yourself, compounding the disappointment you feel with your own life.

Pile all that on top of your own problems and its enough to make almost anyone depressed.

But coming back to the young girl, one of the most disturbing things I read about within the forums is children suffering with depression. And the research indicates its increasing rapidly.

So I wanted to ask you all to share your thought on why you think this is happening to them.

Love to all, Tony

Placing ambitions, needs, wants, dreams, hopes, desires and such next to certain realities for comparison can definitely be depressing, and then hopelessness eventually or ultimately comes along when people do not have truly-workable directions and plans related to ambitions, needs, wants, dreams, hopes, desires and such. "I'm Okay, You're Okay" made for a catchy title a few decades ago, but the hollowness of a self-indulgent, self-reliant mindset, philosophy or manner of living can only result in implosion.

i dont watch the news at all,id rather be blissfully ignorant in the world than having extra anxiety about bad things happening.
people with depression all ready have enough things to worry about.

The world is a scary place, being run by people with no idea what "normal" life is like...

I choose not to delve too deep into it otherwise I would never get back out.

I don't think you have to be "right" to be depressed - it's just the way it is, regardless of how it happened. I don't think a lot of people got depression by hearing the news.. it's not your fault for being depressed

I wish depression could be explained by something as simple as 'the world sucks'. Depression is complicated for me. I hate it but it feels like an old friend. Yes, I am aware of how twisted that it.

I have no reason to be depressed, yet I am. There are people here with very specific reasons for their depression and it is not the news or advertising that promotes nearly unattainable beauty.

Watching the news and all that can make it worse in some people but I would be very surprised if it was ever the reason for chronic depression.

I choose not to speculate on why others fell into depression (and still do) at a young age. I know for me, it was very situational. Home, school and in between there was no escape from the torment, pressure, unrealistic expectations and serious lack of understanding. No one saw a kid, they saw someone who had a job and if it wasn't getting done, then the kid needed correcting. I was told what my day was going to be like with no personal choice in the matter, I was in trouble for things that were trivial, I was told what my future was going to be and expected to pursue that alone. Honestly, the vast majority of adults wouldn't stand to be treated as a sub-human "pupil". I don't believe it's fair to do the same to children and expect no resistance. I hate seeing a kid with a dream and the ambition to go for it, but then watch them crushed and riticuled for it because it doesn't fit the status queue. Conventional schooling isn't for everyone but is the standard and when a kid can't live up to this standard, they're going to be depressed. Not every kid's the same and shouldn't be treated or shaped as such.

I think 90 percent of the news is depressing.
but, I also think you get good news stories./.. a lot of good news stories.

space mission ended successfully- and here are pictures of what the craft found

person missing for a week finally found alive

zoo gets new baby animals

just to name some examples of happy stories.

but yeah, a lot of news is depressing

for me depression just comes from my own life, and my own experience- how unhappy I am and how I don't have any idea what next, what I want, nothing like that

I do watch the news and listen to NPR, but I do tend to switch it if I think it's too much to handle.

I share you opinion on the news and stuff and also agree services too mental health is being cut not increased.

Also yeah definitely mental health issues is increasing among young children. I think higher pressure at school, perhaps a lack of social interaction due to more time spent on gaming and stuff instead of meeting with friends or attending youth clubs.

Also speaking from experience in my own town there is an increase in young parents who struggle with their parental responsibilities and also financially. A lack of social care and support for young parents causes many issues and can lead too children ending up in care and fostering etc. It seems easier for social services to put a kid in care rather than provide long term support for families.

I think also children who come from broken homes are at an increased risk caused by instability, bullying at school and also sometimes horrible and dirty break ups of their parents. This can all play a part.

Many of my friends who although are now in their 20s suffer from some sort of mental illness that first started to develop in their teens and sometimes earlier. I've also read that many children go many years even into adulthood before being diagnosed.

I suffer with depression and anxiety myself also I think I have a minor degree of PTSD as a result of years of bullying during childhood im now 27. I was officially diagnosed just over a year ago but problems have existed for much longer.

Thank you for your considered response, you bring up some great points. Best wishes, Tony

I view it this way: