Is Therapy Causing a Depression Epidemic?

[phylodog]

Went to therapy to save my marriage. Ended up putting me on a path which saved my life. There's no shame in it. 26 years in service left me scarred up on both the inside and the outside.

 

[jamil]

Therapy didn't do this to the younger generations. Colleges, Universities, Public schools and pop culture did this to the younger generations.

Oh, and helicopter parents/everybody gets a prize. Just doesn't seem to pan out like that in the real world.

Like I said, it's multi-factor. And I don't think therapy is much of one. I don't think there are enough good therapists to fix all the problems that single-parent homes, doting parents, colleges and universities, public schools, pop culture, and a big one, social media, have done to people.

 

[KJQ6945]

Therapy can be a good thing, but it can be a bad thing when it’s about the money.

There in lies the problem. Let that sink in.

 

[BigMoose]

I tell my problems to the dog… it seems to work, it helps me think about them and the dog likes the company.

 

[Destro]

I had a lot of anger issues after the war. Saw a therapist. Turned out I had OCD. Figured out how to manage it w/her help and didn't need it after that.

Man card revoked I guess.

Learned on INGO it was healthier to beat my wife/kids and drink to deal with it.

 

[WebSnyper]

i haven't gone for a really long time now. The biggest thing i got out of therapy was discovering that anxiety was causing some physical symptoms for me. I was getting dizzy and light-headed a lot, basically i was almost hyperventilating, but didn't know it.

I saw this in a family member (I was many miles away and still saw it, and those who were close saw it even more so). Anxiety and depression crippled this person physically. This was the person I thought to be one of the strongest people I had ever known. They sucked it up for years, never properly addressed it (whatever that would have been for them), and it cost them a lot and indirectly led to an early death.

Seeing how depression and anxiety physically impacted this family member was enlightening to me.

 

[bobzilla]

I saw this in a family member (I was many miles away and still saw it, and those who were close saw it even more so). Anxiety and depression crippled this person physically. This was the person I thought to be one of the strongest people I had ever known. They sucked it up for years, never properly addressed it (whatever that would have been for them), and it cost them a lot and indirectly led to an early death.

Seeing how depression and anxiety physically impacted this family member was enlightening to me.

The mind has so much power over the body. I've known people that were germaphobes/hypochondriacs that if they thought they were sick, they would become sick even if there was nothing wrong with them.

Mental issues need help. without help everyone suffers.

 

[CindyE]

I saw this in a family member (I was many miles away and still saw it, and those who were close saw it even more so). Anxiety and depression crippled this person physically. This was the person I thought to be one of the strongest people I had ever known. They sucked it up for years, never properly addressed it (whatever that would have been for them), and it cost them a lot and indirectly led to an early death.

Seeing how depression and anxiety physically impacted this family member was enlightening to me.

sometimes i wonder about this. I used to feel like i was strong, and my family members still say i am. i know of 2 guys, 1 a truck driver, the other an old school biker, that were also very strong and suddenly faced with crippling anxiety, it was very eye-opening for them. Is it because we are strong, and think these things are for the weak, so we try to just tough it out, and then it hits us hard?

 

[bobzilla]

sometimes i wonder about this. I used to feel like i was strong, and my family members still say i am. i know of 2 guys, 1 a truck driver, the other an old school biker, that were also very strong and suddenly faced with crippling anxiety, it was very eye-opening for them. Is it because we are strong, and think these things are for the weak, so we try to just tough it out, and then it hits us hard?

probably. I'm not strong so I can't answer it from experience.

 

[CindyE]

probably. I'm not strong so I can't answer it from experience.

oh that's right...i forgot you still need to man up and deal with it

 

[Twangbanger]

We will also never know how many "old school guys" beat their dogs, beat their wives, beat their kids, or drank themselves into early graves. The John Wayne Generation wasn't better. They were just better at hiding it.

That being said, I won't necessarily discount the idea presented by the OP. Therapy is a tool, like a gun. It can be done competently, and it can be done incompetently. I think licensed therapists are a much-needed skill set, and I think society is worse off when that skill set gets "completely" replaced by products from pharmaceutical companies, dispensed by General Practitioners who aren't licensed in the specialty of mental health. Gen-Z in particular seems like it may be getting hit hard by a combination of Social Media influence, inattentively-dispensed drugs, and political ideologies masquerading as "therapy."

Every person you meet can be struggling with something you know nothing about. Those of us who have been "lucky" should not be so quick to dismiss the problems of others. There have been some real sh.t opinions expressed in this thread.

 

[phylodog]

I saw this in a family member (I was many miles away and still saw it, and those who were close saw it even more so). Anxiety and depression crippled this person physically. This was the person I thought to be one of the strongest people I had ever known. They sucked it up for years, never properly addressed it (whatever that would have been for them), and it cost them a lot and indirectly led to an early death.

Seeing how depression and anxiety physically impacted this family member was enlightening to me.

PTSD & depression have taken 35lbs off of me in the past two years. I'm a shadow of who I once was in more ways than one.

 

[MRockwell]

But if I were going to pinpoint what these people are missing that previous generations had, I’d say it’s two no-nonsense parents raising their kids. Make them do chores. Don’t just hand them an easy life. Learning problem resolution as early as the kid can possibly solve it makes the kid grow up learning problems are solvable.

I can see this as a leading factor. Earlier this week, @PhotoNinja was telling me about one of my mini-me's classmates who was having a meltdown when being picked up at the end of the day. She talked to the mother(who is divorced), and the mother said he is always like that when he comes back from his dad's. Both the mom and dad have different rules/expectations/etc., and the little one gets completely messed up because of it. The other mom said something about therapy for the little one, but the earliest that one is available is 8 months! I was shocked. Shocked that there is minimal availability, and also shocked that therapy for children is in such high demand. (of course I have no clue how many therapists focus on children, so that could have something to do with availability)

I like your views on allowing children to learn problem resolution. We have been helping mini-me with that since he was ~3y.o. I think along with learning that problems are solvable, it also teaches him patience. I sometimes wonder if today's societal need for instant gratification(impatience) is one downfall in keeping a polite society.

 

[smokingman]

I can see this as a leading factor. Earlier this week, @PhotoNinja was telling me about one of my mini-me's classmates who was having a meltdown when being picked up at the end of the day. She talked to the mother(who is divorced), and the mother said he is always like that when he comes back from his dad's. Both the mom and dad have different rules/expectations/etc., and the little one gets completely messed up because of it. The other mom said something about therapy for the little one, but the earliest that one is available is 8 months! I was shocked. Shocked that there is minimal availability, and also shocked that therapy for children is in such high demand. (of course I have no clue how many therapists focus on children, so that could have something to do with availability)

I like your views on allowing children to learn problem resolution. We have been helping mini-me with that since he was ~3y.o. I think along with learning that problems are solvable, it also teaches him patience. I sometimes wonder if today's societal need for instant gratification(impatience) is one downfall in keeping a polite society.

Child therapy is in high demand with almost 14% of all children currently in therapy. Those in the foster system over 50% are. The demand is only going up.

QuickStats: Percentage of Children and Adolescents ...

This report describes the results of the 2019 and 2022 National Health Interview Study for children and teens.

www.cdc.gov

I was asked by a child psychologist to become a therapist for children, and am working toward that. It is not an occupation I ever even considered doing. The psychologist though thinks I would excel at it, and be more helpful and effective than many they currently are forced to use due to a lack of options.

She says those graduating college currently lack the ability think. They follow what they learned in a book, and if what the book taught them does not work for a child it is not their problem. They "did what I was taught to do". It is leading to some very negative effects. The adult population in institutions is very low, the children in institutions has skyrocketed, especially in the last 8 years. Most facilities in Indiana that house children have months long waiting list to even get a child in, they are over capacity as well.

The other thing is the money. I was looking for the rate list, but could not find it. I know some facilities are charging over $2800 per child per day, and the average is around $800 per day(DCS has a rate list, I just can not find it at the moment). Their are no doubt people and facilities who are after nothing more than the money involved...it is quite a bit of money.

Sometimes I look back at my life a few years ago before getting involved in any of this and realize in some ways ignorance was bliss. The **** people are capable of doing to other humans and children is likely well beyond what you think it is and it happens every single day. https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/2023YearDCSHotlineFactSheet.pdf

Just February 2024

https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/Assessment_Decisions_Summary_by_Child-2-24.pdf

 

[MRockwell]

Child therapy is in high demand with almost 14% of all children currently in therapy. Those in the foster system over 50% are. The demand is only going up.

QuickStats: Percentage of Children and Adolescents ...

This report describes the results of the 2019 and 2022 National Health Interview Study for children and teens.

www.cdc.gov

I was asked by a child psychologist to become a therapist for children, and am working toward that. It is not an occupation I ever even considered doing. The psychologist though thinks I would excel at it, and be more helpful and effective than many they currently are forced to use due to a lack of options.

She says those graduating college currently lack the ability think. They follow what they learned in a book, and if what the book taught them does not work for a child it is not their problem. They "did what I was taught to do". It is leading to some very negative effects. The adult population in institutions is very low, the children in institutions has skyrocketed, especially in the last 8 years. Most facilities in Indiana that house children have months long waiting list to even get a child in, they are over capacity as well.

The other thing is the money. I was looking for the rate list, but could not find it. I know some facilities are charging over $2800 per child per day, and the average is around $800 per day(DCS has a rate list, I just can not find it at the moment). Their are no doubt people and facilities who are after nothing more than the money involved...it is quite a bit of money.

Sometimes I look back at my life a few years ago before getting involved in any of this and realize in some ways ignorance was bliss. The **** people are capable of doing to other humans and children is likely well beyond what you think it is and it happens every single day. https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/2023YearDCSHotlineFactSheet.pdf

Just February 2024

https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/Assessment_Decisions_Summary_by_Child-2-24.pdf

That is very eye-opening, something I really haven't been exposed to. It's great in the way you are helping.

 

[KLB]

Child therapy is in high demand with almost 14% of all children currently in therapy. Those in the foster system over 50% are. The demand is only going up.

QuickStats: Percentage of Children and Adolescents ...

This report describes the results of the 2019 and 2022 National Health Interview Study for children and teens.

www.cdc.gov

I was asked by a child psychologist to become a therapist for children, and am working toward that. It is not an occupation I ever even considered doing. The psychologist though thinks I would excel at it, and be more helpful and effective than many they currently are forced to use due to a lack of options.

She says those graduating college currently lack the ability think. They follow what they learned in a book, and if what the book taught them does not work for a child it is not their problem. They "did what I was taught to do". It is leading to some very negative effects. The adult population in institutions is very low, the children in institutions has skyrocketed, especially in the last 8 years. Most facilities in Indiana that house children have months long waiting list to even get a child in, they are over capacity as well.

The other thing is the money. I was looking for the rate list, but could not find it. I know some facilities are charging over $2800 per child per day, and the average is around $800 per day(DCS has a rate list, I just can not find it at the moment). Their are no doubt people and facilities who are after nothing more than the money involved...it is quite a bit of money.

Sometimes I look back at my life a few years ago before getting involved in any of this and realize in some ways ignorance was bliss. The **** people are capable of doing to other humans and children is likely well beyond what you think it is and it happens every single day. https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/2023YearDCSHotlineFactSheet.pdf

Just February 2024

https://www.in.gov/dcs/files/Assessment_Decisions_Summary_by_Child-2-24.pdf

I hope you do a better job than the ones I know of second hand. They have done a great job of enabling a child's bad behavior. The child just gets worse and worse, but it is never her fault.