Depression in Irish society

bug

Depression hits most people in the age group from 15-30. When I was young and carefree I remember thinking of depression as something that happened to menopausal women or someone who had suffered a tradgedy, either way I thought when I was younger it would never happen to me.
It starts out that every so often you feel a little down and then you feel better..then you feel really down and then you feel a little better. Then you dont feel better at all..then there are no highs/lows only an almost visual tangible cloud hanging over even the sunniest of days, and you stare into space alot..and in general just..well I won't say die...but just want to disappear.

Ok so things do get better I no longer suffer from long bouts of depression something changed inside of me to help me handle it..maybe I grew up. But I would like to ask people to discuss why in their opinion Ireland has a high proportion of depressed young people.

Is it society, drinking, the fact that the majority of us cant afford to make our own homes, what do you think..I'm trying to steer away from precise individual experiences, but if it helps you to explain.....but do you think its the individual or society or both.............................

By the way I'm not ignoring the fact that depression can be medical and caused directly as a result of hormonal imbalance.

I brought this up because I don't think enough importance in put on this issue and so many people suffer for so long without help.

mooman_00

i think it has a lot to do with our views of both depression in society and its 'cures'. Take a leaf out of american culture which we are so closely akin to, im not sure what percentage of 15-30 year olds are depressed over there, but i do know that the majority of american citizens regulary visit councellors, Psychiatrists etc. and see this as a necessity and normal. Here in Ireland very little people visit Psychiatrists as they feel they do not need to see such people, even if they cant afford a Psychiatrist people are less likely to visit councellors even though in most colleges/schools this service is free due to inabitions about having to see such specialists. Most people bottle everything up rather than release it. We have to become more accoustomed to getting help from specialists and learning how to express ourselves to others no matter how mundane or small a problem it is that we have, before we can hope to see the level of depression in this country fall.

MDR

I believe that the great Irish depression as suggested by our second highest in the world suicide rates, is caused by the poor quality of life we lead. Furthermore the Irish attidute to our own quality of life sucks in general, its been passed down many generations and is tough to break. How many times have you heard the older generation say 'well if it was good enough for me.... etc'.

We need to start at grass roots and change own nation, else face very uncertain consequences, I am talking about changing our attitudes toEnvironment, Government, Family, Civics, Responsibilty, Law, Health, Ownership ... hasten the end of old ireland ....

hedgetrimmer

I think a lot to do with it - and don't dismiss this outright, as I suffer from depression (yes, clinical, yes diagnosed) - is to do with the steroids in our meat and the chemicals in our food which actually toxicify the blood. Since I have started watching what I am eating, I haven;t had a hugely bad bout pretty much at all.

So yes, it's the changing world, how we consume it and how it consumes us, IMO. But let us not forget, that even if the world were ideal, I think depression would still occur.

I think, for me personally anyway, one has to look to oneself as the source for happiness, cos society sure as hell ain't gonna provide it. Distract you in abundance, but not help you to be happy

2 cents

MDR

is there

steroids in our meat

?
also how do you manage your diet ?

Matfinn

I think one big thing that can make people depressed is the weather in this country. We have the most overcast days out of any country in the world afaik, certainly in Europe. This country's ****ty cloudy and cold weather would drive anyone insane.

Theres that and the fact that there is nothing else really to do for anyone in this country but drink and play sports if your into that thing, but wha if your not?

Matt

MDR

Theres that and the fact that there is nothing else really to do for anyone in this country but drink and play sports if your into that thing, but wha if your not?

whats available in other countries that we don't have ?

Placebo

REASONS OF DEPRESSION IN IRELAND in my opinion

1) Lack of OutDoor Entertainment
2) Not much to do except going to pubs
3) Rainy/Grey weather
4) In Some aspects its music .
5) Looking at others being more well off than you
6) Some people have it running in their families(like me)
7) Teenage Angst
8) Problems at home(-7)

Thats what i think .

I think people who are also very Negative get depressed, obviously.

ando

I really only experianced it around 9 months into my working life. The repretition of work and nothing to look forward to got to me eventually (especially during the winter months). Its frightning, depression. The way I got out of it was getting something to look forward to, something for the weekend's, or travelling. The lack of things to do in this country is unreal

Matfinn

Ray

The main thing thats available in outher countries that we dont have is good weather. Now 'good weather' is hard to define exactly, but Im talking about a good amount of snow, so we can ski during the winter, and a nice amount of warm sunshine, so we can go to the beach most days during the summer without catching a cold.

In countries such as America, where they have snowy winters and hot summers, outdoor activities play a much larger role in life than they do here. Usually if its the summer or the winter here, its usually pissy wet weather and clouds, with temperatures raning from 4c to 14c celcius.

Other countries in Europe dont have this ( with the exception of Wales ). Nobody likes outdoor activities in this countries miserable weather.

There are alot of things that we can do in this country that can be also done in most other countries, however over here these activites will ususally be alot more expensive and harder to come by. A funfair or a karting rink is a good example, and hthey arent exactly as plentiful here as they would be in Spain or France.

Matt

embraer170

A most interesting topic I must say. I moved over here from the Continent a few years back and must say that only for the Internet and having a decent enough time during my school days, I’d say I’d have been in a pretty bad state never being into drinking or sports, the only things to do for miles around.

Are mentalities likely to change anytime soon? I doubt it, I even really doubt that mental health has been recognised as a serious problem.

hedgetrimmer

Originally posted by MDR
is there ?
also how do you manage your diet ?

There are things creeping into food from the point of view of addidtives (and yes) "legal" meat boosters/ decay inhibitors, etc, which can have the effect in certain people (those prone to long term conditions such as asthma, sinusitus, irritable bowel syndrome) that it alters their mood chemicals and can even cuase them such things like drowsiness.

I don't prevent myself from eating stuff..every so often I detox with a wonderful herbal tea callled Flouressence. I also at little yeast and watch my intake of sugar, excercise and drink lots of water.

MDR

Other countries in Europe dont have this ( with the exception of Wales ). Nobody likes outdoor activities in this countries miserable weather.

Fair enough you can attribute lack of natural light for a certain amount of it. I don't know if lack of outdoor activites can be citied as a reason as distinct from lack of natural light. The Scandanavians (spellings) suffer quite commonily from SAD, and are treated in light rooms at hospitals, and usually make a full recovery, but they still don't go out much .. hum

Peeps here is the stat 2,150 odd of us are killing oursleves every year (4:1 men to women, not that it has anything to do with the price of cheese). 380 odd peeps are killed on our roads every year, but yet only 5% of the annual road saftey budget is invested in sucide prevention. We have the world's second highest sucide rate (anybody know who is number one).

I would contend (after living in france, expierencing an alternative lifesytle, and boy do I miss it sometimes), that it is a combination of all of the things that Placebo mentions and more. I would love for there to be a indept study into the problem, so we as a nation could start getting a handle on this thing that is slowily killing us.

EDIT : hedgetrimmer ... where can I get that tea ... is it drinkable 'cos I have a drawer full of vile herbal muck ....

The Corinthian

Weather actually makes a difference, sunshine being a particularly important component of that, IMHO.

There’s a certain element of a ‘recurring mid-life crisis’ element in a lot of the depression in people, I’ve noticed as we periodically will take stock of our lives and realize they’re not necessarily going the way we planned and/or like. Someone described it here as the envy (effectively begrudgery) of other peoples’ wealth, which is one way of looking at it, and a common manifestation of this common form of despondency.

And of course there are those events in one’s life (break-ups, job redundancies, death, etc.) that will also trigger such depression.

Everyone will suffer from depression to one degree or other (we all have bad days/weeks/months). We deal with it.

What many who habitually suffer from (non-clinical) depression also seem to suffer from is self-indulgence. One of the worst situations with depression, that I’ve observed, and even briefly experienced in my youth, is where you allow that depression to become a rut and become perversely comfortable with remaining there. It is all too commonplace for those in such a rut of depression to identify themselves as almost tragic heroes and wallow in that, rather than to deal with the problem at hand.

LegacyUser

Ill ceretainly be getting out of this country as soon as I can. I am now 20 years old and I have 2 and a half years of college left to go. When I'm 24 Ill be out of Ireland, probably living in Australia.

Living here depresses me and pisses me off for a large number of reasons. One of them being lack of decent internet access. Although internet access isnt the main thing in life, its an example of how little people in Ireland get constantly screwed by the bid boys. Its Irish mentality that if your in power, you screw someone beneath you on the socio-economic ladder, and if your being screwed, you are a little disgruntled but you rarely do anything about it. Im talking about Eircom and the Car insurance industry in Ireland, taking them for example.

We have overpriced housing, so why bother living here in this ****ty weather, struggling to pay an extortianate mortgage, and massive insurance policies, worming your way through a boring life, when you can go to Australia or the States and make things alot easier on yourself?

We have a corrupt government aswell who will spout a load of propoganda and not actually do anything they promise. We could be so more well organinsed and better setup than we are now.

Ill take an example. If eircom were to release DSL at a price that is within reach of everyone, then t hey would make a massive profit on it. They dont see that tho.

Another example: If the government closed down all the tribunals, and arrested the fraudulent politicians and imprisoned them like anyone else would be, they could put this money towards social projects for the poor and decent housing.

Anonymous

bug

hedgetrimmer,

was this diet recommended to you by a doctor you visited? I eat alot of red meat and I find this very interesting.

I have to say that one of the huge issues for me is that I'm on a good wage its not bad and I cant afford to live in this country.I socialise once a week because I don't have expendable income to do the things I want like join a gym, learn how to swim, travel and pay rent at the same time. All I want is a house with a decent garden I can look after. I went to college-did all the things that were recommended to me in order to get on in life and I still cant afford to live in Dublin. This really gets me down. I have decided to move home to my parents house in order to save so I can actually GET a holiday this year. I haven't been way since Sept 2001. I work as admin in research and have a backround in Physics and accounts. Its a ridiculous state of affairs and most people are getting out of this country because it didn't get any better for people like us during the so-called celtic tiger era. .Its the natural progression that the fledglings leave the nest and the current state of affairs in Ireland is preventing young people from doing this.

Dampsquid

Suicide in Ireland is around 500 a year, and not 2150 as stated above.

Also Suicide in ireland isn't the second highest in the world.

See www.aware.ie and www.who.int

MDR

I sympathise deepily with bug,
no-one (the older generation or the government) give a f*ck about the young people in this country, I don't agree with Crislivic (or whosoever you really are) that moving away is the answer (well I suppose its one answer).

MDR

I got my stats from an interview (on RTE) with a spokeman for the Irish Association of Sucidology (http://www.ias.ie). The stats on his website don't back up what he said either, so apologies if I mislead anyone ... it was not intentional on my part.

karpovx

Countries with the highest suicide rates in the world

1 Lithuania 42.0
2 Russia 37.4
3 Belarus 35.0
4 Latvia 34.3
5 Estonia 33.2
6 Hungary 32.1
7 Slovenia 30.9
8 Ukraine 29.4
9 Kazakhstan 28.7
10 Finland 24.3

I don't see Ireland.... here.
Mmmm

Silent Grape

what about all the attempted suicides? plenty more of them than actual suicides. obviously hard to get the stats or whatever.

negative ppl get depressed? sure they do, so relatively optimistic people like me. my optimism and my depression have wars sometimes.

u cant generalise that everyone who's depressed is wallowing in a tragic hero persona. that's just ridiculous. and them becoming COMOFORTABLE? have u no brain in ur little head whoever said that??

Silent Grape

sorry corinthian, didnt realise u added in 'non-clinical' depression in ur post. silly me!

pickarooney

Or, more likely, you read back and saw who it was that posted that comment you ridiculed, then ran away quickly lest you be smitten with Corinthian's shillelagh of sneering contempt for your troubles.

For me, the one overriding factor that will push someone from being badly pissed-off to truly suicidal is simply the loss of hope, or the realisation that the gand life you had hoped for just isn't going to materialise. Being confronted with the painful monotony of working for someone else's benefit (i.e. doing something you hate, just so you can afford to pay a landlord for the privilege of living in his grotty little bedsit), or feeling the shackles of marriage, monogamy, mortgage etc. take a vice-like hold would be far more likely to drive me over the edge than, say, a break-up or a death, as these events, though tragic in themselves, have a certain spurring force.

The Corinthian

Originally posted by pickarooney
Or, more likely, you read back and saw who it was that posted that comment you ridiculed, then ran away quickly lest you be smitten with Corinthian's shillelagh of sneering contempt for your troubles.

That’s unfair. Clinical depression cannot be solved by an act of will alone. If it could, all those premium rate horoscope and chat lines would quickly go out of business.

Kell

I honestly dont think it is surprising that there is a such a high rate of depression. You get of bed and the weathers crap, you drive to work behind some muppet that learned to drive on another planet or take public transport that is incredibley insufficient. You pay tax for what exactly? Health services suck, you hate shelling out €40 on a doctor to tell you what you know you have already, you go out for a pint to drown your sorrows and you're charged a fortune for it, and all the while successive goverments have done jack shít about any of the underlying problems in society.

I think a lot of people need to take a step back and re-connect with themselves and others. A lot of the time, we as humans try and find solice in launching ourselves into things that we find short of our expectations or cost us a fortune. Perhaps we should find time out to be alone with ourselves and be happy with ourselves before criticising things around us. Smoke a joint, look at the stars and things will take on a different perspective.

Placebo

Also Suicide in ireland isn't the second highest in the world.

According to the "strawberry alarm clock" ireland has the 2nd highest suicide rates or something .

have u no brain in ur little head whoever said that??

i dunno wether your talking to me or not , so used the quote button next time .

bug

Smoke a joint, look at the stars and things will take on a different perspective.

- I'm quite pro - but in all honesty, I think it has a tendancy to make you even more depressed. This is more of a short term solution. I have spoken to a few smokers who also find that dope makes you lethargic/down the next day. I would hardly recommend it as escapism for depressed individuals.

pyramid man

in my opinion the reason there is so much depression in ireland because there is so much pressure on the education system. also it is the age that people start going out and they start to take relationships seriously. and when it ends they get the feeling that they are so depressed that they cannot go on. and therefore they go into a form of depression. it is self induced but it becomes more serious than that. it is not something that is wrong with people. it is an illness and should therefore should be treated as one. but people do not and therefore the illness ravages and takes over someone. i once suffered from severe bouts of depression but the thing that anyone that feels depressed should say that life goes on and there is nothing that is going to stop that. there is also no way of predicting what is going to happen. there is a world full of oppertunities and it is up to you go out and avail of them. it is what i learned when i was depressed and it brought me out of it. it is also one of the best lessons i have learned in learned also. this is a subject that i hold close to my heart.

pyramid man

Originally posted by Placebo
According to the "strawberry alarm clock" ireland has the 2nd highest suicide rates or something .

it has the second highest suicide rate in europe not the world.

Kell

Originally posted by bug
[BI think it has a tendancy to make you even more depressed. I would hardly recommend it as escapism for depressed individuals. [/B]

Sorry- just look at the stars then. The vast majority of depression that I can see stems from people not being able to see out of their own box (save clinical depression which I know nothing about). A lot of people dont realise that they are the only ones standing in the way of their own progression by getting het up and depressed about stuff rather than dropping it and moving on.

By even taking an interest in things that you dont understand and that are beyond you, you inadvertantly start to broaden your horizons and in doing so relieve the stress you feel yourself under. Take a look at life and laugh at it. Everyday stuff can be really funny. Shaggy dogs really crack me up. So do cats and also people falling in stupid places like off a curb or something. It helps to laugh outloud when something like that happens, point if you like, rather than just thinking "what a prat for falling off the curb". Thats just being cynical and who likes a cynic?

Kell

Originally posted by pyramid man
in my opinion the reason there is so much depression in ireland because there is so much pressure on the education system.

Not only that, but your average Joe Soap seems to nurture pressurising people into having to have an education. The workplace seems to demand that you have x,y and z qualifications and you have to have x degree but as a society we seem to be accepting this fact rather than rejecting it.

Take the poster on the PI board who said that his brother wanted to leave school pre leaving cert. I was one of the few, who said "Fine, whatever he wants. There are alternatives" whereas most said "NO. HE CANT DO THAT. IT WOULD BE SUICIDE". So in terms of education, individually we are as responsible for turning that screw as much as employers are.