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I often hear on the bloggernacle that Utah prescribes more anti-depression meds than anywhere, often used as a stab at the church since Utah is so highly populated with Mormons and Mormon culture. But this morning I found the following article on CNN.com with the top 10 most depressing states:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/thumbnails/0,,20483493,00.html ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://www.health.com/health/gallery/thumbnails/0,,20483493,00.html These were listed in alphabetical order, not by most to least, and [think of Family Feud game show sounds in the background] the survey says….[ding]
Arkansas
Indiana
Kentucky
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
Oklahoma
Tennessee
West Virginia
…so Utah does not make the list.
It seems the greatest factors were results of the economic conditions and jobs, and these states have been hardest hit through our financial crisis. Weather also was a factor.
And who knew Oklahoma had an official state song by the Flaming Lips???? “Do You Realize…Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die?”
Do any of these surprise you?
What do most of those states have in common? They voted or will vote for Rick Santorum. 😆 I laugh, but there is a kernal of wisdom in that interesting fact, imo. An extreme conservative like him can appeal to those who are upset and angry – who feel like their safe world is crashing in around them.
No, the list doesn’t surprise me. Things like financial situations and weather play a FAR bigger role in our outlooks than most people realize – and if these states have a general stigma about the use of anti-depressants (or even admitting to being depressed) . . .
I think it’s partly because American media and culture fill folk with unrealistic expectations, materialistic values, and probably makes them focus on the wrong things too. We have similar problems here. A school teacher here was telling me how a lot of the kids in his class said “I want to be famous”. When he asked them what they wanted to be famous for, they didn’t know. Such a worldview is inevitably going to lead to unhappiness since few can be famous, most will fall, and if they do become famous a lot will fall or be highly stressed anyway.
I have always been a bit skeptical of the Utah statistic. The states listed have some of the elements that I think would be associated with depression, one being higher rates of poverty. SamBee wrote:A school teacher here was telling me how a lot of the kids in his class said “I want to be famous”. When he asked them what they wanted to be famous for, they didn’t know. Such a worldview is inevitably going to lead to unhappiness since few can be famous, most will fall, and if they do become famous a lot will fall or be highly stressed anyway.
I believe in High School is where we try to develop an identity. We want to be known for something. We want to be recognized for something we’re good at. We want to be unique. Something that sets us apart. So we have sports, theater, music, cheerleading, debate, academics, etc. What we usually don’t realize is, our skills & interests develop over time. Some of us don’t even begin to understand our potential until we’re finishing college or working a trade. The Church in many ways trys to bridge the gap. By, giving members the chance to display their talents, hold leadership positions, service projects, a calling, home teach, etc.
When we don’t have these opportunities or there isn’t someone who will give us positive encouragement, we can go the other way. Get in trouble, depression, etc.
Mike from Milton.
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