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Utah’s population is estimated to be comprised of approximately 70-80% people who are members of the LDS church. Utah leads the nation in anti-depressants.
Out of all 50 states (including some with 20 times the population of Utah)… Utah is #1 for anti-depressant prescriptions.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/03/eveningnews/main510918.shtml http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=4403731&page=1 Is there a correlation between Mormonism and depression… or Utah Mormons and depression?
As asked in another thread, “Are there cultural norms in church culture that could cause individuals to get depressed ?”
“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” -Proverbs 23:7 The heart of repentance is correcting thinking, which then corrects feelings/intent & behavior.
I’ve always been interested in psychology, “the study of the soul”, & believe it to be inseparably connected to spirituality.
When I was very depressed, I went to see a councilor, who gave me a list of common cognitive (thinking) distortions, like this:
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2009/15-com … stortions/Studies show that religion can either help or harm us mentally & even physically – based on interpretation of doctrine.
With the goal of optimum mental health and getting the most out of the gospel, I’ve taken a close look at cognitive distortions in relation to teachings I’ve learned in the church…
1. Filtering: filtering out positive aspects of a situation while magnifying negative…In church, I’ve gotten the message that I am not good enough, no matter how much I serve & give & that even if I do a lot & don’t pay tithing to the church but instead to the poor, I am unworthy.
2. Polarized thinking: black- or white (when often it is a mix) – BI-POLAR thinking: “The church is either true or not.” “You are either on the Lord’s side or you aren’t.”
3. Overgeneralization – something happens once, but general conclusions are based on that one happening – (Prejudice – racial & of “non members”)
4. Jumping to conclusions – concluding with out knowing or considering all of the facts -(spiritual feeling interpreted to mean church is completely true, when it may be just a particular personally inspiring aspect… I was taught that if something did not fit neatly into dictated beliefs (ie articles of faith or GA statements) then, it should be discounted automatically..Also, many members assume that people who go “inactive” have done something wrong or are somehow misguided for leaving the church & such people are thus shunned & treated badly.)
5. Catastrophizing – magnifying or minimizing, expecting disaster – “LAST DAYS!!!” Fear of God and Satan.
6. Personalization – taking things personally, comparing – Many take celebrities & political figures as if they represent them personally, because they are Mormon.
7. Control Fallacies – Viewing ourselves victim to external controls, or internalizing others pain (to feel control) – ie story of Joseph Smith being victimized, when he also hurt others.
8. Blaming – holding others responsible for our pain, or blaming ourselves for others pain – (I’ve never read that Jesus ex-communicated nor disfellowshipped even “the least of these.”)
9. Shoulds – making rules about everything – & inducing shame when rules aren’t kept (Too many “shoulds” to name. One incorrect shaming is about sex, so many Mormons even struggle sexually after marriage)
10. Emotional Reasoning – thinking feelings are facts (when they aren’t) – (I’ve been taught that Mormonism has a monopoly on the companionship of spirit.)
11. Fallacy of Change – Thinking we can change others & then we’ll be happy (both aren’t true) … (There is the teaching that “non-members” are lacking and must change to our ways, as if our way is the only way and that if we convince someone to go our way, we will be happy.)
12. Global Labeling – Generalizing – I was taught that anything outside the beliefs of the church is wrong, but everything said by church leaders is God’s word and should not be questioned.
13. Always being right – Continually on trial to prove our opinions & actions are correct – (This goes along with Personalization – where members perceive any praise or criticism of the church as praise or criticism of them, obvious on forums – not just between members and non-members but even within members.
14. Heaven’s Reward Fallacy – Belief that if you suffer enough, the pay-off will be worth it after-life. More energy & money is given to try to help those who have died, than those who are alive.
SamBee wrote:I think there are probably reasons for that which lie both in and outside the church. America seems to be a “prescribed” nation AFAIK, where chemical laden food is given to people, and then they take other chemicals to counteract the effect of that. It’s also a nation which relies on the automobile, meaning people don’t take enough natural exercise outdoors, or walk somewhere that’s only a mile away. Because of that people don’t get fresh air, enough sunlight etc on top of a processed diet…
The problem inside and outside the church is perfection. Women especially are really susceptible. But men are being worked on. Look at all the impossibly good looking people on TV, films and magazines – it gives us an unreachable goal, and advertisers use it to destroy our self-confidence to sell us health and beauty products, as well as all kinds of other trash we don’t need. In the church, our magazines show beautiful happy people, nuclear families in nice homes. Life isn’t like that.
But, there definitely are factors within the church.
Good points, SamBee.
I wonder & worry about the chemicals in so many foods.
And there are too many girls and women with eating disorders because of the pressure to be perfect, or to “stuff” feelings.
(Referring to the other thread “on being offended”…) Ray, BeLikeChrist is right.
I don’t think that using anti-depressants is evil.
There are definitely times when psychotropic drugs can save lives or make lives more bearable.
But IMO, they are way over-used and cause more harm than good.
Usually pain serves a purpose… to tell us something’s wrong.
If we ignore the pain & just try to medicate over it, we aren’t addressing the source of pain.
And as my 7th Grade teacher used to say, “There is NO free lunch!”
There is a price, or consequence to every action… like harmful side-effects of psychotropic drugs.
Mike wrote:It is very difficult to really understand what Depression is until you’ve experienced it yourself or with a member of your family.
Like alot of things in this life, there are no easy answers why one person suffers from depression & another person doesn’t.
Like alot of things, we try to categorize why with explanations like…
If they were more active.
If they studied the scriptures more.
If they went to the temple more.
Depression (like other illnesses) has no easy answer for why.
The same thing is true for why someone is inactive.
Mike from Milton.
I agree that there there is no easy or single answer as to why someone experiences depression.I’ve experienced depression – even suicidal. There were many factors…
Some factors were: Lack of sleep, lonely, felt ashamed of being an “old maid” at 20 yet I knew I wasn’t ready for marriage anyway, extra undeserved shame.
But I know there were many more – some more influential than others.
We are complicated beings… a lot goes into what we think, how we feel (emotionally & physically) & what we choose…
Besides the thinking distortions listed the following are some influential components of us…
1. Age
2. Physical Development
3. Sex (Male or Female) & how we regard our sexuality
4. Financial Opportunity
5. Education (& the education of influential people around us – esp. parents)
6. Health of body systems: (which is largely influenced by lifestyle habits of diet, exercise & sleep)
-Cardiovascual
-Digestive
-Endocrine
-Lymphatic
-Muscular
-Nervous
-Reporductive
-Respiratory
-Skeletal
-5 Senses
7. Genes & inherited tendencies (which are only expressed along with certain environmental influences)
8. Intelligence – & how it is pursued & valued or not (many types of intelligence)
-Musical
-Natural
-Logical/Mathematical
-Existential
-Interpersonal
-Bodily-Kinesthetic
-Linguistic
-Intra-personal
-Spatial
9. Self Management (Character/Maturity) – choice
10. Psychological development (see Erikson’s stages of development)
-Infancy: Birth to 18 months, Trust vs. Mistrust (possible strengths: drive & hope)
-Early Childhood: 18 months to 3 years, Autonomy vs. Shame (strengths: self-control, courage & will)
-Play Age: 3-5 years, Initiative vs. Guilt (strengths: purpose)
-School Age: 6-12, Industry vs. Inferiority (strengths: method & competence)
-Adolescence: 12-18, Identity vs. Role Confusion (strengths: devotion & fidelity)
-Young Adulthood: 18-35, Intimacy & Solidarity vs. Isolation (strengths: affiliation & love)
-Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55 or 65, Generativity vs. Self-Absorption or Stagnation (strengths: production & care)
-Late Adulthood: 55 or 65 to Death, Integrity vs. Despair (strength: wisdom)
11. Self Esteem (unconditional esteem for existing, & conditional esteem for living up to one’s perceived potential or not)
– Others Esteem/Relation to others
12. Birth/Sibling Order & Family Dynamics
-Oldest Child
-Only Child
-Middle Child
-Youngest Child
13. Cultural/
Religious Involvement and Beliefs-Realistic… or Non realistic measurement standard for worthiness
-Appropriate… or Non appropriate consequences for not living up to set standards
-Faith…or…Unrealistic fear of unknown
-Genuine Health Self-Esteem… or Pride based on cliquish exclusion
-A source of comfort and support… or ridicule and condemnation
-Acceptance of weakness & mistakes… or…Shame for being human
-Free Agency & Individual thinking valued… or group thought/Peer Pressure
-Teachings on Health: No smoking etc… is food the focus/way of showing love & are their eating disorders?
etc.
14. Temperament: (which affects how one pursues natural talents, abilities & types of intelligence)
– Activity
– Regularity
– Adaptability
– Persistence
– Sensitivity
15. Personality: (IE “Color Code” book)
– Red (want power, to be right, to hide insecurities tightly, leadership)
– Blue (want intimacy, to be good, to reveal insecurities, to be understood)
– White (want peace, to feel good inside, to please others, protection)
– Yellow (want fun, to look good, to be praised, freedom, playful adventure)
16. Social Support – family, friends, community (& how one reaches out & appreciates others reaching out, or not)
17. Experiences (which are countless!!!) & how we interpret & react to them
In a religion that is life-consuming (affecting decisions, time, money etc.) the religion will influence many of the above factors in various ways.As SamBee mentioned, the religious influence is also complicated… since the location, local ward & people in it vary.
Thank you for moving this to a new thread, Featherina, and for your comments. Just four things, to highlight why I’m concerned about HOW the stats are used:
Quote:Out of all 50 states (including some with 20 times the population of Utah)… Utah is #1 for anti-depressant prescriptions.
1) The size of the population has nothing to do with these rates. They are percentages, so 20 times the population doesn’t have any effect. It is completely irrelevant.
I don’t mean to be picky about it, but that’s the sort of thing that gets said and misinterpreted all the time. The rate is higher, but the number of prescriptions written isn’t the highest. California has more prescriptions written than Utah – as do Texas and New York and Florida and others.
2) I didn’t see county-by-county stats – and that is about the only way to say with any surety that Mormons are more depressed than non-Mormons in Utah. If the rates are uniformly higher in the counties with the highest Mormon percentage, then, yes, there is a correlation. If the highest rates are in the general SLC counties, then there is a negative correlation – meaning Mormons are LESS likely to use anti-depressants. If there is no obvious correlation, there are no conclusions that can be made relative to religion.
3) There are plenty of reasons that might contriubte, even among those that are “religious” in nature – and some of those reasons are ones I see as positive reasons. Simple acceptance of modern medicine is one of those positive reasons, and I think there is a wide-spread acceptance of medicine in our Mormon culture. Yes, perhaps we tend to over-rely on medicine as opposed to therapy approaches – but that’s a modern society problem, not a Mormon problem.
4) Ultimately, if the choice is a chemical one, I would MUCH rather it be prescribed than self-administered.
I’m not trying to deny this is an issue, and I’m not trying to say our culture has nothing to do with it. I do believe there are cultural and religous factors to population percentages and depression. I’m just saying I’m not ready to say it’s completely or even primarily a bad thing that is due to bad influences of Mormon culture.
One more thing: I can’t find it right now, but I’ve also seen statements that the highest percentages tend to be clustered in the same geographic region as Utah. That can’t be coincidental, and it can’t be attributed to the LDS Church – since many of those states have a very low Mormon population.
Featherina, I like what you said in your post & agree with most of it. You said: Quote:Studies show that religion can either help or harm us mentally & even physically – based on interpretation of doctrine.
Is there a chance that religion may have no impact on depression?
Instead of help or harm?
Just asking.
Mike from Milton.
Ray, Thank you for the correction about numbers verses percentages.
I read about the numbers & how NY’s population was 20x UT’s…but when I looked into it, it does seem that studies refer to percentages not numbers.
Still, “Utah leads the nation in prescriptions for anti-depressants, according to a recent study. “The fact that we’re twice the national average with something like anti-depressants begs some explanation,” said Dr. Curt Canning, head of the Psychiatric Association of Utah.
Utah is 80% Mormon. So, even if most of the 20% non-members were on anti-depressants, that still leaves a lot of anti-depressant prescriptions used by Mormons to make the statistics twice the national average. IMO, after living in several states, including Utah, being a Mormon in Utah is very different than being a Mormon in other states… Mormonism is more encompassing. Most of your neighbors are LDS, socializing tends to be cliquish (in my experience).
As I mentioned, I know there are multiple causes of feeling depressed enough to seek anti-depressants.
There are many (like myself) who have suffered depression but have not sought prescriptions for anti-depressants.
Still, again, it is important to be open to the truth… to heal what needs healing instead of turning a blind eye to it.
Old-Timer wrote:One more thing:
I can’t find it right now, but I’ve also seen statements that the highest percentages tend to be clustered in the same geographic region as Utah. That can’t be coincidental, and it can’t be attributed to the LDS Church – since many of those states have a very low Mormon population.
I’d be curious, if you found a study supporting that.Mike wrote:Featherina, I like what you said in your post & agree with most of it. You said:
Quote:Studies show that religion can either help or harm us mentally & even physically – based on interpretation of doctrine.
Is there a chance that religion may have no impact on depression?Instead of help or harm?
Only if we were non-feeling robots.No offense, but asking if religion may have no impact on depression is like asking,
“Is there a chance that religion has no impact on us at all?”
Still, Thanks for your positivity, Mike.
And I do think it’s good to consider and be open to possibilities.
So, thanks for that reminder.
I remember there was an article I read many years ago on Mormon women and depression. I could really relate to it at the time. Here is a link that referrs to it: http://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/113-14-21.pdf Here is the quote about it:
T HE MARCH/APRIL 1979 ISSUE OF SUNSTONE
featured the transcript of Louise Degnk groundbrealng
KSL-TV documentary, “Mormon Women and Depression,”
which legitimated a widespread but closeted darkside of Mormon
culture. LDS counselors Carlfred Broderick and R. Jan Stout were
two of the tallang heads:
BRODERICK-We do have a lot of depression in the Church
around the issue of not being able to be the perfect Relief
Society woman: not grinding your own wheat and making
your own bread and having your own garden and taking
casseroles over to all the sick and not also being a perfect
mother and an ideal housewife and well-groomed and reading
the scriptures every day And being something less than that
makes a lot of people depressed who, if their standards weren’t
quite so high, might be more self-accepting.
STOUT-I think in Mormonism the women themselves
tend to apply a great deal of pressure on each other. I don’t see
it coming so high from Church pronouncements of leaders.
Some of it is there, but it is largely the women themselves who
carry around with them excessive expectations of what they
should or should not be as Mormons.
Some of them feel they have to reach this kind of idealized,
crystallized, beautiful Mormon woman, which 1 term the
Mother-of-Zion syndrome. This is a woman who is really a
myth, a mystique. She doesn’t exist at all, in fact. But all
Mormon women in almost any ward you wanted to go into
would tell you they know a woman who is like that: She’s got
it all together; her children are well-groomed; she bakes bread
every day; she has wonderfully clean things in the house; her
husband is happy and whistles off to work; she never complains
at any of the Church meetings he goes to; she’s supportive
and loyal; and not only that: she gets up and reads her
scriptures at six in the morning. She’s got it all together. And
that’s a very intimidating thing for the average Mormon
woman.
Now, in fact, this woman exists only in the minds of other
women. They may try to approximate it. But I’ve seen too
many cases of these super-Mormon women who themselves
are depressed or who have private faces, private lives that are
quite different from what their ward members see out on the
street.
Quote:There are plenty of reasons that might contriubte, even among those that are “religious” in nature – and some of those reasons are ones I see as positive reasons
Yes, let’s be careful with our interpretation of this statistic. For example, the western states (including Utah and Idaho) lead the nations in suicides. That has less to do with depression and more to do with the availability of guns in the Western states. Suicides using such means are generally successfuly as opposed to slitting the wrist or overdosing on medication. A look at the statistics regarding suicide attempts (which I haven’t seen) may yield something very different. What I’m saying is that a population high in anti-depressant use does not AUTOMATICALLY make it the most depressed population. It could be related to prosperity. People in some of the poorer states (say West Virginia) may be just as depressed but unable to afford the medication (which can be costly in some instances).
I am NOT trying to attack the stance that Mormonism leads to depression (I’ve personally felt those effects) but let’s just take care with some of these numbers that get thrown about.
Mormons here in Utah don’t get a day of rest, are forced to live on less than 90% of what they make (While discouraging dual incomes), and they can’t go have a drink to take the edge off. There is also a very huge culture of “keeping up with the Joneses” and always appearing to be perfect. Those are excellent points, Brown, especially the lack of real R&R time and the financial stresses of paying tithing. They are the sort of things that I think are FAR more relevant than doctrinal issues.
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