Why are so many women I'm meeting having mental health issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm GenX. I know my parents and grandparents drank a lot more. Probably a fair amount of self-medication going on with that drinking. Mental illness was often regarded as a personal failing and/or weakness.

My experience is anecdotal, but I feel like GenX straddles the divide between self-medication with drugs or alcohol and a more enlightened attitude toward mental health that's growing among younger people.

Just hoping for increased healing and peace for everyone! Go, young people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Women are smart enough to get help.

Men just hide it.

Wow very sexist. Better watch yourself at work. You could be out of a job soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, all of the men apparently have ADHD so it’s only fair that women have some mental health issues.

Anxiety and depression n makes often looks like ADHD. I suspect half the wife-diagnosed ADHD DH here on DCUM really have untreated anxiety and/or depression.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Women are smart enough to get help.

Men just hide it.

Wow very sexist. Better watch yourself at work. You could be out of a job soon.

I think her second statement is true. Women go to the doctor because it is more socially acceptable and also they have to function in order to care for their loved ones. A lot of men can self-medicate nightly with a six pack of beer or pot because they don’t have to get dinner on the table, supervise HW, or make sure Grandma gets her meds on schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Women are smart enough to get help.

Men just hide it.

Because society crucifies men who show any weakness.

[Anonymous]

I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Is this also going on with respect to, say, stomach ailments. Or is it just mental disease that makes you skeptical?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Yes, totally agree. Every few days, my FB feed comes up with a post about someone who talks about taking medication and seeing a shrink. If I were having such mental health problems, I wouldn't broadcast it. I also think there has to be so many unscrupulous docs who pathologize someone's anxiety into GAD, or someone's feelings of sadness into clinical depression.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The dates I'm talking about are a mixed bag of women. Some never married, some divorced and none of them have kids of their own (I don't date women with kids- yea, flame me). These women are professionally successful (or so they claim) and it's 50-50 whether I approach them or vice versa. Online dating or through Tinder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Women are smart enough to get help.

Men just hide it.

Because society crucifies men who show any weakness.

I have noted how Alan Alda, Terry Crews, and Michael J Fox have been absolutely pilloried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Yes, totally agree. Every few days, my FB feed comes up with a post about someone who talks about taking medication and seeing a shrink. If I were having such mental health problems, I wouldn't broadcast it. I also think there has to be so many unscrupulous docs who pathologize someone's anxiety into GAD, or someone's feelings of sadness into clinical depression.

People talk about it in order to reduce the stigma. Less stigma means more people will get treated which saves lives as well as improving the quality of life for patients and their loved ones. My mom’s undiagnosed anxiety has caused suffering for three generations of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Yes, totally agree. Every few days, my FB feed comes up with a post about someone who talks about taking medication and seeing a shrink. If I were having such mental health problems, I wouldn't broadcast it. I also think there has to be so many unscrupulous docs who pathologize someone's anxiety into GAD, or someone's feelings of sadness into clinical depression.

People talk about it in order to reduce the stigma. Less stigma means more people will get treated which saves lives as well as improving the quality of life for patients and their loved ones. My mom’s undiagnosed anxiety has caused suffering for three generations of people.

But don't you think it's swung to the other extreme where it's become the new normal???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Yes, totally agree. Every few days, my FB feed comes up with a post about someone who talks about taking medication and seeing a shrink. If I were having such mental health problems, I wouldn't broadcast it. I also think there has to be so many unscrupulous docs who pathologize someone's anxiety into GAD, or someone's feelings of sadness into clinical depression.

People talk about it in order to reduce the stigma. Less stigma means more people will get treated which saves lives as well as improving the quality of life for patients and their loved ones. My mom’s undiagnosed anxiety has caused suffering for three generations of people.

But don't you think it's swung to the other extreme where it's become the new normal???

Prozac or something similar is the new normal, and not worth discussing except in case of loss of ability to orgasm or, independent of that, loss of libido.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is generational, not gendered. $5 says OP is dating women much younger than himself (fine, bro, do you) and younger people are much more likely to have diagnosed issues and to disclose them to dates.

Wrong. My dad who is in his 60s and dating 60-something ladies says the same as OP. These ladies, in addition to cholesterol and hypertension meds, are also either on Zoloft or Prozac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing against women (or men) who are open about anxiety and depression. I just don’t like the modern tendency to make themselves into the victims of every situation and of society, in general.

I this this trend really got going with social media, and now it’s infiltrated traditional media.

Yes, totally agree. Every few days, my FB feed comes up with a post about someone who talks about taking medication and seeing a shrink. If I were having such mental health problems, I wouldn't broadcast it. I also think there has to be so many unscrupulous docs who pathologize someone's anxiety into GAD, or someone's feelings of sadness into clinical depression.

People talk about it in order to reduce the stigma. Less stigma means more people will get treated which saves lives as well as improving the quality of life for patients and their loved ones. My mom’s undiagnosed anxiety has caused suffering for three generations of people.

But don't you think it's swung to the other extreme where it's become the new normal???

About a third of people will experience anxiety at the level of a disorder at some point in their lives. That doesn't mean it will happen more than once, necessarily, or that it will affect them their whole lives, but yes, most people will know someone with it.

When you include depression -- which also can be present at a level that qualifies at a disorder but for only a limited time -- that is a lot of people.

There is no evidence that the prevalence of these disorders is increasing. There is evidence that more people are talking about it and dealing with it in more health ways than just self-medication or pretending like it isn't there.

Abstract
Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, and separation anxiety disorder, are the most prevalent mental disorders and are associated with immense health care costs and a high burden of disease. According to large population-based surveys, up to 33.7% of the population are affected by an anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Substantial underrecognition and undertreatment of these disorders have been demonstrated. There is no evidence that the prevalence rates of anxiety disorders have changed in the past years. In cross-cultural comparisons, prevalence rates are highly variable. It is more likely that this heterogeneity is due to differences in methodology than to cultural influences. Anxiety disorders follow a chronic course; however, there is a natural decrease in prevalence rates with older age. Anxiety disorders are highly comorbid with other anxiety disorders and other mental disorders.

Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610617/