1. Depression and being suicidal
have many causes and it is complex. Some members reported they were particularly distant/emotional/morbid as children, even at 5yo. Most common onset is usually 12yo. But many have started developing serious symptoms only in their 20s. That general state of affairs is generally true. So you could have had a wonderful childhood , or an abusive one . And that bad/good childhood could have lasted till the age of 10 , 15 , 20 , or 25.
2. Correlation is not causation; and statistics lie. It's true that more severe emotional distress in childhood correlates , people prone to continue that into adulthood. But emotional distress is EXTREMELY common among young adults as a norm (especially in recent generation) -- and MOST of them recover well! So that is somewhat misleading. It is true that much of mental illness develops in early adulthood , but that's 15-25 ; most but not all.
So I wouldn't have attempted to generalize things ... The conclusion in the first post, and many other replies, does not hold really hold as
a general rule, though it may describe many
members well. We're a just subgroup (with many subgroups in it btw: some may not comment on this issue). Some of the big faults of the healthcare and mental healthcare systems is trying to generalize our issues to a single 'condition' or 'off shelf solution' -- it's usually more complex than that. Mental illness is often accompanied (or even caused) by some other stress as well.
My personal speculation is that 80% of members here could recover if they were given ideal conditions. And I mean ideal. Proper top notch medical treatment (with no bills), daily rehabilitation, coping and recovery support (not sub par like inpatient/outpatient..), living in a stress free environment that suits their personal needs, etc.
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but why do we see cohorts of young Millennials or gen Z who want to ctb? I'm baffled. What is driving the 20-year-olds from our forum to wanna ctb?
As for younger generation being more prone to depression, anxiety and suicide , that is scientifically true and well-researched . As
@stevieu explained on this thread , society , human interaction , and basic prospects had siginificantly changed in recent decade . The common image of the severely depressed/anxious had changed . Please read this
short article about research of Generation K . There is NO HOPE . And there is more ANXIETY . For everyone . Objectively .
1. Living Conditions worsened: Remember the "Prosperous 90s". Then came dot-com bubble , 9/11 , and 2008 ; housing & education bubble ; healthcare & wellfare collapse ; job market going crazy. It's not about how live NOW -- but whether one can see a FUTURE . We once knew that if we worked hard things will be okay and that's not the case anymore. Depression is much about lack of hope, not seeing any future ahead ..
2. Mental Issues worsened: 24/7 smartphones , social networks , messaging , and news. We're more connected than ever, and that's bad. Our main form of communication had fundamentally changed from talking to each other in certain time/place , to constantly texting & consuming everywhere . That overwhelms the brain and significantly increases anxiety. It's not just "Social Network" but the whole shebang. People ARE more depressed and anxious , and young people especially; and it's not just a single life event.
Living under those conditions grief, accident, ailment, getting fired -- all becomes much worse. There's no way to bounce back. People are losing their faith in the system, in the community, in people around them. It's a global phenomenon.
It's true for more and more "normal" people, but especially harmful to those with serious mental or physical issues.
