Is living in America bad for your health?

[MrPeabody]

American Society Can Cause Mental Illness - Study

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Is living in America bad for your mental health?

A new study released Monday reported that, for many immigrants from Mexico, mental health problems rise the longer they live in the United States.

``This is clearly a social effect, not a biological one,'' said William Vega, the professor of public health at the University of California-Berkeley who conducted the study.

``Mexicans come to this country with some kind of natural protection against mental disorder, and that breaks down very quickly in American society,'' he said. ``In fact, it goes in one generation.''

Vega's report, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, studied some 3,000 urban, rural and small town residents of California's Fresno County. Half of those studied were Mexican-Americans, while the other half were Mexican-born immigrants.

The study found that U.S.-born Mexican-Americans had mental disorders at about the same rate as non-Hispanic Americans, with roughly 48 percent suffering from maladies including depression, panic disorder, phobias, or alcohol or drug abuse.

But for recent immigrants and Mexican nationals, the rate of mental disorder was much lower at only around 25 percent -- reflecting a healthier outlook that Vega believes is linked to the traditional Mexican family structure.

``These people are under enormous financial stress,'' Vega said. ``Yet, the primary issue for the development of mental disturbance was not financial. I believe it has to do with the emotional support and nurturance people received from living in committed family relationships.''

In an effort to avoid cultural bias, Vega's study used an international psychiatric testing method developed by the World Health Organization and compared the Fresno sample to a separate group of about 1,700 people living in Mexico City.

Vega said the rising incidence of mental health problems among Mexican immigrants mirrors the gradual break-down in their family ties. Among Mexican immigrants interviewed for the study, roughly 80 percent were married compared with only about 50 percent of the Mexican-Americans.

``Divorce alone is not the cause of the decline in mental health,'' Vega said. ``It is one example of a change in values away from a collective family life.''

Vega said he expected similar studies now underway among different immigrant groups with strong family traditions such as Filipinos and Chinese to reflect the results found among Mexican immigrants.

``There's an exchange (in immigration),'' Vega said. ``These people are coming here for a reason, for jobs....but in this country you give up something. There is a price to pay.''

http://www.stopshrinks.org/reading_room ... es_mi.html

[jamesbond]

Wow, that's a good report, the US does cause mental illness and loneliness not seen in other countries. In fact, I read a report that said the US has the highest rate of mental illness of any industrialized country in the world!

Welcome to the United Lonely States of America!

[navigator]

Living in America is bad for your mental health because the deck is stacked against the common man, because Americans tend to overcomplicate everything, and because true companionship is hard to come by. It is a truly depressing experience. This continent was much better off before the Europeans invaded it and imposed their way of life upon it.

[pete98146]

Lonliness and isolation are a direct result of America's infactuation with being independant. Sadly, the trend toward being independant is growing leaps and bounds. Forty years ago, women were very dependant on their husbands to bring home the bacon. Fast forward to today and we know this is no longer the case. Everybody is independant of each other for the most part.

But the residual effect of all this independance is shallow relationships. The bonds between people are not as strong as they used to be. When each "man is an island" you have nobody to fall back upon when things get tough and your support system is gone. In troubled times, you start feeling guilty for inconviencing your friends or family for help. Compare and contrast this to other foreign societies and you can see why those living in America would have problems.

This is why I LOVE travelling to different parts of the world namely Asia and South America. I admire how they put family #1. I know quite a few of you guys brag about independant, free-willed thinkers who enjoy being a one man show, but remember there are always consequences associated with isolation.