First, here is what the World Health Organization reported which confirms this:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news ... staggering
Here is another study that says that half of Americans will develop a mental illness in their lifetime.June 1, 2004 -- A World Health Organization study released Tuesday shows that rates of most mental illness are far higher in the U.S. than in any other country in the world.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... se/246035/
Here are more articles about the high rates of mental illness in America which corroborates my claim:MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS IN THE UNITED STATES
Over a 12-month period, 27 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience some sort of mental health disorder, making the U.S. the country with the highest prevalence. Mental health disorders include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and substance abuse. Over one's entire lifetime, the average American has a 47.4 percent chance of having any kind of mental health disorder. Yes, that's almost one in two. The projected lifetime prevalence is even higher: for people who reach age 75 it is 55 percent. The WHO data does not take into account eating disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia; the incidence of these disorders together is about 15 percent in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5111202/
http://nysun.com/editorials/are-we-really-ill?fark
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012 ... l-illness/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 080958.htm
http://www.thekimfoundation.org/html/ab ... stics.html
http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/12 ... ently-high
http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisori ... 85326.aspx
The media has also reported on the growing epidemic of social isolation and loneliness in America, citing that Americans have fewer friends than they did in the past. See their reports here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/weeki ... ntain.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 63_pf.html
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology ... iness.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacifi ... cover.html
In one of the studies above, an "expert" theorizes that depression may be a "luxury disorder" in the US because people in other countries have to survive all the time and have no time for depression. lol
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... se/246035/
What a load of laughable denialist BS. If having free time were really the cause of depression then how come people who work less than Americans, such as the French, Germans, Spanish and Dutch, don't have mental health problems like Americans do? In fact, even in a third world country like the Philippines, where reportedly 60 percent of people are unemployed, there are no mental illness problems, only money problems.FINDING PATTERNS: THE LUXURY OF DEPRESSION
Despite ongoing research, the predictors of mental health disorders are still evasive, even for the most common, like depression. While a nation’s wealth factor would seem to have an impact, it’s clear from the data that the relationship is complex. Ron Kessler, Ph.D., the Harvard researcher who headed much of the WHO’s mental health research, says that by and large people in less-developed countries are less depressed: After all, he says, when you’re literally trying to survive, who has time for depression? Americans, on the other hand, many of whom lead relatively comfortable lives, blow other nations away in the depression factor, leading some to suggest that depression is a “luxury disorder.�
These dense Harvard experts are clearly in denial of the truth, which is that the true reason for the highest rates of mental illness in America have a lot more to do with the inauthentic, insane, toxic, dysfunctional, lonely, isolated, hostile, unfriendly lifestyle and social culture than with having too much free time.
Here is my theory on the causes of unusually high rates of mental illness in America:
1. The American environment is unusually ISOLATING and LONELY, compared to the rest of the world that is. America is a corporate machine where people are all business. There is no true connection, friendship, bonding or community with others. Communication is usually business related and people are segregated psychologically. Friendships, and even relationships, are mostly FACADES. Deep down, everyone knows that no one really cares about them and that no one will be there for them if they hit rock bottom. One has to try to suppress the feeling of loneliness, because it's a taboo subject, so one eventually blames oneself. This self-hatred erodes one's mental health and self-worth.
2. Americans live a very INAUTHENTIC, SOULLESS and STRESSFUL workaholic lifestyle where they deny their soul, spirit and heart to become soulless robots who only live to work and consume. They run on a hamster wheel while being disconnected from others, which is unnatural. Also, they try to derive happiness from materialism and work rather than from love, relationships, friendships or spirituality, and then they wonder why they aren't happy. All this causes a SPLIT psychosis between their head programming and their heart/spirit, which FRAGMENTS their inner state of being. Denying who you really are undermines your mental health, obviously. Additionally, being overstressed and under pressure everyday makes you weaker as well.
3. Americans are in an EXCESSIVE state of FEAR and paranoia, conditioned into them by their media, culture and peers. This is not good and is more easily noticeable when one goes to other countries where people are not like this, even if their country's streets are more dangerous. For example, in Russia, crimes and scams are higher than in America, yet their people are not afraid of strangers and enjoy meeting and conversing with them. All spiritual teachings will tell you that FEAR puts you in the lowest vibration density, where your mind will be less clear and your reaction will be slower. A healthy dose of fear is normal, but Americans have taken it to the extreme, and that's not good for either their physical or mental health.
4. Americans are raised to feel like shit with no intrinsic worth beyond their job. They are treated like COMMODITIES in the economic system, which DEHUMANIZES them and REPRESSES who they are. Denial of one's true self and feeling invalidated all the time, eventually fragments oneself and undermines one's mental health.
5. Americans are raised and conditioned to feel INSECURE about themselves. They are constantly judged, criticized and made to feel like they are never good enough. No one feels accepted for who they are. They constantly have to try to "prove themselves". Americans grow up with emotional baggage, insecurity complexes and insecurity issues, which are NOT major problems that people in other countries have. So they have to brag, develop phony personalities, and try to pump up fake confidence. Most Americans would be surprised to know that things like "confidence" and "self-esteem" are not things that people in other cultures have to wrestle with and try to "pump up" everyday.
6. Americans are raised with a COMPETITIVE mindset where they see others as potential enemies to watch out for. Competition divides people and is unhealthy in the long run. After all, if your heart and your liver competed with each other, would that be good for your body and health? Thus Americans don't really trust other people, and they feel all alone because there is no one for them to lean on. They have NO EMOTIONAL SUPPORT from others, and so they stand alone, which WEAKENS and FRAGMENTS them psychologically.
7. And of course, the food that Americans eat contains too many chemicals, preservatives and processed ingredients and additives. Much more so than in other countries. Some of these chemicals are toxic and harmful, such as aspartme, MSG, and GMO's (genetically modified organisms). These processed ingredients and chemicals act as slow poison that deteriorates the health of Americans, causing obesity and other health problems. And since there is a proven mind-body link, if the body breaks down, then so does the mind. Thus mental health is affected by unhealthy food and nutrition as well.