Demystifying Depression/Is Depression on the Rise

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Is Depression on the Rise?

Is the incidence of depression really on the rise? Statistics seem to point that way [1], and considering the risk factors, that should not be altogether surprising. The truth is that many modern hobbies are actually very demanding on the brain. Should a person pull long hours at work and then come home to face an equally demanding hobby, there is a very good chance that they are pushing the brain past its limit.

This is likely to strike a chord with the Kuro5hin crowd: surfing the web and blogging should be seen as work as far as the brain is concerned. In a similar note, information overload is not just a fancy buzzword: it is a factor contributing to the development of depression. The list is long: mobile phones, news tickers, instant messaging, etc. We seem to be very good at devising ways to overload our brains.

On a more positive note, if one considers the current understanding of the problem, plus the available means to treat it, making serious clinical depression a thing of the past is well within our reach. What is required? Just getting the message across! Sadly, it may prove difficult to overcome centuries of prejudice surrounding mental illness.

Next page: Quantifying Depression, Previous page: The Genetic Link, Top: Demystifying Depression