[MTR_10]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...title=China_65

Very curious about this. Why do more developed countries have such high levels of depression?

[Bill_Gates]

Theres no-one to measure depression in poorer countries. Materialism does not always lead to happiness. So i guess its somewhere between them two points?

[Muscovite]

Only when the last tree has been chopped down and the last fish fished will man realise that you cannot eat money

[+ polarity -]

Once it's not a struggle to survive, we can think. We can think about our existence, and about everything that is wrong with us.

[TheHistoryStudent]

(Original post by Muscovite)
Only when the last tree has been chopped down and the last fish fished will man realise that you cannot eat money

That seems like a pretty grim assessment/prediction of the current system and where it's going

[King Kebab]

(Original post by MTR_10)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...title=China_65

Very curious about this. Why do more developed countries have such high levels of depression?

I think a reason for this is because after people have gotten the bare necessities to live on, they start to want more than they actually need and compare their lives to others, which results in them feeling depressed.

[Papermate15]

In my opinion, it's due to developing countries having a better quality of life than developed countries despite having a much poorer standard of living. Developing countries tend to have a much better sense of 'togetherness' than developed countries, they tend help each other out more in many aspects of life despite being in poverty- this therefore accounts for the much lower rates of depression in developing countries.

[Annoying-Mouse]

How could they control for cultural factors like the person's personal view on depression? If I view depression as a weakness and I don't want to be weak, why would I admit to having been depressed? If depression is stigmatized in my culture and you can't express sadness and have to appear strong from birth, why would you admit to having been depressed? That in my opinion, accounts for the differences in gender and depression because men in most cultures have the gender streotype of having to appear strong, this also explains why men have a higher suicide rate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority.

[Ham22]

We're not getting our basic needs met. People need to be socialising with other people they actually like and trust and feel supported by on a regular basis.

Many people lead quite solitary lives.
Many people as they get older end up having their spouse as their only trusted friend.
Many people's interaction with others is wholly superficial- it is not fulfilling.
Many people spend most of their waking hours (at work) around people they tolerate at best. The work place can often be 'toxic'.

[ckingalt]

Depression is a luxury. The worst off in undeveloped countries don't get depressed. They get hungry.

[Fusion]

Lifestyle can cause depression, and those in developing countries are more likely to be phsycially active and family/people orientated. e.g. tribal dancing in Africa, fishermen in the pacific islands...

[ufo2012]

(Original post by MTR_10)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0...title=China_65

Very curious about this. Why do more developed countries have such high levels of depression?

Because so much is expected of people in developed countries

[Martyn*]

Developed societies often try to mould people into one type, the competitive over-achiever, which is thoroughly grotesque because everyone is a unique individual. Conforming to the type which society moulds us into often produces stunted individuals who are more likely to have all manner of pyschological disorders. Everyone gets depressed as point, I would guess. But mania (manic depressive episodes) and hysteria (angst, nervous dispositions, extreme tendencies) are the result of what society thinks we should be like Ecce Homo.

[SaintSoldier]

I'd say it is because of we have over-complicated the world, and life in general.

There is now so much going on: so many deadlines to meet, so many exams to take, and so many other people to compete with - life can get quite stressful because of that.

Also, I doubt many developing countries have accurate methods of measuring depression. Many people in these countries don't have easy access to healthcare, so it is unlikely that they would even be diagnosed with depression even if they had it. People may not even realise that they are depressed, or they could be too ashamed to report it.

I can comment on the 9.8% rate in South Africa. I'd say most South Africans would be depressed due to being affected by crime in some way. Also, the unemployment rate in SA is horrific (roughly 60%), so that obviously causes a lot of stress amongst people.

I doubt these surveys take into account people living in rural areas, therefore we have no idea about how the average farmer in Limpopo feels about life, for example.

SA fits the general trend though. It is the most developed of the developing countries (if that makes sense), which explains why it has higher rates of depression than India etc, but it has lower rates than the UK etc.

(Original post by Fusion)
Lifestyle can cause depression, and those in developing countries are more likely to be phsycially active and family/people orientated. e.g. tribal dancing in Africa, fishermen in the pacific islands...

Do you honestly think that's all Africans do with their time?

Spoiler:

Show

[Phantom Lord]

(Original post by SaintSoldier)
It is the most developed of the developing countries (if that makes sense),

It's not even the most developed in Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...elopment_Index

[SaintSoldier]

(Original post by AkaJetson)
It's not even the most developed in Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...elopment_Index

This video is specifically about the progression of South Africa from the Apartheid regime, but there are some interesting facts about the present day South African economy

[SaintSoldier]

(Original post by AkaJetson)
It's not even the most developed in Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...elopment_Index

This video is more appropriate in this case

[Phantom Lord]

(Original post by SaintSoldier)


This video is more appropriate in this case

I wasn't implying it's a ****hole..but anyway you could make videos like that for a lot of different countries. Still looks good though.

[SaintSoldier]

(Original post by AkaJetson)
I wasn't implying it's a ****hole..but anyway you could make videos like that for a lot of different countries. Still looks good though.

In general terms, yes. But the statistics that the video provides gives solid evidence for what it is claiming.

For example, you can't have two countries that have the best regulation of security exchanges; only one place can fill that spot. The same applies to all the other statistics.

[Phantom Lord]

(Original post by SaintSoldier)
In general terms, yes. But the statistics that the video provides gives solid evidence for what it is claiming.

For example, you can't have two countries that have the best regulation of security exchanges; only one place can fill that spot. The same applies to all the other statistics.

Most countries have some random good statistics that they can put on a promotional video. However SA has some pretty poor stats in a number of fields which I'm sure you know.