Depression is a Disease of the Rich
‘Depression is a disease of the rich’. This is something that was told to me by a psychologist and it hit on another level. She further mentioned – the poor have to worry about their next meal or how they are going to make ends meet. They have no time to be depressed or if they are, to focus on it.
This made me realise many things. Many of us are very privileged in that we have the luxury of time to think, to create, to experience and to feel. In this midst, it’s possibly because we are able to wallow in that feeling that we often are unable to come up and out of it. It’s the ultimate pitfall of being too smart, too sensitive and all in all too aware. It’s almost a cruel twist to Faust and his need for intellectual stimulation via the devil since he had reached the pinnacle of life and was bored with his existence. In this instance, it is a matter of not knowing what to apply one’s mind to because you have everything you need.
In one sense, this is where modern society has failed to make individuals realise that as a collective, their task towards the greater good (as it were) is never ending. If you understand the balance between personal growth and fulfilment and the needs of the community you belong to, you will not have time to wallow in excessive thinking. It is also a failure of modern society to teach children, that life is not easy and that grit and resilience are vital for survival.
Today, we have a world that is overly sensitive, triggered by everything and parents trying to shield their children from mere existence. You cannot protect a human being to an extent where their outer shell and sense of self is so fragile that they cannot be released into the greater world of the good, the bad and the ugly. If you want to do that – don’t have children. But if you do have children, then please ensure you arm them with the necessary tools and resources to deal with and face life.
I am forever grateful to my mother who told me from an early age that life is not fair. It’s a harsh truth but it’s an important one. She did not unleash me to the forces of the world without knowledge and empowerment, but she did so in a way that has made me survive and live well for a good 40 years. There is enough research to show that over-protection, helicopter parenting and constant interfering does little to benefit a human being. And learning to deal and cope with one’s emotions is a very important tool for survival. We have not given that training to people and so when crises happen or if life does not fulfil them, they are unable to deal and cope.
This is no way belittling mental illness but certain things need to be addressed and dealt with in order to prevent the spiral into preventable mental health conditions like depression.
