Non-Biological Factors in Depression: Inactivity

[@Walter18091942]

Very very helpful, if only people would listen to it and started applying it

[@yogiperogy]

Lifelong depressive disorder for which I now realize even moderate activity can be useful. Time to become more active, especially outdoors. Thanks for the butt-nudge!

[@AnnemarieMytka]

Absolutely, for too long from being fit , too becoming bedridden, my body has become so stiff, painful, in god I put my trust ❤

[@stanobrien4771]

Anxiety and extended days with the inability to sleep was heavily exacerbated by an unknown sensitivity I had to Nightshade vegetables. (Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant for example) While praying in the middle of one of those sleepless nights, it was impressed upon me to consider the content of my meals. Another example of God guiding and sustaining us in challenging times.

[@AnnemarieMytka]

Very well said ❤

[@ronaldkrakowski4599]

I agree 💯

[@austinords]

Non-biological factors in depression fall within the ambit of our control much more than biological factors. Consider this: Research data are starting to show that mental health cases had been fairly stable in the decades of the 1990s to 2010s. But something happened globally when those numbers started climbing around 2012 when cases of depression, anxiety and self-harm (including suicide) spiral among the young & old, in countries such as US, Canada, UK, Australia, NZ and in northern Europe. Is it any coincidence that this is about the exact same period of time when the smartphone, high-speed internet, front-facing camera and social media (with its filters, bells & whistles and hidden algorithms) all came to a head and began hijacking people's lives? Social media is incompatible with normal healthy human psychosocial development, and big tech is raking in ginormous profits making people sick. It's a stark contrast between the promises of _social_ media versus its _anti-social_ outcomes. And with the advent of AI, there's no telling how much worse things can get! I, for one, am one of the few holdouts against this social media onslaught. Lay off your smartphone & social media and gain more time for yourself; the ensuing "boredom" is good for you - it will spur you to engage in more self-reflection, more mental creativity & more physical activity. That's just what the doctor ordered to stave off depression and improve mental health immensely.

[@TomorrowsWorldViewpoint]

You raise a very interesting point. It was around 2012, at least in Canada, when significant social changes started to move into mainstream culture, pushed by more frequent messaging in public mainstream media. This provided increasing pressure to normalize recreatuional drug utilization, as well as a significant increase in discussion around gender identification. While certainly not the only issues facing society, these affected the younger demographic in particular. It is in this sector of population that depression and dispair seem to have been growing the fastest. Any comments on research being done in this are would be appricated.

[@austinords]

Cannabis became legal in Canada at a later time, I think pre-pandemic at around 2018-2019, particularly for recreational use (same period of time for Canadian gender politics?). There's even talk of decriminalizing possession and use of small amounts (keyword is "small", ~2grams or less) of drugs for personal consumption. Consider that Canada's drug regulation policies had historically been relatively strict from 100 until 50 years ago. In so many words I was trying to say above that if people lay off their smartphones & social media (I concede smartphones are here to stay) then they'd gain plenty more time to engage in more productive pursuits, such as exercise & physical activity that the TWV episode above points out. "Boredom" is your friend; Psalms 46 may be apt: _"BE STILL, and know that I am God."_ (Psalms 46:10) Meantime, here's research reviews into depression among the young across western countries (US, Canada, UK, Australia, NZ, Scandinavian, European, etc.) and possible trends that all came together that is giving us these depressing (pun intended) outcomes. _"In sum, all five Anglosphere countries exhibit the same basic pattern . . . . Why did this happen in the same way at the same time in five different countries? . . . At this point, there is only one theory we know of that can explain why the same thing happened to girls in so many countries at the same time."_ _"The Teen Mental Illness Epidemic is International"_ www.afterbabel.com/p/international-mental-illness-part-one The research document / literature review is comprehensive. A fair appraisal of scientific evidence may give mixed results, but their main points are compelling.