Are we more mentally ill today than we were a few generations ago?

Question

If yes, why do you think mental illness is more prevalent today?

Answer

I think there have been several studies linking social media usage and selfies with poor mental health. It would follow that with our increased usage our mental health is suffering

Answer

No, we’re just better at recognizing it. Plus there’s a lot of amateur psychologists that like to throw diagnostic terms around without actual proper diagnosis inflating our collective perception of how much mental illness there is.

Answer

Yes, we are overly sensitive. Let me explain:                            Our generation is very spoiled compared to the generations before us. We are not able to accept rejection and defeat. The rate of suicide is increasing everyday, and we get depressed because we compare ourselves so much to everyone else.                                          Now, people who live in poor countries, people who dont have food on their tables, people that live in war zones, that see people dying around them, those people are stronger than us. When they smile, its as if the whole world is smiling. They don't have to take medication        to keep then going. they just live. So yeah, I think we all became so soft and sensitive.

Answer

No, we're just better at identifying the symptoms and diagnosing people. When statistics say that more people are diagnosed with a mental illness now than in previous years it doesn't mean that more people are mentally ill, it just means that more people have a diagnosis. Statistics can be very misleading, as people assume causal links where none have been found. The rise in diagnosed conditions could be due to a number of factors, such as mental health funding, education, the reduced stigma, more accurate mental health definitions, better understanding of cultural differences in mental health etc.

Answer

There are many factors for the increase in MH illnesses. We are inundated with neurotoxins on a daily level. We also lead a more sedentary lifestyle, which is not natural leading to restlessness and depression. Also, the field of psychology has emerged and is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Answer

In some ways yes, in other ways no. I think yes we are more aware of mental illness, broader spectrums, & better understanding medically therefore of course there would be a surge in mental illness because it was always there we just have a better understanding and additionally more of a comfortable view than previous generations where people are more ok with speaking out and not behaving as maliciously towards people who are mentally ill.
However along with this there is also a noticeable surge in mental illness becoming a trend or accessory. We’re getting to the point as a society we’re people think because they sneeze they have a mental illness. Along with self diagnosing. And we are also getting to a point in our society where being mentally ill is seen as deep, edgy, artistic, romantic, quirky, ect.
Also I think the surge is not only is the two things I explained but with the reality that people are involved with social media where they view for hours a Day other people’s life. Seeing these people and their lives on social media as being happy, beautiful, exciting. Looking at themselves as if they can’t accomplish this or that this equals happiness therefore being unsatisfied with themselves and their lives causing them to develop things like depression or body image disorders (I’m sure other problems as well). Social media as created many “ideals” and false images of real people that has caused a distortion and poor outlook of life and the human body for many people.

Answer

I think we're are more aware of it. I think people used to ignore it or let people justify being a shitty person with mental illness. example: my ex and I both have bipolar. my ex abused my son and I. I know the difference between mental illness and being abusive. my ex's mother blames him being abusive on being untreated. she says he's better now that he's on meds. I call bullshit. I've never abused my so's or children because I'm bipolar, I'm also  not on medication. any person who isn't shitty themselves knows the difference.

Answer

More aware of it
Also TO MY STATISTICS! Absconds
https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
For those who don’t use the link 
Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.1 
Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.2
Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.3
1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.4
2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.5
6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.6
18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.7
Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.8
There has been an increase in people receiving help for mental illness, but overall it hasn’t really changed the numbers much. 
And apparently the CDC says that suicide rates, which had been declining, are now on a rise since 2000. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6610a2.htm?s_cid=mm6610a2_w
(They, being the article I pulled up, also have a neat link https://www.factcheck.org/2016/07/dueling-claims-on-crime-trend/ on how overall violent crime has decreased.)
I’d also like to point out that things that weren’t mental illness are now deemed such, like addiction, and things were also removed from the list.

Answer

I don’t think so. I think we’re just more aware of the symptoms and what illnesses there are out there.

Answer

It’s possible, but I think a lot of it is the misconceptions and the shaming of people with mental illness has gone down. More people are able to be diagnosed. People aren’t shoved into a corner and forgotten as much. There are more resources too. With social media and how our world is changing, it brings light to these different individuals. People are raising awareness and educating at the same time.

Are we more mentally ill today than we were a few generations ago?

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