Anxiety On The Rise, Is Our Time Now Worse Than The Great Depression?

By Bri Luginbill at HelloLife

Some experts would say yes. Dr. Jean Twenge, professor at San Diego State University, believes that it is worse than the Great Depression. She believes that anxiety rates have risen steadily over the past seven decades.

High Expecations

She explains how a great cultural shift has occurred in society since then, which contributes to this increase in anxiety.

“Recent generations have been told over and over again: You can be anything you want to be, you can have the big job title, you can have the big bank account, and in the case of women, you can have the perfect body. That puts a lot on a person’s shoulder – and it is also not really true. That disconnect creates a lot of anxiety about how hard you need to work […] and a deep fear of failure.”

It can create an “If I don’t get this, I won’t be satisfied” mentality. If I don’t get that dream job… If I don’t make enough money… If I don’t have the perfect body. People have high expectations of what their life should consist of. where they should be in their career, etc. With such expectations, we could be setting ourselves up for more feelings of anxiety when things don’t work out how we want it to. Or we could be setting ourselves up for disappointment and a feelings of dissatisfaction.

Lifestyle Change

High expectations aren't the only cultural shift people experience today. Dr. Katy Kamar, clinical psychologist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada believes our lifestyle has changed, which makes it more difficult to obtain a job.

"It used to be that if you got a good education, you would get a good job. But today, young people are uncertain about finding a job, they have a lot more debt, they are working while studying, finishing later, more fatigued and some are starting families while still in school, and juggling all of this causes a great deal of stress."

With this lifestyle change, people are uncertain they will even be able to find a job with their education. They feel anxious about that because they need income to start paying back their debt from school along with living expenses. This way of multi-tasking to find a job, pay off debt, start a family, and pay for living expenses can be draining.

A Need To Be Connected

Besides a cultural shift, there has been a great changes and advancements in how connected we can be with technology. Dr. Susan Nolen Hoeksema, a professor of psychology at Yale University, specializes in women’s stress and health and believes that this affects our anxiety.

“People feel they should always be on, and that they could be called upon at any moment to do something. Our e-mail and iPhones are constantly pinging, which keeps anxiety heightened all the time.”

This shift towards feeling a need or obligation for remaining connected can cause anxiety. If a friend texts someone, they may feel the need to respond promptly. They want to be there for everyone at every moment. And they feel like they can because it’s easy to have this all in one device—such as a SmartPhone. People want to be connected, but yet is causes them anxiety because they feel the need to respond right away to a call, text, e-mail, or social network.

Tiffany Shlain, documentary Filmmaker, produced a film called Connected that explores this concept of people always needing to be connected with electronic devices.

“Everything is happening so fast. There doesn't seem to be a lot of time to really talk about what it is doing to us.”

There are actually more cell phone subscribers in the United States than people. According to a trade industry report by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, there are 327 million subscribers but only 315 million people in the USA.

Economic Shift

There are economic shifts as well. According to the Census Bureau the average income of an American has decreased by nearly 10% since the beginning of the recession in 2008. More than 70% of America’s GDP is derived from consumer spending and consumer confidence has recently fallen to its lowest level since March 2009. Consumers are spending less because their desire towards spending has greatly dropped.

Economic shifts, technology that connects us 24/7, lifestyle changes, and high expectations can attribute to the anxiety people experience today. Whether or not it’s worse than the Great Depression is up to us to decide. Also, anxiety has always been then even before the Great Depression. It seems like the stressors are morphing and changing as the world changes. Just as people learned to cope in the Great Depression, we must learn how to cope in the time we are in now.

Thoughts, Opinions, Comments?

Sources:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/timigustafsonrd/2011/10/23/anxiety-disorders-are-sharply-on-the-rise/
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-18/tech/tech_mobile_documentary-film-connected_1_cell-phone-cellular-telecommunications-industry-association-tiffany-shlain?_s=PM:TECH

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11287665/1/consumer-confidence-plunges-in-october.html
http://www.economicvoice.com/?p=24916&page=3#axzz1btgDqCSO

3 Comments

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Laura Hogg
The question of whether or not our time is worse than the Great Depression is a tough one to answer. "Worse" in what way? On the one hand, we've made great strides since then (civil rights, technology, etc.) We have enough food to eat and our standard of living is pretty high.

However, we definitely have our issues. The food we're eating is making us sick, costing us tons of money for doctor's visits and making us more anxious. Technology too, as you pointed out, is probably making us more anxious. I know that often when I get a text message, I wait a little bit before I respond, which seems to make me more anxious because I feel like I'm forgetting something or I worry what the other person is thinking. Same thing with Facebook messages. And so on.

There have been studies done that clearly show that anxiety is on the rise, and I think I might have an idea why. In addition to the poor economy, technology issues, and faulty nutrition, we in 21st-century America have something else: a sense of entitlement - namely, to happiness. We tend to think we're supposed to be blissfully happy all the time, and that if we're not, there's something wrong with us. (I exclude people with genuine mental health issues such as serious depression, of course.) Think about it. In so many cases, instead of just one or a few people getting prizes, schools will give a prize to everyone. Some schools are doing away with having a valedictorian for this reason.

So, in that sense, our time is worse than the Great Depression, I think. Of course there's a lot of anxiety. If we're taught from an early age that everything we do is marvelous and deserving of prizes, we're going to be awfully disappointed and anxious once we get to the real world.
Commented on HelloLife October 26 2011 at 1:27 pm
Bri Luginbill at HelloLife
Great point Laura about the "Worse in what way?" It's definitely a very broad topic and I feel like it's one of those discussions that could go on forever and in so many different directions because of how much of a generalized statement that is.

I am the same way with text messages too. I try and wait to respond, but I feel something nagging at me and just have this notion that I should respond ASAP.

When you mentioned this entitlement we have to being happy...I definitely agree. There was this award at a camp I went to and it only was given to one person. Well parents complained, kids felt upset, and now that award is given out to everyone. I see the benefits of awarding everyone...you no longer have kids competing and losing sleep over wanting to be the best and getting that name on a plaque. But now everyone feels entitled to have that award with little to no work. Now don't get me wrong, I am a big believer that everyone is unique and special in their own way. But if there are awards or if whether or not you are in school or at a job...you need to earn achievements with hard work.

Another funny fact, a certain school in the Grand Rapids area has a school handbook that is extremely thick because students have tried to sue teachers over their test grades. Even though that student may or may not have worked hard enough for that grade...students complain and if they have enough money for a lawyer...they can get their way and feel that entitlement.

I know I rambled a bit, but hopefully it creates some good discussion! :)
Commented on HelloLife October 26 2011 at 1:43 pm
Victoria Swanson
Great Blog...on Facebook, do individual's really have 658 friends??? Why not keep your friends and family at the 100 mark, unless of course you own a business and use FB as a networking program to market your business. I know people that spend hours per day on FB and their friend count is well over the 500 mark, seriously, just thinking about trying to maintain that stresses me out! I think networks like these have to have a good time management program as well, otherwise they will start to take over your life.
Commented on HelloLife October 26 2011 at 2:31 pm