View Full Version : Wealth Has A Positive Correlation With Depression
I have suspected this for a long time, but here are the stats:
http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=655161
It seems the more money I have, the more stuff I get, and the more time I spend dealing with the stuff instead of enjoying my hobbies and my friends. Anyone else notice this?
Thank you so much for your input. :~)
The statistics are interesting, and what you say related to having more money, means having more things (stuff), means investing more time looking after and paying attention to all those things, means less time to ones credit to enjoy life, etc, makes perfect sense to me.
I surmise two main contingent factors are at play, the first being, most wealthy people are materialistic to the bone (through and through), placing all their energy and happiness on the dollar, and always wanting more, so when empires and fortunes turn to misfortunes, depression is sure to follow, whereas everyday average working class people tend to work towards a comfortable existence, a humble existence, investing their energy towards paying the basics off, possibly accumulating a modest nest egg if all goes well, then settling back and enjoying whatever simple and frugal livelihood their finances afford them.
Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. Alexander Pope.
The statistics are interesting, and what you say related to having more money, means having more things (stuff), means investing more time looking after and paying attention to all those things, means less time to ones credit to enjoy life, etc, makes perfect sense to me.
I surmise two main contingent factors are at play, the first being, most wealthy people are materialistic to the bone (through and through), placing all their energy and happiness on the dollar, and always wanting more, so when empires and fortunes turn to misfortunes, depression is sure to follow, whereas everyday average working class people tend to work towards a comfortable existence, a humble existence, investing their energy towards paying the basics off, possibly accumulating a modest nest egg if all goes well, then settling back and enjoying whatever simple and frugal livelihood their finances afford them.
Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. Alexander Pope.
Very good points, Mrs-M. The "More Disease", as Wayne Dyer has put it, seems to be rampant. I look around me and think "What a lot of STUFF!!!" And yet it's hard to refrain from online shopping.
Our culture encourages more, more, more. I know I was able to be a lot more frugal when I volunteered at an emergency food pantry. Even though I was on a pittance of Worker's Comp, I felt rich compared to the clientele. They made do and some were even contented despite not having lots of STUFF. Contentment is such a blessing!
Wildflower
2-20-12, 5:32am
Many people that have alot of money is because they are NOT materialistic....
I know millionaires that are/were millionaires because they lived a very frugal and modest lifestyle. DH's parents and two of my cousins are three that come to mind immediately, among others. They contributed much to society and charities as well....
Being materialistic and shopping too much has nothing to do with how much money one has in my opinion. I know people of all different income levels that manage their money well or not....
I think this study is ridiculous. I'm sure the reason that more rich folks are diagnosed with depression is because they can afford to see a doctor in the first place, depressed poor people not so much. This study is laughable really....
I remember being poor, so broke we couldn't pay the bills or eat for a period of time in my younger years - I recall very well being depressed!
That being said, most depression is biochemical, not based on the size of the wallet.
Many people that have alot of money is because they are NOT materialistic....
I know millionaires that are/were millionaires because they lived a very frugal and modest lifestyle. DH's parents and two of my cousins are three that come to mind immediately, among others. They contributed much to society and charities as well....
Being materialistic and shopping too much has nothing to do with how much money one has in my opinion. I know people of all different income levels that manage their money well or not....
I think this study is ridiculous. I'm sure the reason that more rich folks are diagnosed with depression is because they can afford to see a doctor in the first place, depressed poor people not so much. This study is laughable really....
I remember being poor, so broke we couldn't pay the bills or eat for a period of time in my younger years - I recall very well being depressed!
That being said, most depression is biochemical, not based on the size of the wallet.
+1
HappyHiker
2-20-12, 10:25am
Well, I'm not sure that I buy those results--not quite. I've read elsewhere that the most content people are those with enough money that they don't have to worry about meeting their basic necessities. And it's likely that those with wealth do have to spend more time taking care of their income and property--but that's expending time, not necessarily leading to depression.
From my limited experience with monied folks, I'd say the happiest were those of old wealth, used to managing it and comfortable with it. Their lives were low-key and subtle with no need to flash symbols of their wealth about.
The most unhappy and nervous seemed to be the nouveau rich who seemed not yet comfortable with their money and appeared rather desperate to hold on to it...and they went for the rather garish homes, chunky gold watches and status cars...
The happiest people I know are those who are engaged in work they love and making a reasonable living from it--and included in this group are teachers, artists, writers, architects and others who are creating strong minds or objects of enduring beauty or value. Often, they've learned the value of "enough" and are content with a reasonable lifestyle--perhaps even a simple one.
The unhappiest people I know are those who pursue money to all ends and never seem to get enough. They have some empty place in their psyches and souls that seems unfillable.
Just my opinion and observations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-so_story
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/JustSoStories.jpg
HappyHiker
2-20-12, 12:45pm
Lyrics from the Broadway play Porgy & Bess
I got plenty o' nuttin'
An' nuttin's plenty for me.
I got no car, got no mule,
and I got no misery.
De folks wid plenty o' plenty
Got to have a lock on dey door,
'Fraid sombody's a-goin' to rob 'em
While dey's out a-makin' more.
What for?
I got no lock on de door
Dat's no way to be,
Dey can steal de rug from de floor,
Dat's okay wid me,
"Cause de things dat I prize
Like de stars in de skies
Are all free.
(refrain)
PS I didn't change the language/accent-it's the way the lyrics are written
Doing something just because you can won't ever make anyone happy regardless of income. That includes buying more stuff. I suspect most happy, wealthy folks do things about the same way as happy folks with less means. Although it is true that having more financial resources usually will give you more options, working to find the things you want in your life that give you joy or make your work more pleasant isn't really a function of wealth. Neither is finding the ability to decide when you have enough.
ApatheticNoMore
2-20-12, 1:29pm
From clicking and reading the link the study wasn't even about *individuals*. It was about *countries*. Countries that are less rich are happier than richer countries. I don't think you can expand that to individuals. A poor individual living in a "rich" country is facing an entirely different set of circumstances than a poor individual living in a poor country.
Detailed interviews with more than 89,000 people in 18 nations revealed that 15 percent of people in high-income countries were likely to get depression during their lifetime, compared with 11 percent of those in low- or middle-income countries.
It doesn't even say that the people in high income countries that get depression are themselves high income (maybe by a global standard, but I don't think that is all that relevant. They aren't paying rent in a "global" market, but rather in a local one).
I don't see how you have LOTS of money without being at least a LITTLE BIT materialistic. Trust funds? I mean it is very amazing if you manage to get there on say a minimum wage job. But if you are really and truly not materialistic, why NOT work a minimum wage job? A lot of low paid work is much more interesting that professional work (well ok flipping burgers isn't, but the grocery store workers always *seem* to be having more fun than us cubical drones). Yea kinda envy ...
The happiest people I know are those who are engaged in work they love and making a reasonable living from it--and included in this group are teachers, artists, writers, architects and others who are creating strong minds or objects of enduring beauty or value.
Yea they've won some kind of life lottery that I'm not sure most people can even expect to win. For one thing they somehow did manage to get educated (not sure how. Massive debt maybe?). And they probably knew what they wanted to do in life from a very early age and somehow it managed to be practical (an odd combo). So they can earn a decent living at work they like. It might be more realistic for many people (and I think about it all the time) to GIVE UP on a decent living, and just say um F it, I'm going to do what I hate less even if I give up ALL the middle class standards I was raised to expect, because work that isn't boring as can be AND middle class income seem an extremely difficult combo to acheive. By the way I have known lots of poeple who have gone this giving up on the middle class income route and by choice, more than I know who have both satisfying work and the middle class income.
jennipurrr
2-20-12, 2:15pm
Also, there are huge differences in the way cultures view "depression" Many do not recognize it as a disorder for which someone would seek professional help. It would be very difficult to compare cross culturally without taking issues like that into account. This article seems to have huge gaping holes.
It would be very difficult to compare cross culturally without taking issues like that into account. This article seems to have huge gaping holes.
It's also possible that wealthier cultures have better education, diagnostic and treatment processes in place for depression, resulting in a higher reported rate. Or half a dozen other hidden variables that come to mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confounding
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