There was a news article in yesterday's Times of India about the increasing incidence of depression among Americans aged 20-50 with females being more prone. Apparently doctors are noting similar trends in India.
So why is depression increasing despite increased material possession, better lifestyles?
I believe, that increased emphasis on cerebral activities, less physical toil, and increasing disconnect from other human beings and a total disconnect from nature among city-dwellers is contributing to this phenomenon.
Evolution has designed our brains to become the cause of our own destruction. With our brains, we have chosen to build weapons of mass destruction, we have chosen to become violent at the slightest provocation. We choose to be isolated and sit in front of the TV or computers and socialize on facebook or Orkut or write blogs (just like I am doing now),instead of going out and talking to real people and connecting with them.
Everyone keeps spouting figures, and statistics, no one is ready to talk about feelings! While we are willing to take risks on the stock market, very few of us are ready to risk giving our hearts to others. We are basically turning into robots, and may perhaps one day have the entire portion of our brains that control feelings erased leaving us with only our logical and analytical brains. I cannot think of a more frightful scenario than that.
So dear folks, here is my two cents worth of advice, go and intermingle with peole, laugh, cry and engage in emotions, kick yourself into doing some physical labor and go talk to your maid, the cobbler, the farmer , the milk vendor. Pick up the phone and call your forgotten friends. Keep doing this on a regular basis and I can bet you the surge of adrenaline that you get by human interactions will obviate the need for prozac!
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