#MentalHealthMatters #UrbanLife #SocietyTalk
Is it just me, or does it seem like there are so many people struggling with their mental health in the city? 🌆 I see folks who seem really disconnected or overwhelmed on a daily basis. I’m curious about a few things:
- Is it drugs? There’s a lot of talk about substance abuse these days, and it feels like that’s part of the picture.
- Is it societal pressure? Life in the fast lane of big cities can be tough, and I wonder if the hustle is taking a toll on mental well-being.
- Normal human variation? Maybe this level of dysfunction is just part of being human?
Have there always been this many people facing these challenges, or is it growing? 🤔
What I think: It’s quite likely a mix of all these factors. Mental health issues and substance use have been around forever, but with the stresses of modern life, they might be impacting more people than we realize. Plus, cities can be isolating environments where one’s struggles become more pronounced.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have you noticed anything similar in your community? How do you think we can better support those who are struggling? Feel free to share your experiences, tips, or anything that’s worked for you! Let’s keep the conversation going. 💬
Thank Ronal Reagan for dismantling the mental health system. Also, drugs.
I’m probably going to open myself up to a lot of criticism by the folks who don’t read a full post before jumping to judgement, but here we go. (understand clearly I’m neither agreeing or disagreeing with things, just outlining what I’ve seen).
Ages ago I was in Law Enforcement in a big city in Virginia. Things went from “family kept track of it’s own and family pride kept things quiet” as well as any number of mental institutions/hospitals, to the mentally ill being shoved out on the streets and people taking to “social media” in droves constantly talking about the whole mess which also raised the general social anxiety level.
Crazy behavior was not tolerated in public and for better or for worse many outbursts were dealt with on the spot by police or even the average citizen so generally the crazy person was immediately chased off, or arrested and removed from society. This was not recorded, commented on, and posted on social media so people didn’t even really realize it was happening all over the place.
Assistive drugs , mental healthcare, and requirements to treat at hospitals were nothing like they are now so, to be blunt, a lot of the crazy people died fairly quickly unless someone took them in (family or whatever).
So these days it seems we have mentally ill with no place to be, who get handled very publicly with kid gloves, and get enough treatment to survive for extended periods and who are causing all manner of increased social anxiety.
AND
All of the fallout and followup from how badly COVID was handled gave an awful lot of people various levels of PTSD that they are still trying to cope with (some with more success than others)
The number of people that go into a public space like a restaurant and have their phone on speaker and are either facetiming or just watching a movie is at an all time high. Basic respect for being in a public space and conducting oneself with any modicum of dignity has gone out the window in the post covid world.
Yes but social media has shined a light on all you nut jobs!
Yeah idk what’s up with it all. It sucks because they’ll just be shouting slurs and ngl, as a gay guy it sucks to hear someone like that saying shit so publicly and we all are like “just walk away as quick as you you can”
People are fucked up.
It’s more surprising that shit functions at all
Covid lockdowns really threw people for a loop. Insanity is the new normal.
the roads that lead to madness are as varied and many branched as those who walk it
Covid policies and fearmongering seriously hit mental health of many people.
Big cities are really big. When you see thousands of dysfunctional crazy people it seems like a ton (and it is), but compared to a population of 10million or whatever, it’s actually a very small percentage. It’s still too many people, and it’s something we as a society need to fix and get them help, but it’s also hard for the human mind to comprehend the millions of people that live in your city.
This is an anecdotal observation, I have no statistical evidence for it but I personally suspect that Ambien / Zolpidem and similar drugs might be partly responsible. Where I live it is prescription-only and for very short term use. I only use it as a last resort and noticed that I become very irritable and slightly depressed the next day. Perhaps I’m wrong but I believe it’s easier to get in the US and even used long term. I can’t imagine what this stuff would do to my psyche if took it regularly.
Another partial cause are social media, of course. You had to physically attend UFO and conspiracy conventions in the past to even get into the higher crazy circles. Now you only need to open your web browser.
We have eliminated public space, and deliberately restricted the creation of sufficient private space. That both puts sick people out in the street and makes more people sick.
The phrase “hurt people hurt people” exists for a reason. People have always been mentally ill or unwell and often times that can lead to trauma being shoved off on others. It’s only been relatively recently that the stigma has lifted and people feel more empowered to talk about it.
That’s why i laugh when you hear people say “suddenly everyone is (insert mental health issue here)!” No, it’s not that we’re suddenly making this all up it’s that this is just the first time it’s been so prevalent in the zeitgeist
First Trump and then the pandemic showed me and countless others just how little regard for civilization many Americans have. I think it drove a bunch of folks low grade crazy.
No.. this is not normal. Your post should be a pretty clear sign that big pharma has taken over. Doctors don’t diagnose anything anymore. They make a ‘best guess’ and then get paid to throw drugs at the issue. Meanwhile, the DC tyrants shut down any proper treatment facilities. Thus leaving people on the wrong drugs and on the streets. In turn.. making problems far worse. As our government generally does. Fail. As usual
When you’re out in the middle of the day, you’re only going to see people who have nowhere else to be
Communities dont exist in USA anymore. When you dont have a community, you are more prone towards anger and untreated mental illness.
Big cities can amplify behaviors due to stress and density. Factors like drugs, mental health issues, and societal pressures play a role. It’s complex but understanding and empathy go a long way.
There has always been depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc. Mental health research was just coming out of the dark ages (we still haven’t hit a renaissance yet), there was less media, less media coverage because such things were “family matters best kept behind closed doors”, and social media wasn’t around to show it and make it worse.
Because it’s socially acceptable to be that way now. Before, dysfunctional people were socially ostracized to the point that they got ran out of town. Now we just let them roam the streets without regard for the disruption it causes.
society is designed to fail them. unless you have 7-figure stakes in big tech companies, you’re significantly closer to being that person high on meth in the streets than you know.
The internet. What’s worse is there are fewer and fewer of those people who remember life before it as time goes on and then we will become a new species wholly reliant on tech. No thanks, get off my lawn.
Reforms in how we de-criminalize their behavior. Most liberal cities knew that was easier to pass than attaching it bills that would require the funding for more social services to help those folk. Now that they are more visible, instead of being in jail, the bills to fund the needed services become more palatable
The rise of P2P meth is a huge contributing factor.
I lived in a city in the South with roughly 150,000 people.
Summers were unbearable and long.
Winters were short but had unrelenting coldness.
The only homeless services were churches giving food and Walmart parking lots (don’t be nuisance and you’re fine).
It sucked being homeless there, that’s why there was so few.
The more services, the more resources, the more money, the more homeless you get.
Portland, Seattle, San Francisco… wonderful places to be homeless permanently.
I bet you never met someone as crazy as me
many decades ago I worked in a retail setting adjacent to a drug park. A lot of the chronic residents still had a $280 a month flop house apartment, or similar room share. All of those transient “hotels” from the 1940s have been gentrified into lofts or torn down. I never appreciated whole neighborhoods of drug houses, but the consequence of real estate inflation is more drug addicts sleeping rough.
I feel like this begs for an example of some craziness you’ve seen.
This is not the only issue but a thought provoking one.
The homeless do not sleep well. This can lead to sleep psychosis which left unchecked can lead to more debilitating symptoms.
Are the majority of people becoming homeless because of mental illness?
Or
Does homelessness cause mental illnesses?
The real problem is not talking about mental health to begin with. Our society doesn’t seem to want to recognize the premise let alone the actual problem.
Our society is set up to help the wealthy and not the people.
western culture breeds drug abuse
I think there are a lot more dysfunctionally crazy people than we ever realized. The ones who have money and a place to stay don’t get noticed or counted.
Percentage yes. But they tended to not survive as long as they do now, because the law protects them from the consequences of their actions.