According to Mental Health America: In 2019-2020, 20.78% of adults were experiencing a mental illness – equivalent to over 50 million Americans. The percentage of adults reporting serious thoughts of suicide is 4.84%, but 11% of adults who identified with two or more races reported serious thoughts of suicide in 2020. Over 10% of our youth experience a level of depression that impairs their ability to function at school, work, or with family and peers. To top it off, 28% of adults with a mental illness report that they are not able to receive the treatment they need.
What is going on in America that makes coping so tough? For one thing, American society is a confusing, unpredictable, and contradictory environment. Psychologists know that such an environment is not conducive to mental stability, especially for young folks struggling to find their goals, purpose, and values. Daily, Americans are faced with sensory overload from social media; ubiquitous electronic devices impede the search for personal values; students are frightened because of school shootings; we are in a tsunami of banning books, censoring school curricula, and insulting the ability of teachers to teach; we say climate change, vaccines, and science are real – unless they are fake; we degrade and humiliate those with diverse lifestyles. On top of all these trends, we are infested with a self-preoccupation – “me, me, me” – approach to life that has metastasized into destructive attitudes and actions directed at others. And we ask why mental health problems are increasing? Frankly, it is amazing that not all of us have lost our grip on stability.
Self-absorption melds perfectly with another troublesome trend in our society: censoring attitudes and policies that foster equality and inclusion across diverse elements of society. Is it not confusing that a fundamental cornerstone value of our democracy – all are equal – is rejected by a large portion of our populace? This denial adds to the confusion and unpredictability in America that contributes significantly to mental health problems. The incidence of mixed-race mental illness noted above shows the danger of censoring diversity: It destroys respect for others by increasing self-absorption to the exclusion of empathy for others. This empathy deficiency leads to apathy and ambivalence about life as meaningful and worthwhile, which eventually leads to risk-taking, aggression (antisemitism anyone?), negativity, and self-disrespect. Self-censorship of the value of others also leads to avoidance thinking, which decreases honest self-evaluation.
Mental stability is based on predictability, clarity about others’ actions, humility, and empathy. These are features of reality that help one cope with stress. When one’s world becomes confusing and unpredictable, humility is replaced with feelings of unworthiness, and empathy is replaced with withdrawal and anger. At that point, one is vulnerable to the anxiety and depression that preclude living a purposeful and satisfying life.
Psychology and Stress 