Could the very high rate of mental illness in Europe be related to religion decline?

[Elizabeth I]

Could the very high rate of mental illness in Europe be related to religion decline?

Gosh, I don't know. Do you think the appalling ignorance sweeping across the United States could be related to the rise in religious fundamentalism?

 

[Akhenaten]

So it would seem to follow that fundamentalist Muslim nations would be among the sanest societies around.

Not to the thousands of people who marched in the streets in Iran last year.

How did it seem to them?

 

[Sun Countess]

From the article entitled: "Religion”

“Each religion asserts that it is a means by which its adherents may come into closer contact with God, Truth, and Spiritual Power. They all promise to free adherents from spiritual bondage, and bring them into spiritual freedom. It naturally follows that a religion which frees its adherents from deception, sin, and spiritual death will have significant mental health benefits. Abraham Maslow's research after World War II showed that Holocaust survivors tended to be those who held strong religious beliefs (not necessarily temple attendance, etc), suggesting it helped people cope in extreme circumstances.”

Even the anonymous Wikipedia author noted that all religions assert that they bring their adherents to the Truth. The "naturally follows" is a completely unsupported assertion, which is completely nullified when it brings up religious mumbo-jumbo like "sin" and "spiritual death."

I could probably find a Wiki article on voo-doo which claims that voodoo helps its adherents by giving them a method to cure themselves from curses, hexes, and demons.

As an atheist, I'm not so bothered by spiritual death, sin, curses, or demons. Is that because I'm in complete ignorance of the negative effect they could possibly be having on my life if only I believed in them? From my perspective, I'm much more mentally healthy than anybody who feels guilty over committing non-existent sins. Just like I'm mentally healthier than somebody who walks carefully to avoid stepping on a crack and breaking his mother's back.

Also it is logical to conclude that the closer you are to universal truth the happier or more fulfilled you will be over the long term. This is not to say there aren’t some happy (or at least temporarily happy) atheists out there, but it is possible that they could be even happier if they were closer to the truth (if atheism was not in reality true).

This may be a common sense conclusion, but can you show your workings on why it's logical? While you're at it, please demonstrate which religious people are closer to the universal truth. As the Wiki article states, this is an assertion of all religions. Are the Buddhists closer to the universal truth, or perhaps it's the Hindus, the Moslems, or the Sikhs?

All I know is that most of the atheists I know seem to be fairly happy. As I said, it's easier to be happy when you don't have to worry about breaking imaginary rules and upsetting a jealous petty god.

For instance, do you think Christians feel safer and happier when they believe that their jealous and petty god is punishing the world through a series of random natural disasters?

This could also apply to societies, if a society is in touch with universal laws and truth it would be logical to assume that that society as a whole will be better functioning and its citizens as a whole will have better mental health. If secularism is the closest to truth of all belief systems it would seem Europe should have a lower mental health problem.

Oh yes, I suppose it could apply to socieities. I suppose one could assert anything one wants to, when one isn't bothered with supporting those assertions. It's just like your god's messages via natural disaster: a lot of perhaps, maybes, and could bes. You would think the truth would be a little more certain.

 

[Mojo]

From the article:
"38 percent of the population suffering each year from a brain disorder such as depression, anxiety, insomnia or dementia"
That is a wide swath of disorders. I went into the report and found that the defined these 38% as anyone who was reported to have any one of the following conditions
Alcohol dependence
Opioid dependence (drug dep)
Cannabis dependence (drug dep)
Psychotic disorders
Major depression
Bipolar disorder
Panic disorder
Agoraphobia
Social phobia
Generalized anxiety dis.
Specific phobias
OCD
PTSD
Somatoform disorders
Anorexia nervosa (eating dis.)
Bulimia nervosa (eating dis.)
Borderline personality dis
Dissocial personality dis
Hyperkinetic dis./ADHD
Pervasive dev. dis./autism
Conduct disorders
Mental retardation
Insomnia
Hypersomnia
Narcolepsy
Sleep apnoea
Dementias

With the current economic climate and based upon the disorders listed, which includes drug abuse, insomnia, and anxiety, I am actually surprised the percentage was only 38%. I would have thought it higher.

I am currently being treated for one of those, and I'm as sane as the next guy.

[Hi, DOC]

 

[Sawbones79]

Looking at the list of disorders included, I note that a fair number are disorders present from birth. Extrpolating from the OP, I assume we immediately should start a campaign of prenatal baptism to inoculate those poor foetuses (foeti?) with the great salutogenic powers of religion.

 

[Multivac]

Also it is logical to conclude that the closer you are to universal truth the happier or more fulfilled you will be over the long term.

If you define ultimate truth as "The ultime question of life, the Universe and everything", then ultimate truth has been known for over 20 years. the answer is 42.

 

[CriticalSock]

A single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife?

This made me chortle out loud! \salute

 

[Kopji]

Since chemical abuse was included in the 'mental illness' statistic, I'm not so quick to write off a relationship between religion and addiction. The article linked is interesting. Mostly it describes religion as more like a preventative, but not a cure.

http://www.enotes.com/drugs-alcohol-encyclopedia/religion-drug-use

The relationship between religion and drug use among young people is not completely straightforward. On the one hand, a considerable amount of research indicates that young people who are strongly committed to religion are less likely than their uncommitted counterparts to use drugs. On the other hand, data presented here and elsewhere suggest that religion has had relatively little impact on recent national declines in drug use among young people. Further examination of this relationship reveals that America's drug epidemic occurred primarily among those not affected by religion; highly religious youth were relatively immune to the plague that infected a significant portion of the nation's youth. Accordingly, we conclude that religious commitment has been, and continues to be, an effective deterrent to the use and abuse of licit and illicit drugs.

That said, in the US mental illness is almost certainly more under reported than Europe. And most people here would not consider addictions to be mental illnesses.

 

[dafydd]

Since chemical abuse was included in the 'mental illness' statistic, I'm not so quick to write off a relationship between religion and addiction. The article linked is interesting. Mostly it describes religion as more like a preventative, but not a cure.

That said, in the US mental illness is almost certainly more under reported than Europe. And most people here would not consider addictions to be mental illnesses.

Considering the millions in the States without medical insurance,it is certainly under reported. We look after the sick over here.

 

[zooterkin]

Considering the millions in the States without medical insurance,it is certainly under reported. We look after the sick over here.

For the moment, but for how much longer if Andrew Lansley gets his way?

 

[Beerina]

I was surprised to see just how high the figures for mental illness are in Europe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44394646/#.Tma_hI672_I

I maintain that an increase in secularism and decrease in religiosity could be a major reason.

Well. A massive nanny state hauls into existence diagnoses of stress, anxiety, and so on, as it can get you long periods of time off with pay, followed with the requirement the company has to take you back. Rinse and repeat. Saw it with 2 people in the company I worked at when I was over there.

So...government has been acting as a replacement for religion, with the additional memetic power of taking over the ability to force you to join that religion and contribute to its "good works".


So in that sense, it is definitely related to the decline of religion, but the decline of religion is related to government taking over most of religion's duties (and coercive powers). But I don't think that's what you mean.

 

[dafydd]

For the moment, but for how much longer if Andrew Lansley gets his way?

I had to Google Andrew Lansley.

 

[TimCallahan]

DOC:

In past centuries religious devotion has resulted in the following: The massacre of Jews living in the Rhineland by crusaders on their way to the Holy Land, the Children's Crusade, flagellants and witch hunts, among other forms of irrational behavior. The ingrained, religiously based anti-Semitism prevalent in Europe well into the twentieth century helped the Nazi's implement the Holocaust. Certainly, all of these can be seen as symptoms of mental illness (as well as evil).

It has been pointed out to you that the relatively more religious United States has a greater rate of mental illness - 50% - than Europe - 38%. Considering tis fact, along with what I've noted in the paragraph above, are you ready to concede that your initial assertion is wrong? If not, why not?

BTW, such a concession would not mean that you were conceding that secularism is better than religion, merely that secularism isn't the cause of Europe's high rate of mental illness.

 

[Hokulele]

This made me chortle out loud! \salute

Yay! Another Austen fan.

 

[Ladewig]

"Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries."

You're just going to ignore this, yes?

Feel free to jump in and address this post any time you want DOC.

 

[Toke]

Feel free to jump in and address this post any time you want DOC.

According to DOC's logic it proves that secularism is the religion closest to god.

 

[Foster Zygote]

"Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries."

You're just going to ignore this, yes?

 

[Bill Thompson]

The very high rate of mental illness in Europe is related to the influx of reptilain aliens from the secret underwater base in the Bermuda Triangle. The construction of the underwater passageway linking England to France disrupted the harmonious resonance between the secret alien base with the mother ship. And this is why there are more mental ill people now than every before. I am just kidding. You would belive I was serious if I did not say so. How crazy is that?

 

[Rincewind]

I had to Google Andrew Lansley.

Now you just make sure you clean it up before you leave, OK?

 

[Bill Thompson]

I think the raise in mental illness is due to our live styles where people are out chasing the almighty dollar and turning their backs on loved ones. That or the secret underwater reptialian alien base referred to earlier.