“Unprecedented” levels of depression, loneliness, anxiety, family estrangement, political partisanship, intolerance, difficulty finding a mate, etc. are discussed constantly in the news, podcasts, books, movies, and media.
I’m not so sure this is true. I think perhaps humans have always had these issues. We just didn’t talk about it so much.
Human nature doesn’t change in a few generations. I’d argue it hasn’t changed much over thousands of years.
Read anything written about the past and you’ll find people acting out of fear, greed, lust, love, altruism, pride , self-interest, suspicion, thirst for power and all of the same drivers of human behavior today. From ancient Asian writers to Greek philosophers to Europeans in the Middle Ages and Americans in the 19th century – all reflect feelings and actions that mirror what is talked about today.
I think about growing up in the the 1970s and 1980s. We all knew relatives, neighbors and strangers who suffered from mental illness and addiction. We knew people who were selfless and others who were greedy. We knew people who acted out of fear and others who acted out of pride.
We didn’t talk about their feelings much. Nor did we talk about our own feelings and motivations much. Going to therapy was viewed as weak or shameful. Talking about feelings was childish or whiny. Instead, most people I knew sucked it up. We went about their lives working, dealing with good times and bad by making the best of it.
Was that a better way to live? Sometimes it was and sometimes not.
So I’m not too worried about the “unprecedented social epidemics” of our current times. Humanity has seen this all before and will see it again.
We’ll be OK.
